12 Hour Staircase

By Alex Kinney

White Sands National Monument, NM

October 30, 2017

White Sands provided an opportunity for me to create a work parallel to the work I made in Cunningham Gulch at the Rio Grande headwaters. I enjoyed working with sand rather than snow and the parallels and contrasts of the two. For these two works I was working in an intuitive manner similar to painting for me, where I let a soundtrack guide my actions and grooves while digging, climbing, eating, and throwing for an hour and five minutes. In the end after all paraphernalia is cleared I leave a large symbol exposed. The next morning, I returned to the stair case after a windy night in the dunes. The entirety of the structure was wiped away and the dune had moved a few inches forward. I felt like a cyborg, but my efforts couldn’t compare to a natural force like wind.   

Down in the Gila

Alex Kinney

Gila Wilderness, NM

Ocotber 24, 2017

The Gila was one of my favorite sites of the LAAW field work places. This place resonated with me because of the noises, colors, water and trees. On the last full day here, I sat in a hot spring and could see the cold water of the Gila pouring into the bottom of the spring. The evening sunlight streamed over the edge of the canyon and illuminated pebbles on the spring’s bank. The colors of the pebbles were heighted and felt like they were being bathed in pure crystal light. I felt so happy watching these pebbles talk to me while I lay in the warmth of the spring.

In the mornings, I would head out after breakfast around 8:30 or 9:00 toward Turkey Creek. I enjoyed watching the rising sunlight stream through the trees and these moments felt especially quiet. Something about the Gila made me feel enclosed in a special place of origin and death and visually reminded me of visions I had at Wild Rivers, NM while sitting by a river on hot boulders.

   

Borderlands Restoration

Alex Kinney

Patagonia, AZ

October 19, 2017

Working with the people at Borderlands was the highlight of this site. Outings at the Wagon Wheel, the Market, the spigot, moving rocks, Guss’s motorbike and engaging in most of their processes… all a part of the Borderlands/Patagonia expierence. Their hospitality and efforts were most memorable and I think their focus and love for what they do is inspiring. I enjoyed the mindset of moving rocks in an effort to mend torn up landscapes. Having the process and knowledge laid out for us helped everyone come together and achieve something on both small and large scales.     

Ropes and Needles

By Alex Kinney

Muley Point, Bears Ears National Monument, UT

October 3, 2017

This area really helped me communicate with other life forms besides humans. Particularly a frog who I invited to chat with and who took refuge in my foot imprint in some mud. I guess he made me think of scales and I thought a large bear on the land that could be talking to me. I think Muley made me realize a lot about my approach to making art in that I approach a lot of things like I do when I paint, which involves almost no thinking at all! Just a lot of doing and a lot of layers and intuition. I started to collage photos I took with my phone. Above is a line of rope with cactus needles in them. I played around a puddle and put the needles on my body and watched the water soak around the rocks. I have no idea what it’s about, but I can tell ya it’s not about Jesus Christ… although I said a prayer for the first time in long while at this site.

Adam Sandler Made Music

By Alex Kinney

Glen Canyon Dam / Lake Powell, AZ

September 28, 2017

Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell were surreal places. Seeing a desert flooded and swimming in the lake was quite a sight. The way the dam was shown to us via tour kind of made it feel small. I think I most enjoyed going around the little town and being in a park where kids got off school. What a strange place to call home.

Divinity and Fried Bread at Angel Peak

By Alex Kinney

Angel Peak, Four Corners, NM

September 22, 2017

Angel Peak was a weird place and was not what I expected. I learned a lot about people here and Sunny’s storytelling and healing exercise was engaging and thought provoking. I think, mentally, this site was the most exhausting in a way. The drawing above is a symbol for the divine. Sunny had us draw things very quickly as a part of a healing process. Divinity is about goodness, coexistence, and protection. It is a very high energy!

WiLd RiVerS

Alex Kinney

Wild Rivers NM

September 15, 2017

Wild Rivers was insane. Walking down to the river and spending all day by it (the Rio Grande) was great. I had a very experiential moment here at Wild Rivers. It was a very sensory moment (hour or so) where I was sitting by the river looking at the sun with my eyes closed. When I do this a particular pattern (both organic and geometric) is out in front of me. It is like energy or light that moves. Normally the pattern is recognizable and doesn’t alter much in Albuquerque. But here the light began changing rapidly moving and guiding me. From this a more concrete and consolidated pattern emerged and finally I flashed into a crisp view of a river (different from the one in front of me).

I then covered by eyes with my hands and the same process happened and I was underwater in a blue-purple water looking at white rocks.

I think the large heated rocks by the Rio Grande and the sun’s energy and the noises of the Rio Grande yielded this experience. Maybe too much sun did too.

La Villita Farm

Alex Kinney

La Villita, NM

September 15, 2017

Ron’s farm was a lot of fun. Being by the Rio Grande was especially nice during the hot days… well every day. This site was a great place to stop thinking about art stuff and just watch someone else be passionate about what they do. Going to the market in Espanola was also cool and meeting some of the people there was fun. I saw some little goats too and bought a soda – cherry 7 up on the rocks - (I had been craving one!!!!!!!).

Our experiments with the Rye was a lot of fun and the way we came together to do it made the work feel a lot less like work and like a game. I think I started to feel the heat after a few days and I was very giggly and special. But it was a lot of fun to be in that element and see everyone enjoying themselves. I think this site would be great for future land artians.

The photo is a representation of my withdrawal from dogs and it was so good to see some at Ron’s.

Rio Grande Headwaters

Alex Kinney

Rio Grande Headwaters, CO

September 15, 2017

The first day out while at the headwaters I saw two alpacas at the base of the road before the trail heads. That was the closest I had ever been to an alpaca and it was very cool. That day I brought out an audio recording device and tried recording things. I tried to make the microphones come in contact with surfaces of plants and rocks to see how sensitive it would be. I recently heard of a study where scientists played the sounds of caterpillars eating leaves of plants to some plants and the plants emitted a toxic compound in fear of being eaten. At the head waters I was interested in interspecies communication and ended the trip thinking about “timespace” and scales of time for communication.