Images of New England
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This unheralded piece of roadside art, a Native American looking to the heavens, is always compelling, though I have passed it many a time. It’s a striking visual eulogy for both a people and a way of life, and invites further reflection on the arc of both shared and private history, bringing us, perhaps, to a measure of the present moment: how IS my life going? Any changes needed? Artist(s) unknown – even the Town Clerk had no idea.
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This beautiful granite bench can be found in a small park overlooking the Housatonic River on the east side of the West Cornwall covered bridge. Many stories flow out of this sculpture: intuited, imagined and in the end largely unknown, but nonetheless resonant. Stories are revealed in the Joel Sternfeld photo book, On This Site, that I passed up earlier in the day at a church basement sale – the tragedies a little too jarring for a beautiful spring day.
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I love how the craftsperson here went an extra mile – incorporating the vernacular of the area into this simple project. It reminds me of the works exhibited at the now defunct (and much lamented) Stratton Arts Festival that was held every fall at Stratton Mountain. Only VT artists and craftspeople could enter – and it was an incredible show, always. Some of my favorites over the years included a blazer made entirely of cedar shingles (it looked like you could wear it to a formal dinner) and an actual cord of wood with the top dusted in gold sparkled paint. I miss the VT ethos in those shows: a sublime blend of humor, intelligence and skill grounded in the natural world. This piece of art would have felt at home there.
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On a back road deep in the Northeast Kingdom, some cairns along the roadside, and then this sign. I did walk around the corner, how could I not ?
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In 1948, Stan Jones wrote Ghost Riders In The Sky, which became one of the greatest cowboy songs of all time. It’s a cautionary tale on changing one’s ways, about a thundering herd of red eyed, steel-hooved cattle that endlessly roam the sky, and the cowboy spirits forever damned to chase them. He originally heard the story, perhaps derived from an old European folk tale, when he was 12 years old. The song was recorded by over 50 artists; one of the most popular versions is by Johnny Cash, with a live version here.
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