History is in Alamos Peeling paint
Last modified: July 7, 201712… History is in the detail, humanness is in the design…
This peeling paint is on a west facing wall, built in 1828 at the end of Calle Comercio.
Álamos had become the capital of a combined Sinoloa and Sonora – the state of Occidente.
The new Governor Jose Maria Gaxiola lived inside this wall. It is a scene repeated
throughout Álamos, Sonora, Mexico. In recent times, recent being relative, Rip Torn
and Geraldine Page found sanctuary behind this edifice. Think of the romantic full
moons and the sweet smells of the night air. In the distance a young man serenades his girl.
Struggles personified: scribed, scratched, torn, eroded, defaced, washed, painted by
natural elements and human events. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Graffiti, like tattoos, has taken on different significants in society. There is
mean graffiti, cruel graffiti, criminal graffiti, obnoxious graffiti. And then
there are a quiet moments when man etches himself into the wall. these moments
come and go as does the days, months, years and centuries.
Soothing pastels worn smooth, shine in the morning sun on an eastern facing wall.
There are no images or words but there is feeling – much like minimalism modern art.
Look long enough and there is movement.
Speaking of modern art. What was behind these two large action marks? Was it a
planned act or an accident? This is a concrete wall – modern in Álamos time. Was a
painter cleaning is bucket? Was it a statement from one person about another?
These are the questions, and tales, that the walls of Alamos, Sonora, Mexico
present to willing imaginations.
This painting was off the Old Camino Real as it turns to north west past the airport.
Today the rod leads to nearby copper mines. It is probably much more traveled. there
is little chance that is image remains – it is almost twenty years since the photo
was taken. Maybe the wall no longer exists, or…
As one comes closer to the wall, or some would say ruins, one can see the marks take
on greater significance as the design by natural elements and human events grow in
intensity. There is form in the happenstance. Not all art is beautiful. Not all
art is ugly. But all art is art.
There are moments of discovery, questions, appreciation and realization. This house
probably has been in place a couple hundred years. Think of the get-togethers it
has witnessed. The joys and sorrows. This wall knows life – good and bad.
In a matter of years this sign has faded. Does this mean the property was sold and
there was no more need for a sign so let time to its thing? Or does it indicate
there were no buyers and the seller gave up the effort? Either way this wall is
texture in a town of textures, Alamos, Sonora, Mexico.
The message is bold, hard to miss and to the point. “This is for sale!” Is it art?
Ask Andy Warhol what he thinks. Is it a statement? Certainly. And a marketing
campaign begins again just like a sunrise.
Fast paced music video that is more than its parts, much like Álamos itself..
This is an experimental clip that weds close-ups textures shot out a moving car’s window
and 120 blended stills images of Alamos life. High speed video at its best. Álamos,
Sonora, México has never looked like this. Video…
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©2013 Anders Tomlinson, all rights reserved.