Today Española feels as though it is a series of highways and strip malls, with no center, despite its glorious setting and its remarkable history. I’m sorry, but it’s true. It sits right on the Rio Grande and there is no city park or any clear access anywhere to the river!
The Española Valley, Part 1, Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo
That first capital of the United States was, in fact, established at Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo. This detail required some untangling, as several different modern-day places have claimed the first capital as their own.
Georgia’s Black Place
And I think these two places depict her struggles. The very idea that she found them, visited them over and over, painted them numerous times, named them so starkly, makes me feel that these two places were profound for her. Almost gate posts with all the other works falling in between.
Dennis Hopper in Taos
“In the late 1960s at the height of his career, Dennis Hopper left Hollywood for artistic bohemia in New Mexico. His daughter looks back on a man in search of free expression and a more contemplative way of life.” This from the NYT tmagazine blog.
Georgia O’Keeffe’s Introduction to New Mexico
I can imagine the two very strong-willed people, each staking their creative claim to New Mexico’s high desert, feeling competitive with each other, each trying to make her mark.
Georgia O’Keeffe’s White Place
I did not set out seeking Georgia as so many seem to do. I just went on a hike with friends. It didn’t occur to me until days later that we were in Georgia O’Keeffe’s White Place.
We Thought We Knew
Although Mabel was a wealthy New York heiress born in 1879, we do share this: We both came to New Mexico with rather cavalier attitudes about it.