Behind a Sign in La Cienega
Revealing Juxtapositions and Layers
Juxtapositions and layers reveal themselves in the simplest places, such as the junction of Camino San Jose (County Road 50A) and the San Jose Church Parish parking lot in La Cienega, New Mexico. The immediate overlay—the blessing aimed at departing drivers against the backdrop of a sun-bleached cemetery—is a notable double entendre, one I thought suitable for portrayal in black and white.
Crosses, flowers, and figurines suggest a more profound meaning to the sign than a message for the drive home on a Sunday. The sign speaks to prior journeys—on a well-traveled road—in a land of combined cultures built around landscape features.
La Cienega, meaning "the marsh" in Spanish, succeeded a Keres Pueblo settlement. Nearby archaeology has revealed water catchment features, remnants of sophisticated irrigation systems, and subterranean dwellings, all indicating how to survive an arid climate over time.
The San Jose Church Parish, a symbol of an imposed faith, merges with longstanding local petroglyphs and landscapes of culture and aquifer. The "May God Bless You as You EXIT" sign—a modern-day expression of faith—may be best seen as both an adage and an echo.
Sense of place—and all of its meanings—is not always readily apparent. But it can be triggered by a sign, a cemetery, and a view. Leaving the church parking lot suggests a broader meaning, encompassing the departure of people from their ancestral lands, the passage of generations, and small monuments to those who came before.