Out doing some prospecting in the desert, found these murals in the hills near Chloride, Az. The artist originally painted the murals in 1966, and re-painted them in 2006.
Although I don't advocate painting anything on the surface of rocks, I do like that mural. Course, I'm a fan of ghost towns and mining camps, so that depiction suits my fancy. Still, I prefer the beauty of a rock in its natural state -- and that applies from diamonds to half dome.
The upsidedown thingy resembles the heartline arrow symbology of the Zuni Indians of the Southwest. Don't know why it's painted that way. Perhaps Bob can explain more?
The stars are arranged in a navigational pattern for the Annunaki's return. The sun & moon are the greater & lesser light forces. The upside down Zuni-Dog represents love in his stomach for all mankind... Just kidding. One art shop in Chloride had a booklet for sale explaining the artists meanings, I'm just not interested in stuff from 1966 right now. What does concern me, is located on the right side of the picture, just above the bush, which appears to be some (maybe) older etchings. I also took photos of some petroglyphs, and I sure as hell hope the artist wasn't painting over some much older petroglyphs. That would PI$$ me off.
I share your concerns and see the markings you mention. Who gave the artist permission to paint the rocks? Doing anything like that around here could earn a person some hefty fines and maybe some time picking litter along the highways.
Dang TT, everyone wants to preserve all the ancient graffiti like cave paintings etc. and you're all upset about a modern person painting one lousy rock. What if the government decided to clean up all the caves and rocks and remove anything humans applied to them no matter when it was done, then what? I've always wondered why the Indians are buried on sacred ground and I'm going to a lousy cemetary. Aren't I special? .....and "No", I will not meet you in the political forum, that's your home field.
So packerbacker, maybe we should paint the Painted Desert in Arizona or maybe Half Dome in Yosemite or perhaps Castle Crags up near Dunsmuir? If these modern rock paintings are on private property, I've got no problem with them. And since you won't meet me in the Politics forum for a "shoot-out," then I'll concede defeat here and back away slowly.
At the risk of getting caught in a crossfire, I must say
the artist is quite good.
And originally the indian art was graffiti.
but most places it wouldn't be allowed today.
Maybe the artist should have swallowed the paint, since he was having an inward search for self. LOL Sorry!
Arizona Bob, loved the photos. Thanks for posting them. Would you please do the same with some other aspect of your beautiful state sometime soon? It's always fun to learn about and see the little hidden surprises of other places.