The Narrative Image

(Note: clicking on images should display a larger version) Graffiti. Sometimes it’s just a signature – a tag. Sometimes it’s a message. And sometimes, it’s art. Graffiti on a train Sad thing is…I can’t tell the difference…at least not always.   Why do we post symbols in public places? What does a bird mean? Without proper cultural context… ...can we ever know the original intent of the symbol maker? I stumbled upon my first pictograph on a kayak/camping trip in 2008. It’s amazing that these painted images persist. Is it a message? An advertisement? An icon? ...a warning? Since then I’ve read some Oregon Archeological Society publications (primarily by Keyser) and learned of vision quests, shamans, ghost cults and power drawings. Plus, on the historical context side of the story, I’ve learned that these kinds of painted rock images are the product of a once dominant society that was being decimate...

Monkey-cam had been monitoring the internet for weather reports and once he saw the little smiling sun symbols in the weekend boxes, he began begging in earnest for another chance to see Cooper Spur before the onset of serious snow. Regular viewers may recall that Monkey-cam was in the process of testing some boundaries and chose our last Cooper Spur expedition as the scene for acting out his new found sense of independence. I kept suggesting lower altitude hikes because I was pretty sure the last weather front had deposited snow down to the 4000 ft. level, but when I got an email from Mr. Lloyd (of Long Shadow Photography - www.longshadowphoto.com ) reporting that the road to Cloud Cap was still open, I relented and started rounding up the hiking gear. Mt. Hood as seen from the Parkdale Ranger Station where you can’t get forest parking permits on Sunday because they’re closed. It’s a fairly long drive from Portland to Mt. Hood so I was glad to have Monkey-cam’s company. We tried to ca...