Metaphor and meaning in Landscape

October 7th 2002
Metaphor and meaning in Landscape

The landscape develops and is related to the movement
of those who inhabit it. Landscape is a visual
documentation of lives. Lives develop and are related
to the formation of the land.
The jelly in the bowl contracts and expands the way I
ask it to. My movement dominates its form. The
landscape is the jelly in the bowl. It has been walked
and lived on for time that cannot be summed up in
words. The weight of the life on the landscape tells
it where to rise and where to drop. Life and
landscape, movement and colour, scale, size and
structure – are all related.
There the mountains were not part of the terrain; they
were simply the terrain. That is the place where the
landscape is so overpowering that sometimes the life
on the landscape is ignored. But the life there is
simply incredible. The landscape so large and
frightfully vertical makes the people and the green
bow down in modesty. Life is warm, inviting and so
mystical. The landscape hides the secrets of the
people. Embraces their belief and provides them
shelter to protect their simplicity from exploitation.

The mountain though large and powerful is accepting;
finding spaces and making way to integrate. The river
that runs through its gaps and the highway that flows
around its mass- are all examples of its nature. The
mountain so high, and so above everything is still
humble. It is afraid to touch the sky, grab the stars
or kiss the moon. It just sits below the blue enormous
mass, a mass more enormous than itself. It is like
watching the two fall in love over and over again. In
the day the mountain blushes in the heat of the sun,
accepting and reflecting. The wind blows each cloud
into the mountain attempting to shyly touch its white
body. The whole day the sky and mountain play these
games. At night the moon and stars caress the tiniest
crevices of the mountain with their soft light. At
night the heat calms down, and they sit all night
realizing their love. The mountain and the sky are the
kind for who future emerges in the night. Their
romance touches the landscape and serves the people,
changing their lives, evoking love in them and the
patience to appreciate and adore. The mountain in the
day is confidence and inspiration for its people. At
night it is the once who keeps their secrets.