Thursday, January 21, 2010

Our "Georgia O'Keefe" tree

Here is the opposite view of the photo that I showed yesterday. You will see the same dead tree trunk that was in the photo I posted the last two days, including from December 2005.

My wife refers to the tree trunk as our "Georgia O'Keefe tree." The texture of the tree trunk, and colors of the sky and sea behind it, evoke the type of imagery that Julie imagines Georgia O'Keefe would have painted if she were sitting on the balcony of our condo, sharing this view with us.

There are several problems with Julie's theory, of course. (1) Georgia O'Keefe died 20 years before our condo was built. (2) O'Keefe found her artistic and spiritual home in the high desert of New Mexico. The tropical environment of Costa Rica just does not seem like O'Keefe country to me.

I do not have as much interest in the O'Keefe tree. I would rather speculate about the photos that her husband, Alfred Steiglitz, would have taken if he had visited Costa Rica with her.

OK, I know what you are thinking. (1) How many glasses of wine to accompany the sunset did Dave and Julie have when they had this conversation; and (2) did they get baked in the sun too much during the day? Well, one of the benefits of having a place on the beach is to be able to contemplate questions that would not come to mind in a day at the office, or driving in traffic, or watching the news back in the USA.

This week on our travel photo site, Viva la Voyage, we happen to be showing photos from Costa Rica, which of course is what I show in this site every day. Some of our favorite Costa Rica photos are featured this week.

8 comments:

Sharon said...

I can almost hear this conversation! I must admit, I love that tree. It always made an interesting addition to those marvelous sunset pictures taken from the balcony.

Phivos Nicolaides said...

Spectacular scenery and a great shot!

lizziviggi said...

You do have a lovely view, and that tree adds such interest to it! Regardless of whether you agree with Julie on the Georgia O'Keefeness of the tree, I think she officially won the debate in that you will think of it that way ever after.

Judy said...

I'm glad the landscapers left that dead tree there. It adds to the scene and makes for interesting conversation.

glenda said...

Another great sunset in Costa Rica! That tree is a conversation piece. (obviously)

Rob Siemann said...

I'd rather see Gaughin painting this. Of course, he's been dead for even longer, but seems to be the right kind of environment for him

Bob Crowe said...

Pix like this one are too much for us Midwesterners to bear. It's been gray and foggy and rainy and foggy for days. At least someone in my family will get to see this soon.

Lots in Costa Rica said...

I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I think I will leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...