Ship Rock and Old Juniper

Arthur Hall

Shiprock is a rock formation in the high desert plain of the Four Corners region of the Navajo Nation in San Juan County, New Mexico. It is classified as a monadnock: a massive rock formation, mesa, or mountain that juts abruptly out of an otherwise flat landscape. Called the tse bit'a'i, or "winged rock" by the Navajo, it has been a source of creation mythology and spiritual signifcance for the tribe for thousands of years, as well as an artistic inspiration to many modern day artists.

In Hall's image the formidable rock, whose silhouette speaks so powerfully of the early, violent formation of the earth, is forced into a diminutive perspective in contrast with an ancient, curling juniper tree in the foreground. In essence, Hall's drawing is a study of time itself.