Background Report - Arizona Town Hall

Appendix B:
Poetry and Art: Information and Biographies
The art works that appear on the front and back covers, as well as those reproduced within
the report, reference broader issues that transcend the Arizona’s cultural community.
Janet Echelman’s Her Secret is Patience (2009), on the cover, speaks to Arizona’s national
leadership in the realm of public art. It is a signature piece of an ambitious vision for the
revitalization Phoenix’s downtown, bolstered by ASU’s downtown campus and the light rail
system, which opened in December 2008. On the back cover is a work by Matthew Moore.
He is the last of four generations of farmers in the West Valley, and his “Urban Plough” series
suggest the collision of suburban expansion and development with the state’s traditional
agricultural base. The photograph by Mark Klett and Byron Wolfe references a rich landscape
history, as well as the fact that with the Santa Fe Railway and the Fred Harvey Company, it
was artists who helped both to make the Grand Canyon grand and to sell the Southwest to
cultural tourists. Tiffiney Yazzie is a young Navajo photographer, and her image of a shelf of
books on Navajo culture records what are widely regarded as important publications on
the subject, but whose authors are are largely White. D. Bryon Darby dramatically visualizes
the dynamic growth of Arizona’s transportation hubs in his riveting image of seventy
flights landing at Sky Harbor Airport in a ninety-minute time span. The tile mural by
Cristina Cárdenas of Tucson is embedded in a long tradition of Latina art in the state of
Arizona and has deep links to the Mexican muralists. Cowboy poetry by Carole Jarvis
and Scott Baxter’s photograph of Sam Udall at the Y Cross Ranch references an important
part of Arizona’s heritage.
Scott T. Baxter has been a professional photographer for over twenty-five years. His
documentary projects include photographing the indigenous peoples of Chiapas, Mexico.
Project Statement: “100 Years 100 Ranchers” coincides with Arizona’s 2012 Centennial and
documents 100 Arizona ranchers whose families have been ranching in Arizona since 1912
or earlier. I have always been drawn to people. Regardless of the setting, the human element
in a photograph will always give one a sense of place and perspective. The ranching tradition
in Arizona is enduring and important, even more so as conditions such as encroaching
development, drought, and dire economic conditions have made a difficult way of life even
more tenuous. Disputes over water rights, grazing fees, and recreation have also deeply
affected the ranching way of life. The intense demanding work involved in running a ranch
has led some children to choose not to stay on and pursue this life. Ranchers love what they
do, and cherish the land and tradition that has been passed down to them through their f
amilies. My goal is to recognize the families that have struggled to survive and persevere in
these challenging times. As ranches are lost to developers and poor economic conditions, my
work preserves photographically an integral part of Arizona’s tradition and history. I work
with black and white large format film as a monochromatic study effectively portrays the
spirit of this unique group of Arizonans. Working with large and medium format film slows
down the process and allows me to engage my subjects in a more personal, less detached
manner. I travel to each rancher’s headquarters in order to get to know each individual and
their operations.
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