Force and Quietude in an Otherworldly Landscape

by James Schaub

Chief Curator and Gallery Director

Tohono Chul Gallery

Tohono Chul Park, Tucson, AZ

Late 1993, I walk into the Scottsdale Civic Center Library for the first time. A few feet inside, up high on the wall is a poster with an image of a glowing Blue Saguaro. It grabs me right away and holds me there. The saguaro is electric and following its lead, every other element in the image – including the sky, is reflecting, absorbing, or emitting an odd spiritual aura. Jupiter, falling to the right of the saguaro, hints at the passage of time, yet the time of day in indeterminable. The image is beautifully composed; it is mysterious, mystical, and painterly. Despite how active the jarring incandescent light renders the scene, it also, strangely enough, imparts an engaging serenity I want to bask in - maybe even taking the place of the saguaro, front and center in that timeless welcoming otherworldly landscape.

I spend a fair amount of time, standing there, looking at it.  I know that because, as I turn away, the librarian kindly confirms my interest, telling me – “It does the same thing to me - pretty wonderful! Isn’t it? His book is right over there.” I am directed to the stacks where I find the book William Lesch. EXPANSIONS  – (the image: Blue Saguaro and Jupiter (1988) printed on the poster graces its cover). I spend my lunch hour looking over the book, I get a library card. The book stays with me for the next month, the image stays with me for the next 27 years, still counting.