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Studio Q Photography

Exploring Human Behavior and Death Anxiety Through Art
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“Mountain Bell Cactus, Five Evening Primroses, and Barley, Sitting in European Silver” 10” x 10” (25,4 x 24,4cm) RA-4 Reversal Direct Color Print, June 29, 2023 Pediocactus simpsonii, or Mountain Ball Cactus, is a species that grows at high altitudes in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

The Tabeguache Band of Colorado: Known Today as The Uncompahgre Ute

Quinn Jacobson June 30, 2023

The Ute, pronounced as "yoot," refer to themselves as the Noochew or Nuuchui, meaning "Ute People." The term "Utah," the name of the state, originates from the Spanish word "Yutah," which describes the Ute as the "high land" or "land of the sun."

Renowned for their courage, some historians believe the Ute possessed comparable skill and cunning to the Apaches. In the past, they occupied an expansive territory of approximately 79 million acres in the Great Basin region. Their extensive travels through the picturesque mountainous landscapes of the Western region led them to establish trails, the remnants of which proved invaluable to the white settlers who eventually displaced them.

Early observers noted the remarkable proficiency of Ute women in tanning hides, which served as valuable trade items and were used for clothing. They adeptly worked with buffalo, deer, elk, and mountain sheep hides. Ute women typically adorned themselves in long, belted dresses, leggings, and moccasins. Meanwhile, men wore shirts, leggings, and moccasins for their daily activities, reserving elaborate feathered headdresses for special occasions. During times of conflict, many men painted their bodies and faces using yellow and black pigments. Women occasionally painted their faces and adorned their hair partings. Some Ute individuals pierced their noses, inserting small, polished animal bones, while others tattooed their faces using cactus thorns dipped in ashes. Both men and women occasionally wore necklaces crafted from animal claws, bones, fish skeletons, and juniper seeds.

Early Ute ceremonies involved clothing embellishments such as paint, hair fringes, rows of elk teeth, or brightly dyed porcupine quills. Later, as the Ute acquired beads from European traders, their costumes incorporated intricate beadwork.

The Ute held two significant ceremonies—the Sun Dance and the Bear Dance—which continue to be performed annually.

The Sun Dance reflects a personal desire for spiritual power provided by the Great Spirit, but each dancer also represents their family and community, transforming the dance into a communal sharing experience. The Sun Dance is based on a fable about a man and a woman who left their tribe amid a severe famine. During their voyage, they discovered a deity who taught them the Sun Dance practices. When they returned to their tribe and performed the ceremony, a herd of buffalo appeared, putting an end to the hunger.

The Sun Dance ceremony encompasses several days of clandestine rituals followed by a public dance around a Sun Dance pole, symbolizing the connection to the Creator. These rituals involve fasting, prayer, smoking, and the preparation of ceremonial objects.

Describing a modern Sun Dance atop Sleeping Ute Mountain, journalist Jim Carrier recounted, "Night and day, for four days, the dancers charged the pole and retreated, back and forth in a personal gait. There were shuffles, hops, and a prancing kick. While they blew whistles made from eagle bones, their bare feet marked a 25-foot (7.5-kilometer) path in the dirt."

The Bear Dance, conducted annually in the spring, venerates the grizzly bear, revered by the Ute for imparting strength, wisdom, and survival skills. In earlier times, the Bear Dance coincided with the bears emerging from hibernation and aimed to awaken the bears to guide the Ute towards bountiful sources of nuts and berries. The dance served as a joyous social occasion after enduring a harsh winter.

The Bear Dance involves constructing a sizable circular enclosure made of sticks, representing a bear's den. Music played within the enclosure symbolizes the thunder that rouses the slumbering bears. The dance follows a "lady's choice" tradition, allowing Ute women to show their preference for a certain man. The Bear Dance ceremony traditionally lasted for four days and four nights. The dancers wore plumes that they would leave on a cedar tree at the east entrance of the corral. Leaving the feathers behind represented discarding past troubles and starting fresh.

MY PHOTOGRAPHS AS RESIDUE
My photographs for this project are what I consider residue. Residue is a small amount of something that remains after the main part has gone, been taken, or been used. It’s a lot like memory. The function of photography is to somehow "show" the memories and residue of a person, place, or thing.

I’m approaching these ideas indirectly. It’s a conscious choice to make the work somewhat abstract, like all memories are. This isn’t a documentary project, although it’s difficult to put anything in a box. There are elements that seem to fit, at least somewhat, into the documentary category. However, I would never consider this work documentary photography. The context and narrative provide the direction of the work. It’s my personal journey to discover answers to questions that I’ve wrestled with for decades. There’s no doubt it’s interdisciplinary work, combining art and several disciplines in the sciences and psychology. I think that’s what makes it interesting.

The book, in context, will give the reader and viewer an insight, not only about my journey but also about the human condition and what knowledge of our mortality does to us. I connect the events of the 19th century clearly to the theories of death anxiety and terror management theory. I show both the beauty of the land as well as inferring the loss. I show life as well as death through the flora and landscape photographs. My hope is that for those who read it, it will inspire and enlighten. That it will bring forward the beauty of life and appreciation of the awe that surrounds us, as well as an understanding of how evil is manifested in our human condition.

“Mountain Bell Cactus and White Granite,” 10” x 10” (25,4 x 24,4cm) RA-4 Reversal Direct Color Print, June 29, 2023 Pediocactus simpsonii, or Mountain Ball Cactus, is a species that grows at high altitudes in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

In Art & Theory, Color Prints, Creating A Body Of Work, Death Anxiety, Denial of Death, Direct Color Prints, Mountain Life, New Book 2023, Project Wor\k, Project Work, RA-4 Reversal Positive, Quinn Jacobson, Shadow of Sun Mountain, Uncompahgre Tags In the Shadow of Sun Mountain, tabeguache, uncompahgre, color direct prints, RA-4, ra-4 reversal prints, RA-4 Reversal Direct-Positive Printing, Ute Indians, ute country, native american
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Whole Plate wet collodion negative - May 28, 2022 - Nuuchiu Project, Colorado U.S.A.

The Circle of Life and the Nuuchiu

Quinn Jacobson May 28, 2022

Since our big snowstorm hit last week, I’ve had some time to do some research and reading. I’m trying to consume everything I can about the Nuuchiu (“New-chew” means “Mountain People”) also known as the Ute that lived here. The past few days I’ve been reading about their “Circle of Life” belief. I’m very interested in both their cultural and spiritual beliefs. I would like that knowledge to inform my images and support the work.

They’re the only tribe in North America that doesn’t have a migration story. That means they’ve been here (in Colorado) for time immemorial, or “forever”. I struggle with the idea of this land being stolen from them (their land) and moved to reservations. I hope this project will elevate and honor them in some way, that’s my desire. I remember a George Carlin quote. He said, “Sometimes people say, 'Do I try to make audiences think? ' I say: 'No no no,' because that really would be the kiss of death, but what I want them to know is that I'm thinking." That really sums up what I want for my work. Even if people don’t like it, I want them to know that I think about these things - a lot.

For now, I’ve decided to call my project, “Nuuchiu” or “Mountain People”. Although it won’t have images of the people, it will contain a lot of what was most important to them. Their land, rock formations, sacred sites, trees, and plants. I’m interested in the symbology of these things. In other words, they are literal but I want to show them symbolically as well. Tying stories to the objects is the most important thing to me. Telling their stories as best I can with my own interpretation of the objects. I’m in no way claiming expertise on Native American culture or history. I’m an artist asking questions, that’s all. However, I do live here and I can feel what they saw, how they lived, and the beauty and mystery they found here for thousands of years.

The Circle of Life is a central theme of Nuuchui/The Mountain People. The Ute people have a unique relationship with the land, plants, and all living things. The Circle of Life represents the unique relationship in its shape, colors, and reference to the number four, which represents ideas and qualities for the existence of life.

The People of the early Ute Tribes lived a life in harmony with nature, each other, and all of life. The Circle of Life symbolizes all aspects of life. The Circle represents the Cycle of Life from birth to death of People, animals, all creatures, and plants. The early Ute People understood this cycle. They saw its reflection in all things. This brought them great wisdom and comfort. The Eagle is the spiritual guide of the People and of all things. Traditionally, the Eagle appears in the middle of the Circle.

The Circle is divided into four sections. In the Circle of Life, each section represents a season: spring is red, summer is yellow, fall is white, and winter is black. The Circle of Life joins together the seasonal cycles and the life cycles. Spring represents Infancy, a time of birth, of newness-the time of “Spring Moon, Bear Goes Out.” Summer is Youth. This is a time of curiosity, dancing, and singing. Fall represents Adulthood, the time of manhood and womanhood. This is the time of harvesting and of change - “When Trees Turn Yellow” and “Falling Leaf Time.” Winter begins for gaining wisdom and knowledge - of “Cold Weather Here.” Winter represents Old Age; a time to prepare for passing into the spirit world.

The “Circle of Life” - from a whole plate wet collodion negative - May 28, 2022 - Nuuchiu land, Colorado.

Whole Plate wet collodion negative - May 28, 2022 - Nuuchiu land, Colorado U.S.A.

Culturally Modified Trees. I’ll talk more about CMTs as my project evolves, but you can read about them here, a post I did almost a year ago talking about my project. From a wet collodion negative - May 28, 2022.

Tags Nuuchiu Project, Ute Indians

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