Metaphysical Archives - The Art of Perception

Another Personal Being Drifting In Time

We know the photo was made at an urban studio in early 20th Century America. We know who paid the bill but not the name of the sitter. The picture comes from a collection at the Library of Congress. It is a struggle to grasp the meaning of human beings in time. At […]

Continue Reading
May 25, 2023 By Redburnusa
A Case of Deceptive Exegesis

And your people will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up and restore the age-old foundations [of buildings that have been laid waste]; You will be called Repairer of the Breach, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. Isaiah 58:12 (AMP) For twenty years I lived a few miles from a research university, and attended […]

Continue Reading
March 21, 2023 By Redburnusa
Photographing An Angelic Being

Angels: spirit-beings, meta-persons, resurrected entities, signs, messengers, benefactors, cherubs. Angels: lambs, virgins, harbingers, innocent couriers, prefigurements. According to Saint Augustine: “Every visible thing in this world is put under the charge of an angel.” Some say: “Because they inhabit unknowable, invisible worlds — taken on faith — angels are beyond proof, mere fantasies.” Others have […]

Continue Reading
February 8, 2023 By Redburnusa
The Newlyweds I Never Knew

“If the plastic arts were put under psychoanalysis, the practice of embalming the dead might turn out to be the fundamental factor in their creation … providing a defense against the passage of time it satisfied a basic psychological need in man, for death is but the victory of time.” André Bazin — from The […]

Continue Reading
January 29, 2023 By Redburnusa
- Autobiographical
- Metaphysical
City Of Memories

For me Flagstaff is a city of memories, where my father and mother both died — each at the end of a long life. During my many visits fond memories formed of sister, brother, niece. Among ponderosa pines outside the town I once recovered from trauma and loss. The extinct volcano dominating the sky above […]

Continue Reading
January 3, 2023 By Redburnusa
Ancient Longings

“Theoretically, a perfect photograph is absolutely inexhaustible. In a painting you can find nothing which the artist has not seen before you; but in a perfect photograph there will be as many beauties lurking, unobserved, as there are flowers that blush unseen in forests and meadow …. Form is henceforth divorced from matter. In fact, […]

Continue Reading
January 2, 2023 By Redburnusa
In the Wake of an American Genius

“These beliefs are barking mad.” Words spoken by British scientist Richard Dawkins during an interview — referring to Mormon Church doctrines. I take notes when watching video-talks on subjects like philosophy, theology, cosmology and evolutionary biology. After writing down our epigram from Doctor Dawkins, an image appeared to my mind of a woman in an […]

Continue Reading
December 4, 2022 By Redburnusa
Silicon Intelligence — The Latest Outrage

“This isn’t going to stop. Art is dead, dude. It’s over. A.I. has won. Humans lost.” Jason M. Allen — speaking to a reporter after winning $300 at a State Fair art competition, for a piece he created using text-to-image software, enabled by robots scraping images — and their text alternatives — off the worldwide […]

Continue Reading
October 7, 2022 By Redburnusa
Concerning Camp Followers

Our subject’s livelihood — Camp Follower — has taken its place among disappeared categories. It is a job title now as antiquated as the milkman, switch-board operator and video-store clerk. Before the rise of logistics experts and corporate vendors, historical armies on the move in warfare depended on informal support: food needs preparing; gear needs […]

Continue Reading
September 12, 2022 By Redburnusa
Pleasure From Low Relief

[The photograph above simulates bas-relief; it was edited and enhanced by digital means.] Often I cannot explain when asked: Why do you like that? For example: Why do I esteem art in low-relief? It’s hard to give reasons why I like it so much. A cynical person might want to know what else captivates us […]

Continue Reading
June 19, 2022 By Redburnusa

Latest Entries

A Most Challenging Look
In Cultural Anthropology, Environmental Portraiture, Street Photography
In their frankness her eyes disconcert me. She […]
Why I Came Home Early
In Autobiographical, Cultural Anthropology, Egypt, Middle East
Assume you are a middle-aged man born and raised in […]
A Scene From Yesteryear
In Americana, Cultural Anthropology, Street Photography
In this slice of American history, relaxation — […]
On Visiting A Bonfire-Site
In Art Historical, Cultural Anthropology, Pilgrimages, Reportage
A Ruined Chapel in the California Desert […]
Another Anomalous Vision
In Americana, Cultural Anthropology, Inexplicables, Street Photography
“If an extraterrestrial came to earth and […]

About the Author

Redburnusa is a pseudonym used by a photographer living near Phoenix, Arizona. Mr. Howerton comments on meaning in photography and his own journey from the perspective of a seeker, rather than a professional artist or credentialed intellectual. He has authored each journal entry. Mr. Howerton has created and edited every image appearing here, unless otherwise indicated in the text. To contact him personally, write to crhowerton@gmail.com.

You can view his Desert Portfolio here: http://www.desertperceptions.com.

Another Personal Being Drifting In Time

A Case of Deceptive Exegesis

Photographing An Angelic Being

The Newlyweds I Never Knew

City Of Memories

Ancient Longings

In the Wake of an American Genius

Silicon Intelligence — The Latest Outrage

Concerning Camp Followers

Pleasure From Low Relief

Latest Entries

Subject Categories

About the Author

Journal Archives