This painting by Les Namingha is entitled, “Window in Time”.  It is part of his “Urban Polychrome series.  The paining is graphite, ink pencil and wax crayon on paper.  It is a very dramatic painting.  The black lines form the window which presents the viewer looking out into the past.  Hopi-Tewa designs are painted boldly in clay colors while the other designs are simply outlines.  The further back one looks, the more (or maybe less) one sees.  Les says of the Urban Polychrome series:

“The concept of layering is inherent in our mortal journey. As time moves forward, our memories become layered. Some memories remain vibrant, others faint or hazy. Yet others, obscure or even hidden. Likewise, our experiences, words, works, emotions, prayers and songs build up in layers creating our existence. In turn, our societal interactions become exercises in layering. We see this in evidence with street art or graffiti writing where layers of thought and a desire to express a “proof of existence” create tapestries of color and marks. Blending, covering, harmonizing, dissonance, disappearing. This concept of layering is the idea behind Urban Polychrome and other works in the Urban Series.”