Container of dreams by Natalie Christensen
Goody-Two-Shoes
Aren’t we setting the bar for virtue
a tad low here?
I’m glad that was never your style—
chatting about Boston,
cow-tippings in Austin,
how you need your café au lait
before you write a word.
And I flash back to pouring
coffee in my cereal—
last Tuesday, among others.
Mom stamps her heels twice—
two-minute warning.
Overhead in our childhood cupboards,
I button up my button down,
you strum a lute,
and down the steps
we both bump our heads
on the rafters we once hung from.
About the author:
Erik Moyer is from Hillsborough, New Jersey. He holds a BS from the University of Virginia, an MFA from the University of California, Irvine, and is currently a creative writing PhD student and graduate instructor at the University of North Texas. His work has been featured in Apricity, Bluestem, Constellations, Hawaii Pacific Review, Little Patuxent Review, and Lullwater Review, among others, and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Outside of school, he works as a data scientist for DiversityInc.
In the artist’s words:
Natalie Christensen. In 2014, I moved from the state of Kentucky to New Mexico, leaving my lifelong home and my 25-year career as a psychotherapist behind. While it was an exciting moment, it was also a time of questioning and reflection. Like many artists who have come to New Mexico, I was immediately drawn to the distinctive Southwestern light. The beauty of the natural environment is evident to most people; however, my interest was to explore the more banal peripheral landscapes that often go unnoticed by the casual observer. I began by photographing color fields and geometric shapes. I was interested in the way light and shadow could spark complex narratives, and I quickly became aware that these isolated moments in the suburban landscape were rich with metaphor. Closed and open doors, empty parking lots and forgotten swimming pools drew me to a scene; yet it was my reactions to these objects and spaces that elicited interpretation and projection.
As a psychotherapist, I learned the art of asking the question – in many ways these photographs are an extension of that work. The symbols and spaces in my images are an invitation to explore a rich world that is concealed from consciousness. And the scenes are an enticement to contemplate narratives that have no remarkable life or history yet tap into something deeply familiar to our experience; often disturbing, sometimes amusing…unquestionably present.
Multiple award-winning photographer Natalie Christensen seeks the sublime in ordinary settings. Career highlights: U.S./international museum/gallery exhibitions; feature and cover art Minimalism in Photography (teNeues, 2022); 007 – Natalie Christensen (Setanta Books, London); UAE Embassy culture tour delegate; Artist-in- Residence Chateau d’Orquevaux, France invitee; permanent collections; and features in numerous fine art publications.