This blog is dedicated to the memory of Stan Matlick of Bishop, California, who passed away in May 2013. A local hero to many for how he stood up to the City. Click on his photograph to read his obituary.
The Owens Valley has come alive through the voices of the very people who know it best – citizens. And they have artist Kim Stringfellow to thank. Stringfellow, with the support of Cal Humanities, an independent non-profit state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities, has produced a 90-minute downloadable audio driving tour of the Owens Valley, There It Is – Take It! Stringfellow captures, in one place, the best reminiscences and viewpoints I’ve ever seen (or rather, heard) about the history of the Los Angeles Aqueduct (which turns 100 this year). She doesn’t take sides and gives equal time to academics, the Department of Water and Power, members of the Big Pine and Bishop Paiute tribes and local environmental activists, among others.
Kim lives in the beautiful Mojave Desert town of Joshua Tree, California and teaches multimedia and photography courses at San Diego State University as an associate professor in the School of Art, Design, and Art History. Kim’s work focuses on ecology and history as it relates to land use and the built environment.
Thank you Kim for your masterpiece!
Luckily, you don’t have to be in your car on Highway 395 to travel to the amazing Owens Valley. Listen to the 17 tracks from the comfort of your laptop. Burn the entire program on a CD or download it to your mobile device as a podcast.
Close your eyes and I guarantee you’ll see the incomparable Owens Valley in your mind’s eye.
A canal of the Owens River east of Bishop, California. So peaceful in this photo, but the source of much conflict, beautifully summarized in Kim Stringfellow’s “There It Is, Take It!” work of audio art. Photo by the author.
Near the intersection of Highway 395 and Highway 6 in the Owens Valley. Fences like these are commonplace reminders of a rural past and present. Photo by author.
Owens Valley and the Los Angeles Aqueduct. Map courtesy of “There It Is – Take It!” website.