New Mexico: A Guide for the Eyes [Hardcover]

Elisa Parhad (Author), Lynne Arany (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2009

Visually focused, packed with cultural insight, and sized for portability, Guides for the Eyes celebrate the local traditions and visual vernacular that surrounds us. Operating at the intersection of art and anthropology, each edition in the series explores place through 100 of the most notable features of a region. Vivid photography and informative text provide insight into the significance of each topic, covering regional architecture, design, flora, fauna, food, crafts, folklore, landscape, and other facets of local identity and style. Ranging from the obvious to the obscure, these distinguishing elements define a locale as somewhere as opposed to anywhere.

As one of the most unique and colorful regions of North America, New Mexico is the first subject of the series. Throughout thousands of years, the state s striking landscape has inspired the art, design and traditions of its three dominant cultures: Native American, Hispanic and Anglo/Western. These distinct groups continue to blend and evolve, infusing the rustic land with a compelling vibrancy, unrivaled in its beauty.

Editorial Reviews

Review

What a great way to introduce guests to the beauty and allure of this place, as well as serve as a resource for those of us who have lived in and loved New Mexico for many years--a fun and thought provoking read. --Cathy L. Wright, Director of the Albuquerque Museum of Art & History

I highly recommend this 'blue corn, blue door, blue sky' delight, not only as a guide for travelers, but as a book on teachers' desks, here at home and around the world. Somehow this writer takes us across centuries of landscape while leaving that green chile taste on our lips and that vast blue sky in our hearts. --Marth Becktell, Interim Museum Director of Albuquerque's Indian Pueblo Cultural Center

Like a secret decoder ring for the state--Parhad's approach is a genius way of sharing New Mexico's unique culture. No guidebook (not even mine) is both so focused and so informed. --Zora O'Neill, Author of Moon New Mexico

About the Author

A cultural anthropologist at heart and by trade, Elisa Parhad is passionate about exploring place, space, design, and culture. She was first introduced to New Mexico as a child, when her family moved to Albuquerque from Seattle, Washington. After completing Bachelors degrees in Cultural Anthropology and International Business at the University of Texas at Austin, she spent eight years studying American subcultures and communities to inform marketing messaging and advertising campaigns. She and her husband make their home in Los Angeles, California.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: EyeMuse Books; 1st edition (August 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0982049706
• ISBN-13: 978-0982049709
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #379,952 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #28 in Books > Travel > United States > States > New Mexico

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Anthropological Eye, February 12, 2010

By 

Rob Atkins (Vancouver, Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: New Mexico: A Guide for the Eyes (Hardcover)

I have several shelves full of books on New Mexico, particularly photo essays, but the most recent addition stands out, and for very good reason. Elisa Parhad's New Mexico: A Guide For the Eyes captures something of the essence of the Land of Enchantment in a way that other books do not. Between the significantly colored turquoise end papers of this small book, Parhad takes us through a pantheon of cultural icons of the state. Some are well-known: adobe, chile, pickup trucks, hot air balloons, and the ocean of limitless blue sky, but also included are the not so well-known. Spending time with this book, one learns of Avanyu, the spirit of a serpent, which folk legend tells us resides in the rivers of New Mexico. There are also pawn shops, which have a surprising and historically important history in the state, and the Ditch Witch, a fictional creation of the Albuquerque city government intended to warn children away from playing in potentially dangerous arroyos, which can become flooded after a sudden rain storm.

The visual contribution to this book by an array of photographers is clear, graphic and very engaging. It's amazing how, by focusing on a small detail, the spirit of a much larger subject can be conveyed. An example is the viga. At first look it appears to be a photograph of a Navajo blanket, but we soon realize that the pattern is of the wooden ceiling structure traditionally found in older adobe buildings. The state symbol, the Zia sun, is cleverly illustrated by a shot of rusty license plates nailed to a wall.

I would recommend this book without hesitation to anyone who loves New Mexico and reading about American history and folklore. Parhad's writing takes the reader far below the surface detail usually covered in travel books. Even grumpy old Zozobra would love this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best New Mexico Experience in a book., December 29, 2010

By 

S. Dolk "amateur of life" (New Mexico) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: New Mexico: A Guide for the Eyes (Hardcover)

I also write about Albuquerque and Central New Mexico for my Bed and Breakfast guests and potential guests, and in my opinion New Mexico: A Guide for the Eyes is a New Mexico must-read. One day a guest bought this book and showed it to all our B&B guests. No one could put it down so I decided to stock them and offer a sample copy in each of our rooms, because this book gives such perfect insight and understanding of the New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment. It is often hard for visitors who are new to the southwest to understand the blending of cultures here, never mind all the new words and nuances because there is so much to take in on your first visit. I recommend getting this book before you visit. The knowledge it will bring you is priceless. The photography is top notch and will quickly lure you into our diverse culture. This book will make you an expert before you even get here. If you are already hooked on New Mexico, having this book in your library will take you back in your mind to all the beauty and wonderment of your first visit to the Land of Enchantment.

5.0 out of 5 stars Enchantment in small bites at a time, October 27, 2009

By 

Robert C. Ross (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: New Mexico: A Guide for the Eyes (Hardcover)

Elisa Parhad has produced what she calls "a conversational phrasebook for the eyes", meant to help the casual visitor decipher the symbols, foods and land formations that make up the "everyday soul of a place." Each entry consists of a photograph and a written description, and there are over 100 entries in this pocket sized guide book.

"Reading" the book takes a certain poetic mindset. It's best to just look at a single picture and allow it to wash over your imagination. Then read Parhad's short description, which will lead your imagination along one or more of paths that she has already taken. The photographs are so well chosen that you may find new pathways, or find pathways you didn't know existed in images you know well.

For example, the pickup truck is endemic in New Mexico, and on first vieweing Parhad's photo and description were interesting but not especially memorable. On a second (or was it a third?) viewing, though, I suddenly noticed the dried mud along one of the fenders, and realized that I had seen a variety of dirt and mud on trucks as I walked through a parking lot near Albertson's on my last visit to Santa Fe. Each truck carries a record of its recent journeys through the dirt and gravel roads and byways that are so common in the state.

Although I enjoyed dreaming through the book, the written entries sometimes seemed cryptic and left me hungry for more information on the entries I didn't know, and, rarely, a little bored by the entries I did know well. (Or thought I did - sometimes a second or third viewing as with the pickup truck picture led me to new delights.)

[A small sampling of the photos including some of the trucks appears at the eyemusebooks website; the author maintains a very pretty website with some delicious recipes, some lovely pictures, and a bit about things that bring joy to her life.]

Nonetheless, this little book makes a very pretty gift for someone who doesn't know of the treasures that are part of the fabric of the Land of Enchantment. It's also a wonderful aid to the memory and imagination of people who know the state well.

Robert C. Ross 2009