I recently just got promoted at my workplace and have been awfully busy recently. I don't have any fancy visits to galleries or insightful participations in lectures today, but I do have an interesting topic I want to talk about brought to me by one of my other Professors. Feast your eyes below on the wonders!
This, my fellow classmates, is the "Cueva de los Crystales" or the "Crystal Cave" of Mexico. In a remote town in Northern Mexico within a mine know as Naica, this cluster of crystals was discovered by two brothers drilling down as much as a thousand feet below ground. These crystal are truly a wonder to behold. They grow to enormous size, reaching and puncturing the earth in a plethora of chromatic colors. To show the scale, here is another picture.
As I'm sure all can see, these crystals dwarf those who stand among them. If a tourist was curious enough to want to take a look themselves, they will learn that it is not so easy. Being so deep underground, reaching the cave is an endeavor all on it's own. When done so, anyone entering must wear the appropriate outfit. All who go to the caves as can be seen in these pictures are in cooling suits. The amount of heat produced by the chemical reactions to create these crystals are not something the human body can withstand. It has been reported that temperatures can reach well over one hundred degrees and that humidity levels are as high as ninety to one-hundred percent.
If all these obstacles are conquered however, the reward is a view of some of the most fantastic natural structures in the world. The many prismatic colors that these crystals can produce are said to be life changing. Even so, it is ill-advised to stay too long. The continuous chemical reactions between water and elements such as calcium to form these nearly limitless shapes and designs can be straining. It is said that the reflective quality and jarring translucency and transparency created by these minerals can cause some searing migraines. Regardless, their beauty is still worth all the trouble to see them personally.
With all that being said and done, I would like to mention again that these crystal are truly beautiful. They actually remind me of Donald Judd's works, but on a more gigantic and less precise scale. I don't know how I made this connection, but I did. Now I ask you, my fellow classmates. How is it that I have come to this comparison? I might not know myself, but maybe the lot of you can explain it to me. To make things easier, here are some examples of Donald Judd's works.
Anyway, that's all I have for today. Hopefully I'll have something more substantial for next time.
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