It's a confusing scene. Where are we? What are we looking at?

An attractive terrace at the University of Virginia with fallen magnolia leaves. I guess Jefferson is in for some more rough times in the future in light of the present political climate. He wanted to be remembered for three things but we don't actually get to choose how people remember us. He had a good run. Well, he got away with a lot in life. We shouldn't be worrying too much if he pays for a little bit of it in death. That said, I hope no harm comes to UVA in any physical form because it is a treat for the visitor. Maybe they might settle for renaming it the University of Sally Hemmings' Sperm Donor and save it any structural damage. A beautiful campus. And also the place the well bred gentlemen of Virginia studied and began their careers to sustain an apartheid society and all that entails.

Can photographs manage to convey the complicated social messaging of such things? Short answer: No. It takes a lot of active involvement by the spectator to carry that kind of information. Granted, the architectural style is often linked to fascism but I think it takes a lot more than a balustrade to show what is in a man's heart. Or head. Or pants.

This is a reworked pic from a few years ago. I didn't think much of it when I did it but a few years have changed my opinion of it. I know more about magnolias now. Fantastic trees. I see the caterpillar trail of the balustrade, and it reminds me of the slow progress, the near invisible progress that each year makes on us. The dark shadows that are cast were too confusing when I made it. But, hey, now there is some symbolism there that I can appreciate.

Still, It's a confusing scene. Where are we? What are we looking at?