BETWEEN HEAVEN AND TEXAS is dazzling. In a collection of meticulous prints, WYMAN MEINZER (who was proclaimed official state photographer in 1997 by then-governor George W. Bush) captures the limitless permutations of the Lone Star sky, from the serenity of cottony cumulus puffs to the bruising purple of a stormy sunset. The illusion of texture tempts you to run a hand across each page. A craftsman’s patience seems to be key; the sheer variety of skyscapes and horizons belies impossibly long stretches of time with a camera trained upward through rain and shine, day and night, sunrise and sunset. As with Meinzer’s earlier collaboration with writer John Graves, Texas Sky, complementary writings accompany these images: Texas Monthly writer-at-large Sarah Bird offers a typically wry meditation on clouds, and a host of poems, selected by Naomi Shihab Nye, illuminates the rest of the photos. The writings are intelligent and entertaining grace notes, but they can’t upstage the breathtaking visuals.
Book Review
Between Heaven and Texas

Comments