Part of Fortune and Part of Spirit

  • Dates
    2015 - Ongoing
  • Author
  • Topics Portrait, Landscape, Fine Art
  • Location United States, United States

Taking place in the deserts of California and Nevada, this work traces varying fragments that influence the evolution of new esoteric religious movements, illuminating the boundaries of belief and offering a meditation into the ideologies meant to eclipse the cycle of conventional life.

The Southwestern United States possesses a strange tale of western settlers seeking a utopian future. For those who aspire for divine knowledge it’s a place that holds the key to the mysteries of the cosmos. Luminous globes falling in arcs from the night sky, giant craters in the earth and unidentified radio signals all create fertile ground for conspiracy and myth to take root. Here beliefs both old and new intertwine, creating a realm where the magical and the ordinary are one and the same.

This work focuses on new religious movements of the region and the beliefs to which they adhere. Influenced by folklore of the American West, Sci-Fi cinema, secret military programs and Eastern and Indigenous mysticism the religious faiths I follow form a complex and entangled story. One aimed to illuminate the boundaries of belief and offer a meditation into the ideologies meant to eclipse the cycle of conventional life.

My photographs are combined with documents and images acquired from government archives, as well as original manuscripts tracing the origins of several religious faiths. Through the layering of these elements, this work aims to grant access to the traumas, wonder and eccentric realities of those living just outside the periphery of popular conventions. I see myself as not only presenting the myths and histories I unearth, but also being an active participant in the evolution of their representation.

© Antone  Dolezal - Dust Devil, Imperial Valley, CA
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Dust Devil, Imperial Valley, CA

© Antone  Dolezal - Healing Therapy
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Healing Therapy

© Antone  Dolezal - The Road Ahead
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The Road Ahead

© Antone  Dolezal - Swarm of Drones, Imperial Valley, CA
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Swarm of Drones, Imperial Valley, CA

© Antone  Dolezal - In the Days of the Comet
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In the Days of the Comet

© Antone  Dolezal - Crash Site, Nelson, NV
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Crash Site, Nelson, NV

© Antone  Dolezal - The Telling
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The Telling

© Antone  Dolezal - Bunker, Mesquite, NV
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Bunker, Mesquite, NV

© Antone  Dolezal - Chemical Fog, Salton Sea, CA
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Chemical Fog, Salton Sea, CA

© Antone  Dolezal - Contact
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Contact

© Antone  Dolezal - Shooting Range, Death Valley, CA
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Shooting Range, Death Valley, CA

© Antone  Dolezal - On the Outer Banks
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On the Outer Banks

© Antone  Dolezal - The Sleeper Wakes
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The Sleeper Wakes

© Antone  Dolezal - A Reading of Dreams
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A Reading of Dreams

© Antone  Dolezal - Conclave of Light
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Conclave of Light

© Antone  Dolezal - A Strange Fortune
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A Strange Fortune

© Antone  Dolezal - The Other Side of the Sky, Death Valley, CA
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The Other Side of the Sky, Death Valley, CA

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