Last Gods' Retreat by Susan Lowdermilk

LED lights give a numinous illumination to movable and translucent forms in this book. Photographs are by Denis Keogh. Book design and construction by Susan Lowdermilk. The poem, Last Gods’ by Galway Kinnell served as inspiration. The images are from the plains of southeast Montana. At the edge of broken pavement and frayed culture of the Northern Cheyenne, this large wooden cone was in the slow process of dissolution by the elements. The derelict structure, squat, low and snug to the earth, was more than a kitschy echo of the vital architecture of a once vibrant people. In its dilapidated, vulnerable state, it had the presence of a temple. Prayer flags of colorful scraps of plastic and cloth littered the place. Broken plastic trays were bowls for alms. It was a place where travelers could stop and experience some vague, innate sense of longing and loss, as well as reassurance of the timelessness of the elements and the continuation of the world’s story.