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upper comers of work. The rock seems to be sitting on some sort of pedestal, imparting a
sense of significance to the object.
In the Viking collection, the narrative that O’Keeffe wrote to accompany this
painting is as follows:
The black rocks from the road to the Glen Canyon dam seem to have
become a symbol to me—of the wideness and wonder of the sky and the
world. They have lain there for a long time with the sun and wind and the
blowing sand making them into something that is precious to the eye and
hand—to find with excitement, to treasure and love.53
There are two main themes from the painting adapted in the musical setting: the
perspective of the rock which dominates the painting, and the idea that the blowing sand
has worn away at the rock for so many years that it now appears smooth and shiny. The
articulate opening gesture, marked forte and deliberately resonates with the first of these
themes in O’Keeffe’s painting. The music, shown in Example 2.4, begins in an almost
pretentious manner, a sharp contrast following the slow and seemingly meter-less first
movement. In this way the work echoes O’Keeffe’s perspective: this black rock is
remarkable and singular, not simply one of millions along a path. The use of a regular
meter, accents, louder dynamics, faster tempo, and more rhythmic motives in the opening
measures of the piece creates an aggressive atmosphere, perhaps signifying the detailed
close-up perspective in O’Keeffe’s painting or the idea that the rock began as a rough
object millions of years ago.54 The double stops in m. 5 and 7, inserted in the work’s
revision, add to the detailed texture of this section.
53 O’Keeffe, 107.
54 Furthermore, when coaching the piece, Larsen asked the author: “How aggressive can
you make it?” Larsen, interview, 8/2008.