The Plain of Smokes

In the late 1970s, poet and environmental activist Harvey Mudd crossed paths with “surfer-artist” and noted ceramist Ken Price in Taos, New Mexico. Both native Californians had recently relocated to the high-desert enclave of Norther New Mexico from Los Angeles. In 1978, Mudd and Price began work on an ode to the Los Angeles that shaped them both.

The process of conceptualizing, developing, and creating The Plain of Smokes, has been described by Mudd as the true definition of the word “collaboration.” Both Mudd and Price continually motivated revision in each other’s work, resulting in a thought-provoking visualization of dialogue between two artists.

Published by Arabesque Books in 1981, The Plain of Smokes is a 75-page book of poetry by Mudd with illustrations by Price. Price’s signature bold lines and nearly grotesque, provocative forms are accompanied by the biting text of Harvey Mudd’s poetry. Together, the prints and the poetry create a neo-noir portrait of the city of Los Angeles told across time and space — through the looking glass of Taos.

The New Mexico Museum of Art is privileged to own one edition of only 26 copies of The Plain of Smokes printed by SOMA Fine Art Press in San Francisco by master printer Gary Lichtenstein. This exhibition will feature the 26 prints from the Plain of Smokes, as well as the portfolio box and printed manuscript of poems alongside ceramic works by Ken Price.