Black gives the figure its ground
The nadir field anchors each mask to the smoke-darkened mesa house.
Reading the mask
A map held in color
N
W
S
E
Z
NAD
Turquoise points beyond the wall
Sakwa marks west and southwest, the water-seeking color carried in mineral pigment.
Ochre and red turn the face
Limonite holds north and northwest; hematite carries south and southeast.
White gathers the zenith
Kaolin whitewash keeps the eastern field legible above the carved cottonwood root.