“Taking these photographs is a form of meditation.” —Holly Metz

HOLLY METZ
Photographer
Photographer Holly Metz asks the universal questions, then seeks answers with the eye of her lens. The stark simplicity of her black-and-white photos speaks volumes.

Metz gains inspiration from the desert outside her door—in saguaros and riverbeds. Born in West Virginia, she lives in Arizona’s Gila River Indian Community with her O’odham (Pima) husband and their two toddlers.

The Spirit of the Saguaro, an exhibit that opened at the Desert Botanical Garden last fall, is on display at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport from March 7 through Aug. 23. “The exhibit celebrates the radiant presence and ancient wisdom of the saguaro,” Metz relates. “The images express teachings I receive when I become still, when I give myself over, and I see with my whole body and mind.”

California writer Carolyn Brigit Flynn says of Metz’s photography: “Holly captures something timeless and holy in the world, something daunting and deeply hopeful.” A client has called Metz’s work “as soothing as the desert.”

Her current project, The Spirit of the River, explores the dry bed of the Gila River, where Metz wonders: “How do I photograph what is no longer here? Who are the River People without the river? What beauty and life forces remain?”

Metz earned a bachelor’s degree in international studies from West Virginia University and a master’s degree in cultural anthropology from the University of Arizona. She discovered photography near the end of her studies, and it quickly became what she calls her path to truth. “It’s about mindfulness, waking up,” she says.