The fantastical sculpted heads that look down on us from the columns of this 14th century Franciscan Monastery cloister express the essence of the medieval times in which they were created. While columns are not technically walls, their function is the same. They hold up a roof. These columns speak to us just as vividly as any wall could. This is fine art. At the time they were created, a sculptor wanted the “walls” of the cloister to speak to us. Seven hundred years later, they are still doing just that. To make them speak to us from within the frame of a photograph, I shot these heads through the palm fronds that fill the center of the cloister, which helps to animate them by comparing them to a living thing and adds the illusion of depth to the image. By stressing the evocative play of light and shadow on their faces, and the musty ancient colors, I try to make my viewers listen to what this long-dead sculptor is expressing to us.