"I can create my own reality, populate the world with my own beings and stretch the imagination. My paintings are confrontational, not comfortable. They require viewer participation. You have to imagine what it might be out there that gives a character such a countenance. What is he responding to? What is the nature of the abyss into which he gazes?" - Lawrence W. Lee

Among the pueblo priests was Pope, a native of San Juan Pueblo, who had since become a leader in Taos. He was described as possessing "incandescent hatred", unequaled organizational savvy and the ability to commune with underworld spirits who danced for him in his darkened kiva. Secretly he plotted a revolt, set for August 11. The year was 1680. During the revolt, the cross, a meaningful symbol for both sides was chosen to signify the intentions of the Spanish. Long before its Christian connotation, natives of North America used the four arms of the cross to point to the four sacred directions, each with its own realm of significance, deities, assigned color and particular powers.

Despite his insistence on secrecy, the Spanish were informed of a rebellion by some of the pueblos that had refused to join the revolt, so Pope was forced to act immediately. He dispatched runners to order an attack for the morning of August 10. It is still somewhat of a mystery today of how quickly the pueblos rallied to the attack. They were located at considerable distances and some groups spoke languages that were not mutually intelligible. Franciscan priests in Zuni, Jemez, San Juan, San Idelfonso, Nambe and other sites were killed, numbering 21 in all. Virtually every Pueblo in the northeast had risen and raided the haciendas, leaving all inhabitants dead. In some districts, no Spanish survived. Meanwhile, Governor Otermin was fortifying Santa Fe, a refuge for inhabitants of nearby haciendas . Other Spanish settlers huddled in Isleta, far to the South, one of the few pueblos that had refused to join the revolt. After two skirmishes in Santa Fe, 400 Spaniards were dead.