Branding the American West
Subtitle: Paintings and Films, 1900-1950
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
Published: Feb 17, 2016
Language: eng
Format: hardcover
Number of pages: 240
ISBN-13: 9780806152912
Description: "Artists and filmmakers in the early twentieth century reshaped our vision of the American West. In particular, the Taos Society of Artists and the California-based artist Maynard Dixon departed from the legendary depiction of the "Wild West" and fostered new images, or brands, for western art. This volume, illustrated with more than 150 images, examines select paintings and films to demonstrate how these artists both enhanced and contradicted earlier representations of the West. Prior to this period, American art tended to portray the West as a wild frontier with untamed lands and peoples. Renowned artists such as Henry Farny and Frederic Remington set their work in the past, invoking an environment immersed in conflict and violence. This trademark perspective began to change, however, when artists enamored with the Southwest stamped a new imprint on their paintings. As we discover through the paintings showcased in this book, the Taos artists of New Mexico depicted a landscape, people, and environment immersed in change. At the same time Maynard Dixon expanded that vision, and his trademark Thunderbird signature gave literal meaning to the branding concept. The contributors to this volume illuminate the complex ways in which early-twentieth-century artists, as well as filmmakers, evoked a southwestern environment not just suspended in time but also permanent rather than transient. Yet, as the authors also reveal, these artists were not entirely immune to the siren call of the vanishing West, and their portrayal of peaceful yet "exotic" Native Americans was an expansion rather than a dismissal of earlier tropes. Both brands cast a romantic spell on the West, and both have been seared into public consciousness"--Jacket.
Notes: Source title: Branding the American West: Paintings and Films, 1900-1950 (Volume 23) (The Charles M. Russell Center Series on Art and Photography of the American West)