Summer Vacation Redux #29: Denver Art Museum, part 9

Down through the magnificent Atrium of the Hamilton Building to second floor again and time for the current blockbuster special exhibition: "The Western: An Epic in Art & Film".  The premise is the power of the "West" in the American conscience and how iconic images transferred from art to film and then back again and finally back and forth to create a range of Archetypes that infiltrate every aspect of our culture and modern zeitgeist.  It's an ambition proposition, but in hands of this curatorial team one that produced an amazingly coherent and thought-provoking thesis through all manner of the visual arts and cinema.  I found myself constantly delighted by the works on display and projected.  In the world of art exhibitions, this one was hit right out of the park!

 "A Dash for the Timber" 1889 by Frederic Remington (1861 - 1909)  

Remington's painting is the first thing we encounter and who else would be more appropriate?  He is the quintessential artist of the Old West, a west that was still contemporary (or barely historical) in his own lifetime.

Stereo-optics of images by William H. Bell (1830-1910)

"Sunset, Green River Butte" 1915 by Thomas Moran (1837-1925)

Moran was the master painter of the western landscape creating enormous canvases so large that no normal sized room could faithfully accommodate them.  And so to discover this charming little--I mean 8" x 10" beauty was both atypical and delightful.  If only I'd held the camera straighter!

"Madonna of the Prairie" 1921 by William H. D. Koerner (1878-1938)

This is an image that was replicated in film by director James Cruze in the 1923 Paramount Picture "Covered Wagon".  Like how cool is that? 

"The End of the Trail" 1918 by James Earle Fraser (1876-1953)

Is there a more quintessential sculpture of the defeat of the spirit of Native American Indians? 

"Indian Warrior" circa 1922 by Alexander Phimister Proctor (1880-1950)

Nearby is this contemporary counterpoint of Native American Indian dignity and resolve.  The juxtaposition illustrates the schizophrenic relationship of the Native American Indian to the broader cultural understanding of the mythic "Wild West".  It's a dichotomy that will persist throughout both art and film to this present day.

"Cowboy Singing" circa 1892 by Thomas Eakins (1844-1916)

And, of course, not every image was one of such weighty intentions as Thomas Eakins reminds us.

"Westward the Star of Empire" 1867 by Theodore Kaufman (1814-1896)

At this point, I'm routing for the Indians!

"The Great Train Robbery" 1912 by Newell Convers Wyeth (1882-1945)

"Piegans" 1918 by Charles Marion Russell (1864-1926)

You may be asking yourself by now, "So where's the cinema?"  It's here.  It started back next to the N. C. Wyeth painting with a video looping of D. W. Griffith's seminal film "The Great Train Robbery".  And at this point in the exhibition key moments from classic Westerns start to dominate the works beckoning one to sit, take a load off, and rest a spell.

 Yes, that is the bike from "Easy Rider". 

"The American Indian (Russell Means)" 1976 by Andy Warhol (1928-1987)

"Indian Power" 1979 by Fritz Scholder (1937-2005)

In spite of his name, Scholder was a powerful force in the Native American Arts world.  He embraced is Luiseño Indian heritage and upbringing in South Dakota to spend his life as a role model for Native American artist.  I had the privilege of experiencing a seminal retrospective of his work shortly after the Museum of the North American Indian opened here in Washington, D. C.  It was a profoundly moving exploration of the meaning of culture and the triumph over adversity.  One of the most astounding works was a set of human skull paintings that Scholder made using Coca Cola and his own blood.  I don't need to explain the significance of this.  You can do the math.

"Cowboy (Blue Plaid Shirt)" date unknown by Duane Hanson (1925-1996)

The last work of art you encounter is this sculpture by Duane Hanson.  Hanson made ultra-realistic works of stereotypical human beings in common moments that provide just enough nuance to challenge the prevailing understanding of the stereotype.  It's all the difference between dressed up manikin and art.  I wonder how many visitors would get it?