Observation, Memory and Invention: Western Art and Imagery Reconsidered
Rob Akey 

Choteau Sunday Morning

The genre of Western Art has had from its beginning a penchant for the romantic and theatrical. As we distance ourselves from the tumultuous and tragic time period that defines the “settling of the West” mainstream western art seems to sink further into a collective state of repressed memory.  Artists continue to re-invent the golden era of the West that in some ways never was and never will be. Many traditional western artists, and I include myself in the number, happily succumb to the siren song of the market that allow us to “make a livin”. I would like to think that many artists also yearn to express western subjects of a more serious and thought provoking nature.

Observation, Memory and Invention: Western Art and Imagery Reconsidered is my attempt to look at traditional western iconography in a current, honest and unblinking way that is both poignant and sometimes sardonically humorous. The subjects of this body of work range from an expired-horse-as-lunch, a stucco tipi as abandoned espresso stand, and traditional portraiture along side a famous scene of annihilation. The visual commentary pokes fun at the increasingly circus-like promotion of western art marketing. It is a reminder of the “dark side” of the west that was and that still exists today just in a different form.

Offerings

Sponsored in part by:

Kurt & Carol Larson

National Parks Realty of Whitefish

The Towne Printer