ULTRA AUTUMN
FANTASTIC DETACHMENT
SOMETHING ABOUT THE WEST
CROSS SECTIONS
GENTLE ON MY MIND
JOSHUA HARTSOUGH
STICKY
STRATIFORM
NEW OLD WEST
ULTRACHROMATIC
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R3 Gallery presents New Old West by JW Caldwell
Opening reception Saturday, June 3rd, 6-9PM
June 3, 2006 - July 1, 2006
JW CALDWELL
the works are based on a personalized and contemporary interpretation of the tradition of western illustrative painting. this series came about as a reaction to a childhood in which artists that worked in this particular genre were deemed "real artists," and more modernist and contemporary artistic ideals were not as readily encouraged. the images are appropriated from Russell and Remmington paintings, Louis Lamour paperback novel covers, and rodeo photographs. the image of the cowboy still factors heavily in the upbringing of every boy raised in the "west," either through physical location, entertainment values, or family tradition (despite willie nelson's warning to mothers, most boys still want to grow up to be cowboys, at least for awhile.) it was only after a rejection of this genre as a pedestrian and uneducated indulgence that the skill of the painters and illustrators could be revealed. similarly, only after neglecting the heritage of the symbol of the cowboy could it be revisited and charged with new metaphorical power. the style utilized in these works alludes to pop art in it's sense of color, as well as populist art in it's paint-by-numbers appeal. this popular appeal combines with the popular appeal of the subject matter in a tongue in cheek acceptance of the less-than-savy artistic tastes, while sneaking in some high-brow sensibilities. the protagonists in the works are presented as pursued by invisible assailants or falling from their mounts while alone in thier simplisticly desolate landscapes. their torments and failures are theirs to suffer through alone. however, this trauma is washed in the redemption (albeit, cliche,) that can only come from the cowboy myth. despite the tragedy, the righteous cowboy will always evade his persuants. he will always get back on his horse. in other words, i grew up in a small desert town, where the image of the cowboy loomed large over my upbringing. i denied and rejected it for years, but returned to it in my maturity; spagetti westerns, old country songs, and big belt buckles. my extended family (some of whom fancied themselves part-time cowboys at least,) while not necessarily scoffing at my more modernized tendencies, did endorse a more figurative approach to art, and more often than not, paintings of cowboys were the approved examples. at the time i needed to explore the capabilites of more abstract works, and, being stubborn, i could never reconcile myself with admitting that they might have been right. so, i thought it would be more interesting to recontectualize that hackneyed old genre, and make it more personal and contemporary. it might have worked.
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