Description
Book SynopsisEven ardent fans of Andy Warhol (19281987) may be surprised to learn that the artist created a significant body of western work. In fact, Warhol was drawn to the lore and lure of the American West throughout his life. He was heavily influenced by the mythology and iconography of the American West, conveyed primarily through film and television, and revealed at various points in his life by toys, clothing, and travel. His lifelong fascination with the West culminated with his 1986 series Cowboys and Indians, a print portfolio that represents an important milestone in the artist's late career and a shift in the conception of contemporary western American art. One of the last major projects Warhol completed prior to his death, Cowboys and Indians received very little critical or public attention at the time of its release and remains one of the most understudied aspects of the artist's career. Warhol and the West explores for the first time the range of western imagery Warhol produced.
Trade Review"Featuring bold depictions of heroes of the West — including towering figures such as John Wayne, Annie Oakley, Geronimo, and Theodore Roosevelt, as well as symbolic objects like an Indian Head nickel, a Northwest Coast mask, and kachina dolls — it’s an excellent companion to the traveling exhibition or a terrific stand-in if you can’t make the show." * Cowboys & Indians *
"The writings that take seriously the way Warhol’s obsessions have (re)produced white America’s fantasy of indigenous life are particularly effective at offering a new read on Warhol as an artist. . . .the text exposes...an emptiness in Warhol’s work, ultimately revealing the power and seduction of a fantasy about America that has always been harmful." * H-Net: Humanities and Social Science Reviews *
Table of ContentsDirectors' Foreword
Curators' Acknowledgments
Introduction
Faith Brower
Michael R. Grauer
Seth Hopkins
Essays
Warhol and the West: Following Faint Trails to the Lost Gold Mine
Seth Hopkins
The American Indian and Warhol's Fantasy of an Indigenous Presence
heather ahtone
Make It Pop: Contemporary Western and Native American Pop Art
Faith Brower
Contributors
Index
