January 20 - March 19, 2017
Nineteenth-century westward expansion is often glorified as a successful development by man—an adventure and opportunity to build a better life through technological advancement and the spreading of classic Western ideals. Yet, this settlement was also founded on the exploitation of the land and the mistreatment of other cultures. Photographs from the period often supported these oppressive ideals or documented their consequences.
Virgin Landscape: Representations of Women and the American West illuminates the intersectionality of gender and the environment in the American West. Referring to land as virgin is a centuries old phrase used to perpetuate notions of ownership over pure, untouched territories ripe with opportunity. This exhibition juxtaposes the scope of virgin lands with the rise of women in the American West.
Virgin Landscape will provide an opportunity for audiences to explore the way women are represented through photographs of the American West, and their connection to the state of the environment. The exhibition will include works by well-known artists from the de Saisset's permanent collection whose work documents and responds to the nineteenth-century American West. These images will reveal multiple perspectives on women in the West, featuring images of and about women, as well as portraits and landscapes taken by women.
This exhibition is guest curated by Professor Bridget Gilman with students from her Spring 2016 “Photography and the American West” Art History class: Jessica Andzouana, Tessie Berghoff, Maddie Burke, Jaime Daigle, Ciaran Freeman, Sarah Fisch, Stephen Hua, Emily Mun, Leigh Pond, Veronica Ribeiro, and Kate Yanish.
The Virgin Landscape: Representations of Women and the American West exhibition is partially funded by the Inouye de Saisset Museum Fund.