Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Fascinated images of the American West  from 1850 to 2008 at MoMA presented in the exhibit titled "Into the West". It brings the work of over 70 photographers like Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Carleton Watkins, Cindy Sherman, Diane Arbus, Richard Avedon, Adam Bartos, Larry Clark, Robert Frank, Lee Friedlander, William Garnett. From 19 century landscapes (for example work of Carleton Watkins captured beauty of Yosemite Valley) and modern urban, industrial and rural landscapes of the West to portraits representing  a diversity of the West: Native Americans, cowboys, gold miners, drifters, starlets. In conjunction with the exhibition a series of films will be screened. I went to see fascinating  one minute long documentaries from 1984 presenting Sioux ghost dances,  one minute long  Anne Oakley shooting presentation and then film "Wild Bill Hickock" (1923) with William Hart accompanied by live piano music. Great experience. While watching the movies or looking at the photographic images I connected to my childhood memories: small town movie house in Poland and the westerns. World in Technicolor, amazing landscapes, gun fights, world of men ruled by violence and death.

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