Experience artworks from the last one hundred years that both reinforce and challenge the mythology of the American West. Grapple with competing histories of the West that alternate between representing the landscape as a romanticized Eden to critically examining issues like urban sprawl, environmental hazards facing the modern West. Enjoy artworks like Lon Megargee’s sincere American Impressionist landscapes of the 1920s and survey Matthew Moore’s 2008 critical video portrait of water’s journey through our Valley. The exhibition, which acts as an archaeology of SMoCA’s collecting history, will shed light on the values underscored by "the West’s Most Western Town."

Sponsored by Rachel Wohl Blank and the SMoCA Salon.

 
Lon Megargee, Camelback Mountain Scene, ca. 1920’s, oil on board on canvas. 34 ½ x 38 ½ inches.
Bequest of the Estate of Mr. and Mrs. Dallas P. Richeson, 1998.004.14. © Lon Megargee.

June 12, 2010-
August 22, 2010

Gerard L. Cafesjian Founder's Gallery, Michael and Ellie Ziegler Gallery and Virginia Ullman Gallery, SMoCA