Expanding Identities

Broader viewpoints and experiences of the West are explored in a new exhibition at the Tucson Museum of Art.

A new exhibition at the Tucson Museum of Art in Arizona centers on artwork created throughout the American West, the Southwest border and parts of Canada, delving into the ways that artists weave their regional identities and perceptions into their artwork. At the same time, the concept behind the show is far more complex.Ezra Tucker, On Watch, 2022, acrylic on board, 40 x 30”. Courtesy the artist.

“Upon its surface, the exhibition may appear to be about artists’ identities and how their backgrounds and experiences shape the works of art they create. However, this theme goes much deeper than that,” says Christine Brindza, Senior Curator, James and Louise Glasser Curator, Art of the American West at the Tucson Museum of Art. “It engages in conversations about nuanced interpretations of the American West, exploring the variety of ways that artists may incorporate important subjects relevant to them.”

Brindza continues, “By centering on artists who are women, people of color, queer, and persons of intersectional backgrounds, the exhibition demonstrates how artists assume multiple roles in their respective communities and navigate their individualities while presenting stories that are often left out of dominant narratives. While doing this, a broader and more inclusive definition of art of the American West is being explored.”Marla Allison, From the Earth, 2022, acrylic on canvas. 48 x 36”. Courtesy the artist. Photo: Judy Reed Photography.

The title of the exhibition, More Than: Expanding Artist Identities from the American West, captures this idea well. Historic works will be paired alongside contemporary art, allowing visitors to make meaningful connections to the past and present, as well as draw their own conclusions about the artists’ ideas and styles.Roseta Santiago, Journey to Blue Lake, 2017, oil on canvas, 40 x 40”. Collection of the Tucson Museum of Art. Gift of the artist. 2017.26.Among the many poignant pieces in the exhibition is an acrylic painting by Ezra Tucker titled On Watch. “[The piece depicts] a Black U.S. Army cavalryman from the era of the Indian Wars (circa 1866 to 1890), known as a Buffalo Soldier, on guard to protect laborers during the construction of the Pacific Railroad,” Brindza notes. “In this painting, the artist strives to honor the contributions of these men in the American West as well as bring awareness to their stories. Tucker connects with this subject on multiple levels: as a person who shares the same ancestral heritage of these men, is a resident of the West, has interests in Western history, and is an artist and storyteller.” Bobb Vann, Ranch Wrangler, 2010, oil on canvas, 24 x 48”. Collection of the Tucson Museum of Art. Gift of the Artist, through the Western Art Patrons. 2010.12.1.

Another prime example is seen in the work of Laguna Pueblo artist Marla Allison. “When initially corresponding with her for the exhibition, she was inspired to create a work based on a historic Laguna Pueblo pitcher in the Tucson Museum of Art collection,” Brindza recalls. “The pitcher includes a design of a flower grown in the Red Mesas, which she reproduced to a larger size and incorporated other known pottery motifs from her Native homeland. Her work expands conversations about new interpretations and continuance of Indigenous ideas and representations in modern times while connecting past and present, place and identity.”

More Than: Expanding Artist Identities from the American West is on view October 15, 2022, to March 19, 2023, in the James J. and Louise R. Glasser Galleries and Earl Kai Chann Gallery. —

More Than: Expanding Artist Identities from the American West
October 15, 2022-March 19, 2023
Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block, 140 North Main Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85701
(520) 624-2333, www.tucsonmuseumofart.org