Miles Glynn’s work is driven by a desire to present classic Western iconography in unique and fresh ways, dusting off the nostalgic imagery of the past by placing it in a visually contemporary context that makes people stop and reconsider it anew.
“‘Western’ as a genre has been done and presented in a million different ways around the world,” says Glynn. “For something that’s been done so many times throughout our short history, I feel challenged to try to ring out more from it. It’s challenging, but it’s a challenge I welcome and enjoy.”
Westernish No. 107, mixed media on wood panel, 60 x 48 in.
Most of his large-scale pieces begin as a combination of paint and silkscreen, a medium that lends itself well to the repeated pop culture imagery. Think Andy Warhol but, in Glynn’s case, rather than Campbell’s Soup cans or Marilyn Monroe, it might be Marlboro cigarettes or the General Electric logo, which then interact with other visual elements. From there, Glynn will layer any other mediums that best support the piece, be that pastels, charcoal, collaged paper and even physical items, as in Westernish No. 124, where he has incorporated a vintage metal gas station placard in what looks like a sign for a long-gone dine and dance spot called the Frontier Club.
“I think it’s interesting to consider things that have fallen by the wayside and forgotten over time. Trying to plug them into our modern conversations, is my way of saying that they still have resonance,” says Glynn. “I like to think of my paintings as fine art but also a time capsule, a piece containing bits and pieces from our past.”
His works have the weathered, rusted and worn look of the old, deteriorating buildings and signage he has been captivated by since he was a boy, zig-zagging the American West every summer in the family car.
Westernish No. 124, mixed media on wood panel, 72 x 72 in.
The Trails End Motel in Westernish No. 107 references an actual hotel in Sheridan, Wyoming. Glynn photographed the sign and turned it into a silkscreen, which allows him to blow up the size of the original image, as he did for the cowboys trotting along the train tracks, which he pulled from a tiny children's book from the 1930s. The rose was a design he saw on a paper napkin and, if you look closely, Glynn has incorporated a Polaroid of the oversized cowboy meant to lure people into a used car lot in Gallup, New Mexico.
“I like to lean into the juxtaposition,” explains Glynn. “I appreciate imagery that isn’t normally connected and try to find a thread through it.”
In this particular piece, the ruggedness of the cowboy on the tired trail is in dialogue with the General Electric logo, a symbol of the domestic life, and the recurring motifs of lightning bolts and Glynn’s signature tally marks.
“The tally marks have become something of a thing for me,” says the artist. “I started out making more straightforward pop art and one of the hallmarks is incorporating really familiar things. Early on I was drawn to numbers; we’re surrounded by them all the time—they’re ubiquitous. I thought it was interesting to take something so common that we overlook it and present it in a fine art sense.”
The tally marks also conjure up thoughts about the passage of time and its effects, another theme that runs through Glynn’s work. But Glynn isn’t only interested in symbolism and narrative. A lot of his gut-based choices about where to put a scribble, tally mark or image are based on ensuring his compositions are visually balanced.
Westernish No. 71, acrylic paint, acrylic ink, graphite and silk screen ink, on canvas, 45 x 30 in.
“I recognized petty early on I’m the kind of person who works wide not deep,” Glynn says. “Some artists stay very focused and work deep, and others jump from one idea to the next. The West as a theme has always been central to what I do, but I stay open to any ideas however wide they are, and focus on finding a way to present those ideas in a unique aesthetic, filtered through my own perspective.”
Glynn’s solo exhibition Western-ish opens at Altamira Fine Art’s Scottsdale, Arizona, location on December 3, followed by an artist reception on December 5 from 7 to 9 p.m., and hangs through December 14. —
Altamira Fine Art 7038 E. Main Street » Scottsdale, AZ 85251 » (480) 949-1256 » www.altamiraart.com
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