SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - What does the litter that is left behind in the desert say about people and the relationship to the land? That is the confronting question behind a new exhibit at the Western Spirit Museum in Scottsdale.
Big picture view:
Cacti and blue skies shape the western landscape, but it was something else in a Utah desert one day that caught the eye of artist Jaclyn Wright.
"I happened upon an improvised gun range and how it impacted the land," Wright said.
Artist Jaclyn Wright
This led her to explore the material traces of late capitalism and colonialism in the American West, "creating in-camera collages through masking on 4x5 large format film to create maximalist, complicated images that I hope speak to the complexity of land use that I'm exploring," Wright said.
Local perspective:
The idea is explored in the new "High Visibility Blaze Orange" exhibit at the Western Spirit Museum in Scottsdale. Chief Curator Andrew Patrick Nelson says he wanted to showcase contemporary women artists responding to the West as it is today.
What they're saying:
"We all have had that experience, and it raises questions. I thought, this land was preserved. Is someone taking care of it, am I supposed to take care of it? Who would leave this litter here?" Nelson said.
A New Life:
Litter is given new life.
"I think her art makes us confront not only our relationship to the landscape but how we use it," Nelson said.
How it Resonates:
The multimedia installation comprises 25 works that Wright hopes leaves audiences challenged, "thinking about their own relationship to the landscape, and what the future, what we're leaving behind for the future," Wright said.
The exhibition is open through April.
The Source: Information in this report was gathered from Jaclyn Wright, an artist; and Andrew Patrick Nelson, chief curator at the Western Spirit Museum.