More than just a geographic region, the West can be seen as a territory of the American imagination. Since the first representations of the American West travelled eastward, the visual language of the West has been distinctly iconographic. The 'cowboy', the 'pioneer', the 'hunter/trapper' and the 'noble savage' became instant signifiers for American exceptionalism, rugged individuality and the frontier spirit. The vast and open landscape provided a stage for these characters to play out narratives of westward expansion, opportunity and conquest.
Through the shifting social landscape of the west, these caricuratures and their modern variants still play an important role informing national and international perceptions of 'Americanness'. My hope is to re-present some of these icons against a more contemporary backdrop as a means to explore and question the imagined West.