How the West is One
Artist
Will Wilson
(American, Navajo, born 1969)
Date2012 (printed 2013)
Mediumpigment prints, diptych
DimensionsImage (a): 35 1/16 × 23 1/8 in. (89.1 × 58.7 cm)
Support (a): 36 × 25 3/16 in. (91.4 × 64 cm)
Mat (a): 40 × 30 in. (101.6 × 76.2 cm)
Image (b): 35 × 23 1/16 in. (88.9 × 58.6 cm)
Support (b): 36 × 25 1/8 in. (91.4 × 63.8 cm)
Mat (b): 40 × 30 in. (101.6 × 76.2 cm)
Support (a): 36 × 25 3/16 in. (91.4 × 64 cm)
Mat (a): 40 × 30 in. (101.6 × 76.2 cm)
Image (b): 35 × 23 1/16 in. (88.9 × 58.6 cm)
Support (b): 36 × 25 1/8 in. (91.4 × 63.8 cm)
Mat (b): 40 × 30 in. (101.6 × 76.2 cm)
ClassificationsPhotograph
Credit LineMuseum purchase with funds from FOCA+P and Bob Nurock, in honor of Dr. Joseph Traugott, 2013
Object number2013.18ab
DescriptionLeft print of diptych: Waist-length self-portrait with the artist’s head in profile. He is wearing a dark-colored button-front shirt with sleeves rolled up to elbows. Prominent silver necklace with some medallions in blue and a bracelet on his right arm. Right print of diptych: Waist-length self-portrait with the artist’s head in profile. He is wearing a light-colored shirt with sleeves rolled up to elbows, a striped vest with buttons, a dark necktie, and a white hat. He also wears a large, white glove on his left hand, which is held over his heart.eMuseum Notes
This double self-portrait was originally made using a nineteenth-century photographic process in which light-sensitive material is poured onto a metal sheet before being exposed by the camera. The artist scanned the unique print that resulted and printed it as a larger image on paper. His use of the early process is a reference to photographer Edward Curtis and other European American artists whose photographs of Native Americans have permeated this country’s culture. By being “the Indian behind the camera” and photographing contemporary Native peoples, Wilson addresses the misconceptions and stereotypes that have resulted from a long history of portraiture by those with little knowledge or understanding of indigenous cultures.
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