Monument Valley Moon
Artist
Joan Myers
(American, born 1944)
Date2013
Mediumpigment print
DimensionsImage: 14 1/2 × 22 in. (36.8 × 55.9 cm)
Support: 17 1/4 × 24 1/8 in. (43.8 × 61.3 cm)
Mat: 24 × 30 in. (61 × 76.2 cm)
Support: 17 1/4 × 24 1/8 in. (43.8 × 61.3 cm)
Mat: 24 × 30 in. (61 × 76.2 cm)
ClassificationsPhotograph
Credit LineGift of Joan Myers, 2017
Object number2017.5.10
DescriptionThe image is composed of exterior plywood walls. The wall in the foreground has two American flags hanging, one traditional and the one to the right has the image of an Indigenous warrior mounted on an horse emerging from the center of the flag. Above that, is a sign that reads, "OPEN / ABIERTO." A post stands erect to the left of the building with the flags with another plywood and orange metal structure behind that at the left. In the background, visible in the top left corner, is a rocky mesa and glowing full moon.eMuseum Notes
Acutely aware of the iconography and symbols
used to romanticize life in the West, Myers photographs the intersecting spaces
where contemporary Western life, often raw and complex, overlaps with myth. The
artist contrasts imagery of the natural world with the man-made, often using
highly saturated color to emphasize the commercialization and commodification
of the West. In other images, she shoots in black-and-white, channeling old
movies and a patina of nostalgia. The resulting images constitute a rich visual
tapestry that weaves together American mythology of the West with its many
histories and present-day practices.
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