Cowboy Artists of America Annual Art Exhibit


Mike Renzulli

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One aspect of Objectivism my group has not spent too much time on is the subject of aesthetics (i.e. art). The 45th Annual Western Art Exhibit (link below) is a a very good art exhibition at the Phoenix Art Museum that runs from October 17th until November 21st.

The exhibit is hosted by the Cowboy Artists of America (http://www.cowboyartistsofamerica.com/) in which the exhibition was started back in the 1960's by 4 artists based out of Arizona to create and culminate art dedicated to life in the West.

It is now one of the most anticipated events in the country and the exhibit features paintings and sculptures done in the past year by artists dedicated to the genre of cowboy art showing life in the West in contemprary and past sense.

The best day to go is Wednesday since since admission is free. Any other day during the week the cost is $10 per person.

This Western Art Exhibit is a great example of the romantic realism that Ayn Rand wrote about. The sense of life exhibited in the paintings and sculptures is wonderful and the symbolism of the cowboy is the rugged individualism that not only Objectivism stands for but also the United States too.

Objectivist author Andrew Bernstein said it best when he said: What we honor about the cowboy of the Old West is his willingness to stand up to evil and to do it alone, if necessary. The cowboy is a symbol of the crucial virtues of courage and independence.

I have urged by club members to see this art display every year since I first discovered it 4 years ago and have been amazed at the paintings and sculptures the artists linked to the group that sponsors this have been able to come up with.

If this exhibit comes to your area or you happen to be in a city where it is being held, don't miss this fantastic display of excellent artistry that celebrates the pioneering spirit of the American West!

http://www.phxart.org/exhibition/exhibitioncowboys45.php

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My husband and I just just got back from our fall trip to Utah. Thanks for this post, I wasn't aware of this show. My favorite cowboy artist is James Bama. Years ago I worked for an Ayn Rand fan, told her about Bama and she filled her office with his work. I just loved getting called into her office.

I will keep this show in mind for our trip next year.

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My husband and I just just got back from our fall trip to Utah. Thanks for this post, I wasn't aware of this show. My favorite cowboy artist is James Bama. Years ago I worked for an Ayn Rand fan, told her about Bama and she filled her office with his work. I just loved getting called into her office.

I will keep this show in mind for our trip next year.

Yes - Jim Bama long has been one of my faves, from the time first saw one of his covers - the Doc Savage one as recall - his detailism is simply astonishing, and his turning years ago to doing western themed works added much to the individualism he portrays...

Indeed, as far as Rand and western is concerned, one of her favorite poems was Badger Clark's -

The Westerner

My fathers sleep on the sunrise plains,

And each one sleeps alone.

Their trails may dim to the grass and rains,

For I choose to make my own.

I lay proud claim to their blood and name,

But I lean on no dead kin;

My name is mine, for the praise or scorn,

And the world began when I was born

And the world is mine to win.

They built high towns on their old log sills,

Where the great, slow rivers gleamed,

But with new, live rock from the savage hills

I'll build as they only dreamed.

The smoke scarce dies where the trail camp

lies,

Till the rails glint down the pass;

The desert springs into fruit and wheat

And I lay the stones of a solid street

Over yesterday's untrod grass.

I waste no thought on my neighbor's birth

Or the way he makes his prayer.

I grant him a white man's room on earth

If his game is only square.

While he plays it straight I'll call him mate;

If he cheats I drop him flat.

Old class and rank are a wornout lie,

For all clean men are as good as I,

And a king is only that.

I dream no dreams of a nurse-maid state

That will spoon me out my food.

A stout heart sings in the fray with fate

And the shock and sweat are good.

From noon to noon all the earthly boon

That I ask my God to spare

Is a little daily bread in store,

With the room to fight the strong for more,

And the weak shall get their share.

The sunrise plains are a tender haze

And the sunset seas are gray,

But I stand here, where the bright skies blaze

Over me and the big today.

What good to me is a vague "maybe"

Or a mournful "might have been,"

For the sun wheels swift from morn to morn

And the world began when I was born

And the world is mine to win.

Edited by anonrobt
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