Old West Photography Topic of UW Harlow Talk July 25

How the American West was depicted by early European paintings and then actually shown in its reality by early-day photographers is the topic of the weekly Harlow Summer Seminar Series at the renovated University of Wyoming-National Park Service (UW-NPS) Research Station Thursday, July 25. The facility is located at the AMK Ranch in Grand Teton National Park.

Rachel Sailor, a UW professor of art history and American studies, will present "When the Cameras Came: Photography and the American West." The event begins at 5:30 p.m. with a barbecue, followed by a 6:30 p.m. seminar. The events are free and open to the public, although a $10 donation is suggested.

Photographs of the Old West typically meet with a mixture of nostalgia, historical reverence and pride of place for most American citizens. The aesthetics of these photographs, however, are more about tropes than truth, Sailor says. They illustrated a centuries-old practice of depicting places through compositions and techniques codified in 17th century European painting.

"Yet, what about the camera's reputation for delivering infallible veracity and for being a dispassionate intercessor between one time and place and another?" Sailor asks.

In her talk, she will discuss what landscape aesthetics were inherited and naturalized by the camera and how citizens can "read' the visual rhetoric of the Old West.

"Historical Western photographs carry an undeniable charm but are far more complex than usually recognized," she says.

Sailor's research interests include the history of photography, landscape studies and regional cultural production. She has published two books on photography of the American West and is working on a third.

For more information, email Sailor at [email protected].

About the University of Wyoming-National Park Service Research Station

The research station, a cooperative effort between UW and the NPS for the past 71 years, provides a base for university faculty members and government scientists from around the world to conduct research in the diverse aquatic and terrestrial environments of Grand Teton National Park and the greater Yellowstone area. The research station is located on the AMK Ranch historic district on a peninsula extending into Jackson Lake near Leeks Marina.

About the Harlow Summer Seminar Series

Formerly called the AMK Ranch Talk Series, the Harlow program is named after retired UW Department of Zoology and Physiology Professor Hank Harlow, who helped make the UW-NPS Research Station a significant center for research and community outreach. Harlow began the popular weekly public seminars during the summer months. This summer's weekly programs are from June 20-Aug. 8.

Further details of the evening events are available at www.uwnps.org, where those interested can join a mailing list.