Cowboy and ​“Indian” Film

Copied Raphael Montañez Ortiz, Cowboy and "Indian" Film, 1957-1958, 16mm film, black and white, sound, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Gary Wolkowitz, 2011.31, © 1957-1958, Raphael Montañez Ortiz

Artwork Details

Title
Cowboy and ​“Indian” Film
Artist
Date
1957-1958
Location
Not on view
Copyright
© 1957-1958, Raphael Montañez Ortiz
Credit Line
Gift of Gary Wolkowitz
Mediums
Mediums Description
16mm film, black and white, sound
Classifications
Object Number
2011.31
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2011.31

Artwork Description

Ortiz produced experimental works in which he used existing films as the raw material for his own art. In Cowboy and “Indian” Film, he ritually chopped up several copies of Anthony Mann’s classic Western Winchester ’73 (1950) and then randomly reassembled snippets to completely destroy the original movie’s narrative and audiovisual integrity. Ortiz considered his shaman-like process resonant with his indigenous heritage. His destructive act also criticized media depictions of Native Americans.


Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art, 2013
Description in Spanish

Ortiz produjo obras experimentales en las cuales utilizó películas existentes como materia prima para su propio arte. En su obra Cowboy and ​“Indian” Film cortó ritualmente varias copias del western clásico Winchester ​’73 (1950) de Anthony Mann, y luego ensambló al azar los trozos para destruir totalmente la narrativa original y la integridad audiovisual de la película. Ortiz consideraba que su proceso chamanístico resonaba con su herencia indígena. Su acto destructivo también critica la manera en que los medios de comunicación representan a los indígenas americanos.

Nuestra América: la presencia latina en el arte estadounidense, 2013

Related Books

OurAmerica_500.jpg
Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art
Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art explores how Latino artists shaped the artistic movements of their day and recalibrated key themes in American art and culture. This beautifully illustrated volume presents the rich and varied contributions of Latino artists in the United States since the mid-twentieth century, when the concept of a collective Latino identity began to emerge. Our America includes works by artists who participated in all the various artistic styles and movements, including abstract expressionism; activist, conceptual, and performance art; and classic American genres such as landscape, portraiture, and scenes of everyday life. 

Exhibitions

Media - 2011.12 - SAAM-2011.12_1 - 77591
Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art
October 25, 2013–March 2, 2014
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art presents the rich and varied contributions of Latino artists in the United States since the mid-twentieth century, when the concept of a collective Latino identity began to emerge.