Landscapes of Extraction: The Art of Mining in the American West

Description

Landscapes of Extraction explores the art of mining, the transformative industry of the American West, competing in sublimity and striking color with the natural scenic landscape on its own terms. These landscapes of enterprise altered the natural environment on a spectacular scale, with open pit mines, coal tipples, and oil rigs. How artists portrayed the mining industry in the American West is explored in the book with four scholarly essays. Artworks were inspired by the multiple landscapes created by large-scale mining, specifically the mines themselves, the towns that grew up around them, and the miners and their families who lived and worked there. The industry shaped communities and landscapes throughout the West: Arizona, California, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah. Landscapes of Extraction explores a powerful regional narrative that is a fundamental element of national identity played out on a vast geographical scale.

Betsy Fahlman, Ph.D., is Adjunct Curator of American Art at Phoenix Art Museum and Professor of Art History at Arizona State University. A specialist of American Art, she is an authority on the relationship between American Art and industrial themes. Her publications include articles and books on the artists Charles Demuth, John Ferguson Weir, and Joseph Pennell.

"Landscapes of Extraction reveals the rich historical heritage of a significant body of regional art that was inspired by an important industry considered over a vast region. Extractive industries meant jobs and profits, yet they left legacies of altered landscapes, environmental degradation, and public health challenges, vexing problems that have been of particular concern for contemporary artists." * American Art Review * "Landscapes of Extraction: The Art of Mining in the American West is one part catalogue to a fascinating exhibition at the Phoenix Art Museum, and one part meditation on the featured artists and their work to capture these gritty mining landscapes." * TICCIH Bulletin * "Created to accompany a Phoenix Art Museum exhibition by the same name, The Landscapes of Extraction focuses on more than 50 diverse, perceptively selected works, created in various media, that examine the manners and methods of extracting the mineral wealth of the American West. This is a handsomely and carefully illustrated volume. Complementing the visual chronicle of the mining industry are four succinct and engaging essays. . . . The catalogue itself reveals the diverse, distinctive visual manners in which this significant industry has been represented. The selected bibliography points readers to the most noteworthy publications on this subject. . . . Recommended." * Choice * "This well crafted, thoughtful exploration of artists' grappling with a key industry holds appeal for both academic and popular audiences . . . ." * ARLIS/NA Reviews *