ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Desert Rider is an exhibition inspired by modes of transportation in the Southwest that invite both reflection and introspection of our collective cultural imagination. While post-war culture of the 1950s has mythologized our dependence on and fascination with the automobile, this exhibition connects more closely to the counter culture developments of the 1960s epitomized in the Easy Rider phenomenon that occurred simultaneously with various civil unrest movements. Images of customized vehicles roaring through the wide-open landscapes of the American Southwest captured notions not only of freedom and liberty, but also rebellion and nonconformity.
(Header) Justin Favela, Gypsy Rose Piñata, 2022. Found objects, cardboard, Styrofoam, paper, and glue. Courtesy of the artist. Installation view, Desert Rider, 2022, Phoenix Art Museum.
Focused almost exclusively on Latinx and Indigenous artists, Desert Rider acknowledges the urgency to make space for voices and perspectives deeply rooted in the Southwestern region. Featured works include interrogations of masculinity and femininity in lowrider culture by Liz Cohen and Carlotta Boettcher; sculptures examining notions of migration and mobility by Betsabeé Romero and Justin Favela; and works by Cara Romero and Laurie Steelink that explore how self-described ‘Indian-ness’ negotiates traditional Indigenous values with contemporary life.
IMAGE CREDIT
Douglas Miles, You’re Skating on Native Land, 2022. Apache skateboards, vinyl. Courtesy of the artist. Installation view of Desert Rider, 2022, Phoenix Art Museum.
By focusing on automobile and skateboarding subcultures as well as many other modes of transit, Desert Rider celebrates alternative voices united in an effort to change the world by challenging preconceived notions around identity and creative self-determination.
IMAGE CREDIT
Justin Favela, Seven Magic Tires, 2022. Tires, paint, glue. Courtesy of the artist. Installation view of Desert Rider, 2022, Phoenix Art Museum.
EXHIBITION SPONSORS
Desert Rider is organized by Phoenix Art Museum. It is made possible through the generosity of the Arizona Office of Tourism and Men’s Arts Council, with additional support from the Museum’s Circles of Support and Museum Members.
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Phoenix Art Museum explores the influence of car culture on artists working in the Southwest in new exhibition
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