American Studies Blog 4

American Studies Blog 4

Post an image (either painting or photograph) of the American West and write a critique of the symbolic meanings, both intended and unintended, of your choice.  Remember, context matters – who, when, where, why?

Thomas Almond Ayres painted the Yosemite National Park in June 1855, after being taken on tour with Jason Mason Hutching, an explorer of the Yosemite Valley. The painting is named “The High Falls” and his work aided an interest in the area, to help lead to its future protection. Thomas Ayres drew his pictures of the valley in hope that “this wonderful valley will attract the lovers of the beautiful from all parts of the world; and be as fames as Niagara, for its wild sublimity, and magnificent scenery.”

Thomas Ayres particularly stood out to me as an artist of choice as he was the first recorded artist of the Yosemite Valley. To many his original drawings were seen as the finest and choicest souvenirs and are now displayed in the Yosemite Museum to visitors.

Within this drawing, the artist focuses on the landscape intending to attract viewers to visit. The landscape highlights the differences of what people would have been used to seeing within the East of America. The mountains appear to go on forever, which can be perceived as threatening and daunting. The idea of the sublime is very much reinforced through this. By looking at this image there is a sense of “terrible joy” of which Edmund Burke states is because of the “superior to the beauty of art”. The intimidating mountains are contrasted against the simple waterfall that flows from the height of the mountains to the bottom. At the bottom of the drawing situates a group of trees, showing that there is life within this landscape. Again, this very much contrasts to the less stimulating East, where the majority of the trees would have been cut down and the water would have been damned and managed. Animals are also present which demonstrates that there is both hunt available and animals that can be observed in their natural habitat. At the bottom of the image is a group of individuals. This could have been the group of people Thomas Ayres was travelling with, however the significance of these individuals is huge.  Many artists used this effect within there work to gain a sense of individual insignificance towards the landscape. For example, in Thomas Cole’s “Fall of the Kaatersill” (1826).  Potentially, the idea of including these people within his work, demonstrates that people can survive within this sublime landscape, and therefore this almost threatening portrayal of Yosemite Valley, seems more appealing to the individual to want to explore.

Interestingly, Thomas Ayres has drawn his image of the “The High Falls” in black and white. This is very unusual within artists of this time. Maybe he is playing with the idea that the landscape is beautiful within its simplest of forms. You don’t need a hint of color to be attracted to this drawing and by leaving the color out; there is a hint of surprise for the viewer to gain.

This picture fascinates me with the amount of analysing that can be done, but yet how it stays simple and effective. Although some stereotypes of a Western image are left out, for example the Native Americans and mass travelling groups, the idea of all the land, which was available to explore, captivates America’s charm. Furthermore, the story behind the history of Yosemite National Park drew me into researching more about it.