Join George Miles, the William Robertson Coe Curator at the Yale Collection of Western Americana at the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, at Los Poblanos for a talk on May 11 at 2 pm. Yale University Press has recently published a beautiful book George edited, "Eye on the West: Photography and the Contemporary West" comprised of photographs by contemporary Western photographers that the Beinecke collects. George's talk is about the collection and the book, and will begin with an introduction by Albuquerque photographer and UNM professor Miguel Gandert, who is also one of the photographers in the book.
About the book: the histories of the North American West and photography have been intertwined since photography reached America. From the middle of the 19th century, images of the West have continuously played a significant role in defining the ways the region is perceived not only within America but around the world. This photobook explores and illuminates the relationship between contemporary photography and the people and places of the North American West. Beautiful reproductions of 34 photographs are accompanied by brief essays by George Miles and by the artists themselves, contributing to multiple conversations about how visual art continues to reflect and shape our understanding of Western American society, culture, and politics. Of 17 photographers featured in the book, five are from New Mexico: Miguel Gandert, David Noble, Will Wilson, Toba Tucker and Roberta Price.