Aesthetic Exploration – Western

“I should’ve been a cowboy.” -Toby Keith

One of the most popular songs in all of country music resonates with an American people still fascinated with the sense of beauty and adventure experienced by the trailblazers of western expansion. A rough and rugged people staking their claim where the wagons willed they stay laid not only foundations for American civilization but also for culture persevering more than a century later. The very scene is tied so centrally to American culture that they often share a title nearly synonymous: The West.

The Western Expansion of the United States covered most of the 19th century, kicked off by the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Explorers and settlers – honest and dishonest – planted camps and towns along countryside hardly yet touched by mankind. This setting – be it barren, dry, tumbleweed-ridden desert (left, Step Into the Wild West (2)) or pure, densely wooded, teeming hills (Craiyon (3)) – serves as the fundamental backdrop where the yet infant United States scattered its “frontierman” culture. That backdrop raises new towns of rough-hewn timber – storefronts mostly – and a central saloon with its iconic doors. Stage coaches are sparse compared to horses at every post, whether pulling wagons or carrying cowboys to and from the cattle range. Their wide-brimmed hats and tall boots are still called by their profession. Accompanying also is a holstered revolver by which many a duel emptied dusty main streets into practical ghost towns for a standoff. The make-do craftsmanship of the West’s residents and work-the-land style dress is still mimicked by similar aesthetics, namely Country and Rustic. What distinguishes the Western aesthetic, however, is its wild nature – at the mercy of the land or bands of outlaws hiding out deep in the same frontier.

This Western appearance, however, was solidified into American culture with the onset of new media, especially motion pictures. Films recalling the danger and adventure of the 19th century West were pervasive enough to create their own Western genre. Names and faces like Clint Eastwood (above, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (4)) and John Wayne (right, Fine Art America (5)) defined the genre as well as their respective eras of filmmaking. Cult classics such as The Magnificent Seven (1960); The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966); and True Grit (1969) are still enjoyed and remade now well into the 21st century. Video games, likewise, have carried forward the fascination and beauty of the Western time and stage in games like Red Dead Redemption (2010 and 2018) below (6).

At a nuts and bolts level, the colors of the Western aesthetic are earthy with an emphasis on browns and greens as if the whole of the scene is covered by the terrain. The adjacent work by Clark Kelley Price (7) captures this overtone while highlighting the expansive sky with a vibrant orange in the setting sun. Various artifacts as mentioned above characterize the Western appearance where colors pair to create a proper ‘feel’. Vibrance, used sparingly, nearly never appears in clothing but primarily in landscape. The aesthetic is carried further beyond visual appeal into auditory as well, with “Western” music often featuring deep string melodies complimented by whistling, light percussion, and some brass reflexive Central American influence.

Citations:

(1) Famous Paintings. “A Dash For The Timber by Frederic Remington.” Accessed January 22, 2025. https://famouspaintings.com/featured/1-a-dash-for-the-timber-frederic-remington.html.

(2) “Step into the Wild West: Cowboys and Desert Vibes.” Accessed January 22, 2025. https://us.idyllic.app/gen/wild-west-depiction-147179.

(3) Craiyon, AI Image Generator. “Scenic View of an Old West Town with Mountains in the Background on Craiyon.” Accessed January 22, 2025. https://www.craiyon.com/image/zIXoh-JYQFOrN484ZI28Qg.

(4) The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966), Sergio Leone, Produzioni Europee Associati.

(5) Fine Art America. “El Dorado, John Wayne, 1966 Art Print by Everett.” Accessed January 22, 2025. https://fineartamerica.com/featured/el-dorado-john-wayne-1966-everett.html?product=art-print.

(6) Red Dead Redemption II (2018), Rockstar Games.

(7) Clark Kelley Price. “Mustang Fire.” Accessed January 22, 2025. https://clarkkelleyprice.com/products/mustang-fire.