Upper Twin Lakes in the Colorado Rockies 1865

Editor: Here we have "Upper Twin Lakes in the Colorado Rockies" by David Johnson, painted in 1865. It's an oil painting, and what strikes me most is its tranquility, a sort of untouched grandeur. What do you see in this piece? Curator: It's interesting that you use the word "untouched." Consider that this image, while seemingly a celebration of untouched wilderness, was created during a period of intense westward expansion. Doesn't this representation of the "sublime" landscape serve to erase Indigenous presence and justify settler colonialism? How might we view this through a lens of environmental justice, given the historical context of exploitation and displacement? Editor: That's a perspective I hadn't considered. I was caught up in the beauty of the scene, the way the light reflects on the water, and didn’t really think about what was happening at the time this was painted. Are you suggesting these landscape paintings might be considered a form of propaganda? Curator: Not explicitly, perhaps, but certainly a visual rhetoric that promotes a specific ideology. It frames the land as available, empty, ready to be conquered and cultivated, conveniently ignoring the existing cultures and economies. Think about who benefited from these idealized images, and whose stories are left out. Editor: So the beauty is almost… deceptive? It masks a more complex and troubling history. Curator: Precisely. Art like this reflects and reinforces power structures. Questioning those representations is a vital step in understanding the intersection of art, history, and social justice. What will you take away from this? Editor: It has definitely broadened my view. I will certainly never look at a landscape painting the same way again. Thanks!