Riders of the Coyote Moon 2019

Editor: Here we have Mark Maggiori’s “Riders of the Coyote Moon” from 2019. The whole scene is bathed in moonlight, and those huge clouds loom dramatically over the two riders. There's something really striking about the romanticism, and almost theatrical mood. What's your take on this piece? Curator: It's interesting you pick up on the theatricality. I see it too. This work engages a complicated mythology of the American West that has been shaped and reshaped by popular media: film, literature, and, before those, dime novels and Wild West shows. Maggiori is contributing to, but also commenting on, that legacy. Think about the power of the Western as a globally consumed genre – what does it signify? What does it mean to represent these figures in 2019, when Maggiori created this painting? Editor: So, it's more than just a scene of cowboys riding under the moon? Is it meant to reference earlier artwork? Curator: Definitely. The composition and the lighting, that theatrical moonlight you mentioned, calls to mind earlier painters of the West like Frederic Remington. But the staging feels almost… manufactured, doesn't it? Are these cowboys, or are they actors playing cowboys? And what stories are we meant to associate them with? Consider who *gets* to play the cowboy—who has been written *out* of this historical role through artistic portrayals? How might this image uphold—or challenge—that narrative? Editor: That's given me a lot to think about. I was drawn in by the visual drama, but now I'm seeing how much it plays with the established iconography of the West. Curator: Exactly. It invites us to unpack the history and the power dynamics embedded within seemingly straightforward images. Thanks for helping me notice how relevant this artwork can be when considering identity, stereotypes, and who has power over historical representation.