「黒いカウボーイ」

Priscilla Frank “A History Of Black Cowboys And The Myth That The West Was White” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/black-cowboy-photography_us_5882237fe4b070d8cad1f79d


普通西部劇に黒人は出てこない。出てくるのは(ヒスパニックも含む)白人とインディアンで、黒人が出てくればジャンルが違うよということになるのだろう。ハーレムのStudio Museumで開催されている写真展Black Cowboy*1はそのような「白い西部」の神話に具体的に異議を申し立てている。1870年代から80年代にかけて、「西部フロンティア」にいたカウボーイの25%は黒人だった。


Contrary to what the homogenous imagery depicted by Hollywood and history books would lead you to believe, cowboys of color have had a substantial presence on the Western frontier since the 1500s*2. In fact, the word “cowboy” is believed by some to have emerged as a derogatory term used to describe Black cowhands*3.

An ongoing photography exhibition at the Studio Museum in Harlem celebrates the legacy of the “Black Cowboy” while chronicling the unlikely places around the country where cowboy culture thrives today. Through their photographs, artists like Brad Trent, Deanna Lawson and Ron Tarver work to retire the persistent myth that equates cowboys with whiteness.

「カウボーイ」についてはhttp://d.hatena.ne.jp/sumita-m/20161115/1479228554 http://d.hatena.ne.jp/sumita-m/20130308/1362735840 http://d.hatena.ne.jp/sumita-m/20110703/1309710487 http://d.hatena.ne.jp/sumita-m/20080926/1222412337も。