| This thesis investigates the spectacularization of the American West in art museum exhibits, past and present. Using critical theory to frame a discussion of the West's representations in museums, I argue that contemporary institutions---like their nineteenth-century predecessors---often present the public with a spectacular, mythic West.;To draw a comparison between the past and the present, I begin by historicizing contemporary methods of display. I take George Catlin's mid-nineteenth century Indian Gallery as an exemplary case study of early museological construction of the West. Through a focused investigation into the specific strategies he employed in his western spectacle, I discuss the ways in which Catlin's gallery was modeled after nineteenth-century European world exhibitions and then became a model for subsequent Western spectacles.;Second, I identify significant contemporary debates that call into question the spectacularization of the West in museums. Through a series of case studies substantiated by interviews with museum staff and critical analyses of permanent displays, I conclude that while a movement toward more balanced and nuanced interpretations of the West can be sensed in contemporary exhibitions, many displays still present an exoticized, essentialized West.;Finally, to move forward beyond institutional critique, I imagine an exhibition practice for museums of the American West that draws upon some of the more compelling exhibition methodologies in current practice and incorporates several innovative alternative approaches. Framed as a thought experiment and unconstrained by practicalities, this fictional exhibition practice allows for the articulation of critical questions concerning museums of western American art.;This project is one of art historical and socio-cultural importance. By opening up a conversation about the historical roots of contemporary museological constructions of the West, I address the role that museums have historically played in the shaping of public perceptions of the West. Much has been written about the ways in which artists, writers, government agencies and filmmakers have appropriated a romanticized and mythic West to suit their needs. My contribution to the discourse is a study of the ways in which museums past and present (re)construct the West and to what end. |
