The Art History of Arizona: Cultural Encounters with the Southwest

Sat Apr 14

Human Evolution and Social Change
Location: Deer Valley Rock Art Center, 3711 W. Deer Valley Road
Campus: Off-campus
Cost: Free

The Deer Valley Rock Art Center invites you to a free lecture on Saturday, April 14, 2012, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.

Arizona has a rich art history, and the many artists who portrayed it were transformed by their encounters with the vast scale and beauty of the landscape of the American Southwest and the Native Americans who lived there. Tourism was a key factor in negotiating the experiences of Anglo visitors between Indians and their artifacts (often for sale) through safe adventures arranged by the Fred Harvey Company and the Santa Fe Railway. Trading posts also played an important role, as did museums established in the twenties. Cultural tourists had already formed an image of the state through movies, pulp magazines, and literature. This presentation will explore issues of state identity, which was well-established by statehood, and the fifteen murals Lon Megargee painted for the State Capitol. These murals broadly summarized Arizona, encompassing its spectacular landscape and natural wonders, the structures and customs of its indigenous Native American peoples, artifacts of Spanish colonial settlement, and the agriculture, mining, and ranching that sustained its early settlers.

Betsy Fahlman received her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Delaware. She is a Professor of Art History at Arizona State University, where she has taught since 1988. A specialist in American art of the 19th and 20th centuries, she is the author of New Deal Art in Arizona (University of Arizona Press 2009). The Cowboy's Dream: The Mythic Life and Art of Lon Megargee (2002).

This program is made possible by the Arizona Humanities Council.

Seating is limited.

The Deer Valley Rock Art Center has the largest concentration of Native American petroglyphs in the Phoenix Valley. Visitors hike a quarter-mile trail to view over 1,500 petroglyphs made between 500 and 7,000 years ago. The museum aims to promote preservation of, connection to and respect for the site, and we are a destination for families to learn about archaeology in their own backyard. The center is managed by ASU's School of Human Evolution and Social Change, home to one of the top archaeology programs in the country.

Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.