Dead Eagle Trail exhibition hits Brighton

July 14, 2010

DEAD EAGLE TRAIL - Portraits of the American Cowboy

There is a really exciting new exhibition at the CraneKalman Gallery that kevin blogged about on his tumblr recently. It’s Jane Hilton’s amazing portrayal of the American Cowboys. Jane Hilton worked as an assistant for numerous fashion and advertising photographers in London, before going it alone in 1988. It was on her first trip to Arizona in 1988, that she discovered an obsession for America and American culture. It was her return to Arizona in 2006, when she was commissioned to photograph a handsome 17 year old cowboy, that she was inspired to travel the states and capture one the most iconic archetypes of American culture and history and a way of life that is in steady decline as developers buy up the ranch land across the old West. Dead Eagle Trail is a document to the cowboy of the twenty first century.

I can’t help but be pulled and locked into everyone of these images. For me the first and last image in this blog, selected from the series, are my favourite out of the project. The light through the red netted curtains and the blinds instantly gets my attention. The strong gaze from both the cowboys really pulls you in and you are left to carry on looking at the details from the environments that surround the subject. In contrast to the harshness of the subject’s daily lives, Jane’s images manage to capture a beautiful sense of calmness. I’m really looking forward to see these images in print. This is going to be a must see exhibition, so make sure you don’t miss it.

NATASHA ALIPOUR-FARIDANI

Dead Eagle Trail – Jane Hilton will run from 14^th July - 29^th August at the Crane Kalman Gallery, Brighton, 38 Kensington Gardens, North Laine, Brighton BN1 4AL

CraneKalman Brighton Gallery