Pila Montoya, Big Bend Ranch 

Editor: Felice House’s “Pila Montoya, Big Bend Ranch,” created with acrylic paint using the impasto technique, is quite striking. The brushstrokes are so vibrant, really capturing the feeling of light on the landscape. What's your take on this work? Curator: I'm drawn to how this painting intersects with ideas of land ownership and representation. Looking at this scene, and knowing it depicts Big Bend Ranch, I can’t help but think about the history of the American West – a history often romanticized but rooted in colonization, dispossession, and environmental exploitation. How do we view these landscapes now, especially given our increased awareness of these issues? Editor: That's interesting. I hadn’t thought about that connection, I was mainly thinking about the color palette! So you see the landscape itself as a site of political tension? Curator: Absolutely. Landscape paintings aren't neutral. They reflect the artist's perspective, but also the dominant ideologies surrounding land, property, and belonging. Consider the use of "plein-air" – painting outdoors, directly observing nature. This practice itself can be interpreted as an act of claiming and interpreting territory. What does it mean to capture this ranch, this land, with paint? Whose stories are prioritized, and whose are left out? Editor: I see what you mean. I guess I had a pretty passive reading of the landscape as just, well, there. It sounds like you’re suggesting we should also think about the historical context, maybe consider things like ranching's impact on the local environment, and perhaps the indigenous presence. Curator: Exactly. Engaging with these historical and social contexts allows us to move beyond a purely aesthetic appreciation and think critically about the power dynamics inherent in how we perceive and represent the world around us. Editor: That definitely gives me a lot to consider about this painting and how I look at landscape art in general. Curator: And that’s the point – to keep asking those questions.