In Re-Western, painted Felice House reimagines scenes from classic westerns with the likes of James Dean, Clint Eastwood and John Wayne replaced with women in the starring roles.
In addition to being superb paintings, House's work is a provocation about "portraying women without objectifying them [as] an intentional and political act." Pictured above: "Stasha Dean in 'Giant,' 2013. Oil on canvas, 90" x 60"."
"The western movie tradition is so established; so accepted, so mythologized that it spans the globe," said House to Colossal. "I love the genre, and at the same time when I sit down to watch a Western movie, I start to feel angry. For the most part, the roles in Westerns are totally inaccessible to me."
Deciding to start a conversation with this frustration, House choose to paint these reimagined Westerns to ask straightforward questions to a society that continuously handed over these roles to males. House seeks to ask what society would be like with this imagined reversal—how would education be changed? What would our reestablished priorities look like with females as the lead role?
Re-Western [Felice House]
Artist Felice House Reimagines Scenes from Classic Western Films with Female Cowboys as Leads [Kate Sierzputowski/Colossal]
Stasha Dean in 'Giant,' 2013. Oil on canvas, 90" x 60"
Liakesha Cooper in "High Noon", 2013. Oil on canvas, 36″ x 48″.
Karan and Nanc in Open Range, 2015. Oil on canvas, 36″ x 60″.
Julia Dean in "Giant", 2013. Oil on canvas, 54″ x 68″.
