Tag Archives: gene autry

Eye On Design: Beaded Vest By Marcus Amerman

Beaded Vest
All Photos By Gail

This elaborately Beaded Vest (2013) was inspired by the catalogs for the Burpee Seed Company, an online purveyor of gardening supplies. Whereas much Native American beadwork features flat, abstract designs, Marcus Amerman (Choctaw, Born 1959) stitches each bead individually, alternating colors to create three-dimensional effects. The result is vivid imagery that leaps off the surface and defies our expectations of the medium.

Beaded Vest

Although the realism and commercial source of Amerman’s imagery are nontraditional, floral imagery has a long history within Native North American beadwork as an art form and a symbol of cultural resilience. Floral imagery emerged as a mainstay of beadwork during the fur trade, when beaded horse gear, bags, and clothing found a ready market among non-Native traders and settlers. As Native groups were disrupted and displaced by expansion, disease and war, floral imagery retained symbolic meaning known only to tribes, forming a visual language capable of surviving the destructive forces of empire.

Beaded Vest

Photographed in the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles, CA.

Pink Thing of The Day: Pink Silk Western Shirt Worn by Gene Autry

Autry Pink Shirt
Photos By Gail

One of my favorite museums to visit when I am in L.A. is the Autry Museum of The American West, located in Griffith Park, which was co-founded by singing cowboy actor Gene Autry. Autry built the museum, which opened in 1988 (ten years before his death) to exhibit and interpret the heritage of the West and show how it influenced America and the world.
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Pink Thing of The Day: Pink Santa!

Pink Santa Doll
Large Splendid Santa By Jellycat Toys (Photo By Gail)

Now that Christmas is behind us for another year, Santa Claus is kicking back in his Causal Pinks. He looks like he’s slimmed down a bit as well. Go, Santa.

Photographed in the Gift Shop (Price: $47) at the Gene Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles, California.

Horse Sculpture Made From Car Parts

Manchester by Doug Owen
All Photos By Gail

If you haven’t yet been to the Gene Autry Museum of the American West, you need to add that to your list of cool things to do when you are in the Los Angeles area, because the place is just amazing (bonus: the museum is located directly across a shared parking lot from the LA Zoo.). I had the chance to explore this history-rich landmark in December, when I was visiting family for Christmas, and I had all kinds of crazy fun.

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Eye On Design: Michael Jackson’s Metal Cowboy Boots

Michael Jackson Metal Cowboy Boots
All Photos By Gail

Dennis Tompkins and Michael Bush, who were Michael Jackson’s longtime costume designers, were asked to create a pair of Metal Cowboy Boots (circa 1990) for Jackson. The designers found inspiration in sabatons, the part of a knight’s armor that protected the foot. The singer wore these boots to the White House in April of 1990 to received the Artist of the Decade award from President George H.W. Bush.

Photographed in the Autry National Center in Los Angeles.

Michael Jackson Metal Cowboy Boots

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