West: The American Cowboy.
What we know about the American West is thanks to the movies: The dead had a price (1965), River Wolf (1970), Passion legends (1990) , django (2012) ... But what do we really know about the Wild West? Was it how the movies portrayed it and how it is now?
Beyond Clint Eastwood dressed as a cowboy and on a horse We know little about what happens in "deep" America. But we can get closer thanks to the latest work of the French photographer Anouk Masson Krantz .
He had already visited Kansas in 2004 but he decided to go into an unknown land for eight months in 2018 . The photographer, who has lived in New York since the 1990s, never expected that the world of the American cowboy would be so surprising.
She photographed communities in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas , and the result is in West: The American Cowboy , a set of fresh and contemporary photographs that reveal what the Wild West and its horse and cattle ranches are like now.
A look at the contemporary Wild West.
"The american west it was a part of the world that was completely foreign to me. At each stop along the way I was surprised to see the kindness and generosity of strangers who were interested in me and my work. They are proud people, who work hard every day and have made difficult sacrifices to create the great traditions and communities that endure today. And they love sharing those stories with others who give them the time, appreciation, and respect they've earned. My favorite part of this experience was being welcomed into new communities where I felt like I was part of something much bigger than myself. ”, tells Anouk to Traveler.es.
The photos are taken in Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma.
One of her predilections has always been to photograph horses, she already did it in her previous job Wild Horses of Cumberland Island .
“In my first book I photographed the wild horses of the cumberland island , which is located off the coast of Georgia and is now a national park. Approximately 150 wild horses roam free without being in contact with humans. Discover these majestic horses that thrive in the wild and find them where you least expect them is an inspiration beyond imagination ”, she points out.
Upon publication of the book she began to visit rodeos and finally decided to photograph them. “ I spent time in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas as well as in neighboring states. However, the message and true nature of these people were very similar, regardless of what state I was in. The real american cowboy they live according to the same values and traditions and they all share a common bond”, she stresses to Traveler.es.
This is the American West in 2019.
One of the things that surprised him the most is seeing the connections that cowboys feel with their horses. They love above all their work and would not change it for anything , are proud communities and open to others knowing them.
“ Although I traveled alone during most of my trips I never felt unsafe, and cowboys in the west are mostly gentlemen in the more traditional sense of the word. A true cowboy is humble, kind, courteous, and respectful of women. And when I met them, I was inspired to see that they still live by the same pioneering spirit and consistent values that were the foundation of this great country, but are increasingly hard to find in modern America."
Then, haven't they changed since then? “One of the key purposes of my job is to show the world that in the last 100 years the cowboy communities of the USA have changed very little . To revisit the American West in 2019 is to realize how much the rest of the world has changed in such a short time."
Wild Wild West.