Cowboy Dustup by Nancy Davidson at Betty Cunningham Gallery, 2012

Cowboy Dustup by Nancy Davidson at Betty Cunningham Gallery, 2012

Nancy Davidson watched the twin towers fall from her studio on September 11, 2001. In the political activity that followed, she became devastated by what the US was turning into and started reflecting on her past experience with characters that inspired her as a child. “It wasn’t usual for me to do that,” she said. She turned to the rhinestone cowgirl: “Doris Day, the legend of the cowgirl, and the American West really inspired me as a girl. It had so little to do with me as a child in Chicago.” With this idea, she applied for a Creative Capital Award to create a series of sculptures called Cowgirl Dustup. In 2005, she received the award to make the work.

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