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Traditionally, when you think of art in America your thoughts go to New York’s art scenes in Soho and Williamsburg; iconic metropolitan museums you visited as a kid, like Chicago’s Art Institute or San Francisco’s MoMA; the Getty’s “like”-inducing selfie backdrops in Los Angles; or Wynwood’s graffiti-covered walls in Miami. What usually doesn’t come to mind, however, are Southwestern cities like Santa Fe and Albuquerque, New Mexico, but they should.
Long before Urban Outfitters started dedicating entire floors to moccasins and cactus-printed sweatshirts, the Southwest (and New Mexico in particular) had a history of producing some of the most compelling creative minds in American History. From its deserts mesas, and mountain-peaks, to its rich Native American culture and unique Spanish colonial history, New Mexico is beautiful, magical, and undeniably inspiring.
Even the cool and rebellious art crowd in the ’20s saw its potential. Mabel Dodge Luhan set up camp there with a commune that brought Ansel Adams and Georgia O’Keeffe to the Southwest. In the following decades New Mexico-born musicians like John Denver and Jim Morrison would become major players in shaping what Americana sounds like. Authors Cormac McCarthy and George R. R. Martin wrote epic novels that would be adapted to film and TV series watched by millions (ahem—Game of Thrones y’all), and fashion superhero Tom Ford just pimped his grandmother’s original Santa Fe ranch to get back to his roots.
For almost a century New Mexico has been the site of artistic communes and development. For even longer, New Mexico’s landscape has inspired artistic creation and spiritual awakening. The indigenous wildlife and foliage that spans this part of the United States has moved photographers, painters, writers, and musicians to create breathtaking and engaging work.
Here, we check out the last 100 years of New Mexico’s influence on the art world, and what influences that unique part of the American desert is making today.
Mabel Dodge Luhan, 1920s
Mabel Dodge Luhan, a prominent art collector and art patron ran salons in Florence and Manhattan before settling in Taos to open Los Gallos. She invited people like Ansel Adams, Georgia O'Keeffe, and famed psychiatrist Carl Jung to live and work there. Los Gallos represented an exciting crossroads of the elite and the progressive worlds—the effects of which still resonate in art and culture today. Luhan even wrote a book on the experience, Winter in Taos.
Ansel Adams, 1930s
In 1930 world-renowned landscape photographer Ansel Adams publishedhis first book Taos Pueblo, which featured New Mexican landscapes, specifically those from Taos, where he resided with two other influencers on our list: Mabel Dodge Luhan and Georgia O’Keeffe. Adams’ iconic photographic clarity and depth, which he achieved by using large-format cameras, can be seen in his portraits of New Mexican landscapes. Adams’ techniques continue to inspire the so-called “West Coast tradition”—which relies on the photographer’s exquisite sense of framing and light to produce the ideal image without darkroom or postproduction alterations.
John Denver, 1940s
In 1943 John Denver, a beloved America folk singer was born in Roswell, New Mexico. Most well known for his acoustic, singer-songwriter vibe, Denver sold over 33 million records during his career. His most notable songs are “Leaving On a Jet Plane,” “Take Me Home, Country Roads” and “Rocky Mountain High,” all of which are considered iconic American folk songs. In addition to his work in music, Denver was also instrumental in championing many environmental and humanitarian efforts around sustainability, including work with the Cousteau Society and the Hunger Project. Although Denver died in a plane crash in 1997, his influence still resonates with contemporary pop artists like Jewel, Carrie Underwood, and even indie-darlings, Red House Painters.
Georgia O'Keeffe, 1950s
Iconic painter Georgia O'Keeffe also felt a pull to the unusual, yet undeniably inspiring State. In the 1950s she relocated from Lake George, N.Y. to New Mexico, in order to expand and inspire her artistic vision. There O’Keeffe joined other creative minds at Luhan’s group in Taos, creating some of her most enchanting work, particularly Ladder to the Moon and her Ghost Ranch series. O’Keeffe’s work was groundbreaking for its soft, ethereal take on landscapes and foliage, and its daring feminist overtones. She boldly and unapologetically worked satire and female sexuality into her work—juxtaposing beautiful, soft flowers with hard, disturbing imagery, like animal bones and skulls. In November of 2014 her painting Jimson Weed, White Flower No. 1 sold for $44.4 million.
Jim Morrison, 1960s
Jim Morrison, lead singer of The Doors, and one of the most iconic and influential frontman in music (even inspiring some artists on our Spotify playlists like Nirvana, Iggy Pop and The Strokes), was deeply influenced by New Mexico—having lived there briefly as a child. Morrison was particularly influenced by New Mexico’s indigenous symbols, including lizards, snakes, and deserts, which appear many times in his songs, poetry, and live performances—to the point that he was referred to as “The Lizard King.” His appropriation of indigenous imagery completely radicalized America’s view of the American West and brought the area’s iconography into the mainstream.
Mike Reynolds, 1970s
Mike Reynolds, a well-known architect and notorious creator of Earthship houses, began his career in the 1970s in New Mexico. His Earthship Biotecture practice was inspired by the natural New Mexican landscape and focused on creating self-sustaining, “off-the-grid” structures that utilized natural and recycled materials. His work even caught the attention of environmental-minded celebrities and activists. Unfortunately, despite his continuous stress of “experimental homes,” many homeowners filed lawsuits because of leaky roofs or inadequate climate control, ultimately leading to Reynolds having his credentials stripped by the State of New Mexico.
Cormac McCarthy, 1980s
Cormac McCarthy, the prolific author of Blood Meridian (1985), lived in the Tesuque, New Mexico, north of Santa Fe, with his third wife and their son. During his time in New Mexico he wrote both No Country for Old Men (2005) and The Road (2006)—two of his most notable works. (It’s hard not to think that McCarthy’s apocalyptic settings weren’t just a little inspired by the dusty deserts of the New Mexican landscape.) McCarthy’s ties to the state even lead him to donate the proceeds of the sale of his iconic typewriter to New Mexico’s Santa Fe Institute.
George R. R. Martin, 1990s
In 1991Santa Fe-based American Novelist George R.R. Martin began writing an epic fantasy series entitled A Song of Ice and Fire. Readers may know Martin’s work as the much talked-about, cult-followed show Game of Thrones. However, Martin’s epic story of violence, sexuality, and royalty is not only entertaining, it’s also relevant to current cultural issues. The story speaks to the present political and economic environment, specifically making commentary on the rich and powerful (the 1%)—not surprising for a man who is an active supporter of New Mexico’s Democrats. His work also has strong feminist overtones, highlighting powerful female characters in a way that doesn’t normally appear in mainstream media. Keeping with his love of New Mexico and art, Martin recently invested $2.7 million in a 33,000 square-foot bowling alley for use as an art complex for art collective Meow Wolf.
Tom Ford, 2000s
“I don’t pop molly I rock—”you know the rest. Apart from being immortalized in a Jay Z song as an emblem of class and luxury, New Mexico born designer Tom Ford is a straight up legend. During his 14 years at Gucci he reimagined the Italian fashion house, bringing in the likes of Carine Roitfeld and Mario Testino to help save the then-dying brand. He helmed Yves Saint Laurent before Hedi Slimane started doing things like this, and grew his namesake line into one of the world’s most aspirational brands. His Fall 2014 collection demonstrates the influences New Mexico’s landscape has had on Ford’s aesthetic—mimicking Native American and prairie garb, through simple, flowing silhouette animal hides, prints, and ranch-inspired construction. He recently modernized his grandmother’s original ranch in Sante Fe with the intention to move back. Clearly New Mexico never left his mind; he bought the property during his Gucci days in Italy during the ’90s.
Today
Adobe brings Shawna X, a New York City-based digital illustrator, to the Southwest. Shawna X headed to White Sands to create a work of art out of nothing but the inspirational landscape. Her work for Adobe utilized the new Creative Cloud software to create a semi-opaque piece that incorporated elements and colors from the landscape with the stunning lighting of the desert. The outcome was an airy, romantic installation, reminiscent of Georgia O’Keeffe but updated for the present day.
Complex News was on the scene, check out the video from their Summer Vacation stop in New Mexico below.