UW Exhibition Explores Artist James Bama Photographs

When illustrator and artist James Bama moved to Wyoming in 1968, he began exploring the Western identity through the photographs and paintings he made of his new friends and neighbors. Although Bama, of Cody, quickly became known for his realistic paintings, photographs were the foundation of his imagery.

An exhibition featuring Bama’s photography -- “James Bama’s Photographs: Portraits of the West” -- is now on display at the University of Wyoming’s American Heritage Center (AHC). The exhibition, located in the AHC’s loggia, runs through April 10, 2024.

The images offer fresh perspectives on representations of Western identities in Bama’s photographic portraits. They capture dissonances between historical trappings and the modern world, highlighting the complexity of Western histories and identities. The photographic portraits look deeply into the people on the other side of the camera, conveying a sense of the models’ humor, drama, beauty, strength, contradictions or loneliness by tapping into the West’s unique mix of storytelling, self-representation, history and contemporaneity.

“Many of us who live in the modern, rural West see ourselves in light of the West’s past,” says Paul Flesher, AHC director and the exhibition’s curator. “Whether that is a continuation of the lifeways from previous centuries, reenactments of events and culture from those times, or simply drawing inspiration from them, Bama’s photographs -- like his paintings -- capture that connection.”

The show constitutes a special “exhibition partnership” with the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, in Cody, where “Portraits of the West” opened Oct. 21 and runs until Aug. 4, 2024.

Curated in partnership with each other, the joint exhibition showcases more than 120 distinct photographs in the paired presentations, Flesher says.

“Beginning with a shared understanding of Bama’s approach, each exhibit fills in the details of their visual exposition differently, weaving together a thematic framework with distinctive selections,” he adds. “The result is a powerful visual conversation about James Bama’s maturing vision of the West.”

For more information, visit the AHC website at www.uwyo.edu/ahc/.