The Failed Life of a Cowboy
Charlie Mahoney-Volk
See it On Campus: Level 1
Visitor InfoThe Failed Life of a Cowboy
The Failed Life of a Cowboy, 2024, 30 x 40″, archival inkjet prints.
The Failed Life of a Cowboy is a series of photo, video, and textile works that explores westernized masculine archetypes in relation to queer identity. Through variations of the cowboy and the farmer, The Failed Life of a Cowboy activates an emotionally charged version of the harsh cultural invention of the cowboy through the queer lens of gender fluidity. The series uses self-portraiture as a means of character building, taking from historically rugged and macho personas, as well as present day media personalities. The Failed Life of a Cowboy features three self-portraits where the subject is dressed in classic cowboy attire, posed against the stark and out-of-place white studio backdrop. Each portrait features a sex-driven queer article to interrupt the expectedly straight and masculine attire, such as a dildo. Through studio setting and queer objects, the vision of the classic cowboy is disrupted.
Cowboys!, from The Failed Life of a Cowboy series
Cowboys!, 2023, 14 x 24″, archival inkjet prints.
Cowboys!, an earlier iteration of The Failed Life of a Cowboy self-portraits.
BIG CITY COWBOY, from The Failed Life of a Cowboy series
BIG CITY COWBOY, 2024, 3:08 minutes, video.
A film documenting the highs and lows of a cowboy in the big city.
Baked Beans, from The Failed Life of a Cowboy series
Baked Beans, 2023, 2:25 minutes, video.
A cowboy sitting on a couch, eating Heinz “British Style Beans” while listening to “Red River Valley” by Marty Robbins.
The Cowboy That Loved You So True, from The Failed Life of a Cowboy series
The Cowboy That Loved You So True, 2023, 60 x 60″, quilted textile.
A handmade quilt with the words “THE COWBOY THAT LOVED YOU SO TRUE” sewn around the image of a nude ‘feminine’ body and a cowboy hat.
