Untitled (Yellowstone, Swan Lake)
Untitled (Yellowstone, Swan Lake)
Artist
Cobi Moules
(born 1980)
Date2014
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions36 × 46 × 2 in. (91.4 × 116.8 × 5.1 cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2020.97
Accession number
2020.97
On View
Not on viewCollections
Label TextBy placing himself within a landscape inspired by Hudson River School paintings, Cobi Moules seeks to ennoble what he calls the “experiences related to [his] trans and queer identity.” In the Western tradition, large landscapes communicated the overwhelming power of nature and God. Moules embraces that tradition while intentionally disrupting it with the introduction of many selves. Here, he responds to his upbringing, challenging the idea that his gender and sexual orientation are unnatural—against God. Moules multiplies his own body, consuming the entirety of the landscape, attempting to redefine his relationship to God and nature.
