In the Symphony of the American West, Gregor Perušek portrayed the arid desert landscape he saw on his travels in the Western States – barren soil, massive rocks, and scant greenery. In the 1920s, he often traveled West, specifically to New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada, immersing himself in and painting the characteristic landscape, and becoming acquainted with the Native Americans and their customs. Topographically and environmentally, the landscape is very similar in these states, and today shares the same environmental problems.
The Southwestern United States was very popular among artists at the time of Perušek’s travels, sought out for the pristine, primordial nature and genuine contact with Native Americans. In art, this region is often portrayed in a romantic manner, as sublime and remote from civilization. In the 1930s, however, it began to change rather quickly due to the New Deal reforms. The construction of the railroad infrastructure provided better connections with the rest of the US and enabled more migration. This in turn brought the building of new roads, settlements, and industry.
Today, the impacts of industry and climate change are increasing the incidence of heatwaves, leading to desertification and decreasing the water levels of the Colorado and Rio Grande Rivers. The indigenous communities that so fascinated Perušek were among the first and most affected by this, as these changes destroyed their homes and livelihoods, forcing them to migrate and worsening their already systematically marginalized social status. Perušek’s image is a visual record of a landscape that has crucially and potentially irreversibly changed over the last century.
