Bob Coronato
Bob Coronato used to open books and look at the "Old
West" photos and see cowboys riding the open plains, and would stop and
think, "I wished I lived 100 years ago."
After going out to the very remote west, and finding ranches that
still "cowboy" in the old ways, Bob Coronato realized that the west he
was searching for as a kid, was still there.
"In tiny hidden corners of the country, you can still find
places untouched by time. There are ranches that gather on horseback
2000 to 3000 head of cattle, across 100's of miles of fenceless
landscape. The time has come where land is becoming too valuable, and
it is no longer affordable to have cows roaming free, on open range.
This forces ranches to sell off lands to survive, and before long, the
"West" will be gone. Even now I can see dramatic changes and the things
I was lucky enough to be a part of just a few years ago, are now gone.
For example, old style ranch rodeos, traditional brandings, log cabins
with no electricity, and running the chuck wagon during roundup. I no
longer have to wish to be a part of the old days, but have become part
of the west I was searching for. We are at a clash of two times where
traditional cowboy'n ways are being overridden by the modern
technologies."- Bob Coronato
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More detail: This has been the focus of Bob Coronatos paintings as he trys to
document moments in time that show the ways of a fading lifestyle that
so many people have admired.
"The freedom of the west, and the wide open spaces have become a
symbol of our great country. As our lives become more regimented, and
the rules become more numerous, we long for those places of freedom.
The subjects of my work remind people that there still is a remote,
free west. It gives a sense of relief, that we are not a completely
modern country, just yet. "-Bob Coronato
The questions Bob Coronato hears most often is, "Do they still do
that?" Well.... yes they do, but who knows for how much longer? By
living in a very remote section of Wyoming, and working with ranchers
and cowboys, Bob Coronato feels proud to have been lucky enough to be a
part of this final chapter in the history of the American frontier.
"For now, "The West" is alive, it's just hiding, in small
corners of our country, trying desperately to hang on, and not be
forgotten. -Bob Coronato |
