First Friday at NewWest.Net: Jacob Cowgill’s ‘Prairie Stories’

By Courtney Lowery, 3-26-08

NewWest.Net is proud to host Jacob Cowgill and his “Prairie Stories” sculpture exhibit in April.

We hope you can join us for an opening reception First Friday, April 4, from 5-9 p.m. at the NewWest.Net office at 415 N. Higgins Ave. in the alley behind the Old Post.

“Prairie Stories” is a collection of found-art sculptures that are part natural history exhibit and part interactive artist books—sculptures that give an intimate window into the interconnectedness of land, creature and human.

The metal and wood pieces tweak the eye to showcase the intricate remnants of the creatures that call the prairie home. The result is storytelling of the natural world Cowgill encountered while working the fields of an experimental dry-land vegetable farm near Big Sandy, Montana.

Cowgill’s work with farmer Bob Quinn is an effort to determine how a family can survive again on a small acreage while fostering a local food system in Central Montana. Cowgill’s daily interaction with plants, land, wide-open spaces and the diverse fauna of the area inspired “Prairie Stories.”

In his artist statement, Cowgill says, “While farming in this way, I encounter those wild elements in my environment – the coyote, porcupines, rattlesnakes, grasshoppers – and recognize that I am not alone out there with just my crops and animals but am part of that native story, the story beneath the human-manipulated surface. These stories unfold all around me in the grass, coulees, and even in structures like greenhouses, barns, and beneath porches.”

In many ways, “Prairie Stories” is an homage to the sometimes overlooked beauty of Cowgill’s home—the Montana plains.

Where: 415 N. Higgins (In the alley behind the Old Post)
When: First Friday, April 4, 5-9 p.m.
Who: Jacob Cowgill’s “Prairie Stories”
What: Great art, good beer, good conversation

(Full disclosure: I’m a little biased on how cool this show will be because I’m marrying the artist.)