This weekend, Verve Gallery of Photography presents an opening for two exhibitions: Descendants from Norman Mauskopf and Gone West from William Albert Allard. Join these two artists for an evening of cowboys from Montana, low-riders from Española and Catholics from the northern mountains of New Mexico.

Norman Mauskopf's newest book, Descendants, is a compilation of snapshots taken in northern New Mexico during the past decade. The exhibition, which shares the same name, is made up of 20 of these black-and-white photographs depicting the northern Spanish community and the land in which they live.

"I concentrated on the high road. You know, Taos, Chama? The Catholic processes, ceremonies and services as well as the low-rider community," Mauskopf says. "I wanted to convey the feeling and look of the things that exist on the other side of the mountain."

Descendants features original work from poet Jimmy Santiago alongside Mauskopf's photographs, which emphasizes the prevalence of art in the northern Hispanic community.

"I wanted to show how much artwork is a part of that culture," Mauskopf says. "It's really about people, places, things, landscapers, urban and rural, sacred and secular."

Mauskopf, whose work has been on display at Verve once before, was in part responsible for bringing the famous William Albert Allard's newest collection to Santa Fe.

"I've been a fan of Bill's photography ever since I got started, way back in the late 70s, early 80s. I've got a collection of his articles torn out from National Geographics from over the years," Mauskopf says. "We've both covered the same material: cowboys, rodeos, blues, musicians."

Mauskopf met Allard during a photography workshop last spring and introduced his work to the Verve Gallery.

"We brought these two artists together [for an exhibition] because they cover the same sort of material, but are very different," Verve Gallery Director Jennifer Schlesinger says. "One is in color and one in black and white. It's an entirely different aesthetic."

Though Allard has only the Santa Fe area a few times, he feels Gone West fits well with the New Mexico culture.

"I was here in the '70s working on Western stories,  that I never published, on the history of the fur trade," Allard says. "I came in March, too, teaching for National Geographic in the Santa Fe [Photographic] Workshop. It's a beautiful country."

Allard's Gone West profiles the peoples and landscapes of the American West in 30 full-color photos. The National Geographic photojournalist has lived sporadically in the Hutterites Suprise Creek Colony in Montana between 1969 and 2005. His exhibition includes many photos taken at the Colony as well as in the Montana countryside.

"My first trip out West was with President Johnson's daughter. It was part of the 'See America First' tour," Allard says. "There's something in Montana—I've always felt at home."

Credits: William Albert Allar

Gone West captures a Western culture that is not yet lost in modern America. In one photograph, men donned in cowboys hats and dusters smoke cigarettes while playing a round of pool. In another, hunters gather their kills in the back of a pickup truck on the opening day of pheasant season.

In several trips to Montana, Allard has bonded with the rustic lifestyle of the Hutterites.

"They became like a second family to me," he says. "I would move to Montana permanently, but my Peruvian wife wouldn't allow it."

Allard's Gone West runs alongside Mauskopf's Descendants through the beginning of April.

Gone West
Descendants
Through April 2

Reception
5-7 pm
Friday, Jan. 21

William Albert Allard lecture
2-3 pm
Saturday, Jan. 22

VERVE Gallery of Photography
219 E Marcy St.
982-5009