Artist Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe on the hidden stories of Black American cowboys that fuel his new paintings:
When Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe was a kid growing up in Accra, Ghana, he loved to watch old Spaghetti Westerns on television or at the movie theater. “TNT movies” he called them, a nod to the station best known for its vintage cinematic offerings. Years later, he learned that the story of the American cowboy was far more nuanced than Hollywood had portrayed.
I love watching movies at 12 or 13 years old and I loved Western movies, especially. In Ghana, we call them “TNT” movies. I was intrigued by how cowboys dressed and how they talk, the boots and all that. It wasn’t something I was thinking deeply about—I liked the way they’d sling a gun. It was just fun to watch and I didn’t think about it too deeply.I had no conception that I wanted to be an artist at that time. I wanted to be a soccer player.
Can you tell me a little bit about how these stories inform the work? I also know you’ve become close to the Portland-based photographer Ivan McClellan, who documents these communities of Black cowboys.
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