Art in America – The history of the Southwest is long and vexed. Many think of America as developing from east to west, from the original 13 colonies to settlements made in the name of Manifest Destiny. But the West in all its richness was there, of course, long before it was “discovered” by venturers from elsewhere. The region has been home to a palimpsest of cultures, but the gruesome theft of land from Indigenous people remains a defining trauma. The southernmost parts of the Southwest at one time belonged to Mexico; today that area is embroiled in battles over immigration, and scarred by a former president’s xenophobic desire to build a wall. Plagued by drought, the entire Southwest tolls the ominous bell of climate change.

GOD’S-EYE VIEWS
by Jackson Arn

Aerial photography captures the Southwest’s natural splendor, explosive urban development, and military secrets.