c.m. russell - fireboat

I know exactly what they were saying, I was there. We were discussing how to cook a rock so it tastes like Buffalo. 

Dan

Fella's;

Actually they are discussing the steam-powered river boat on the Missouri below them.  In detail, they are discussing the asshole white-eye that taught them the new & wonderful game of poker on the riverboat.  As you can see, they don't have shirts.

900F

rob, cb and trigger are on the right track, in spite of the comedy. get ready for an "interpretation!"

first of all, there is the title: fireboat. but where is the fireboat? or a boat on fire? that little tiny blob of paint down in the corner? out in the middle you've got a grand view of a group of indians, though. fireboat. not "steamboat" and not "4 indians looking at a steamboat." fireboat. the only name they had for what THEY were seeing. the first thing to know about this painting and the story it is telling is that the story is coming from those indians on the hill.

the dude in the middle is actually making the sign for fire, and the gentleman on the left has his hand up to his mouth in astonishment. think about it. these guys are in a stone age society. EVERYTHING that they know and posess comes from the land, the trees, the animals and the earth. they had seen boats before; possibly canoes, more likely "bull-boats' used by tribes such as the mandan. but this! this is a huge monstrosity of wood and metal, belching fire! and holy buffalo chips! it is going upstream and NOT on human power! imagine whipping out a gps or cell phone a few years ago, or if martians landed on main street and started walking on water.....that would change more than a few things.......

obviously, this fireboat is bringing people. people who can make boats go upstream. people who can manipulate the very elements. the two indians off to the right are wondering about these people, and why shouldn't they? what do those people want here, and what do they want with us? what are their intentions, and what if they aren't peaceful?

our way of life has just ended, and there is no turning back.

the boat in the picture happens to be the yellow stone, and it is travelling up the missouri a few miles downstream from fort benton in the early 1830's. perhaps it is carrying prince maximilian of weid and carl bodmer, who wanted to see the west before it was gone.

in 1903, charlie russell went to new york to show his paintings and to pick up a few ideas about art. people laughed at his work because of his skies. they couldn't believe that skies out west looked like that. he was a master at painting a "big sky," and montana is a great place to do it. while in new york, he learned a technique called "laying on color," which allowed his paintings to really take on even more depth and dimension. this painting was made in 1918, and is considered to have been painted during his peak.

notice on the brush in front of the horses, and the shadows. if you know the geography of montana, the you know that upstream on the missouri is heading west. that tells you that this scene is happening during sunrise. it's the dawn of a new era for "america," and also for a new relationship between the indians and the world around them.

hey, i just wrote that. not bad, huh?