Cowboys and Poetry II

If the copy is art, what is the original?*

Jan 27, 2025

Jim Krantz: “Epic Western No. 9”

Ready for another piece of cowboy poetry? Let us set the stage with a poem by Michael Byte.

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

The Herd
As the sun rises
a young pioneer saddles his ride.
Mounting his horse
his young bride
his love as he rides
Off to find his herd.
 His proud mare  
goes through the prairie
next to his barb wire.
He wonders in his mind
how far have they strayed.
How many day
must I ride. 
He sings aloud
a song his herd
has heard 
as he rode.
On yonder hill he sees
two cows grazing along
next to their side two young calves.
He hears their cries
as he tops the hillside. 
In the green valley below
he sees his lost herd.

Just in case you missed my first post about the appropriation ‘artist’ Richard Prince, I wrote about a great Colorado photographer Norm Clasen. Mr. Clasen photographed some of the most iconic images for the Marlboro Country campaign back in the 1970s and 80s.

Today, we are going to celebrate a second photographer, who equally was appropriated by Richard Prince and never got a dime for it. Please meet Jim Krantz.

Jim Krantz: photograph for Marlboro advertisement

Born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, Jim Krantz (1955 - ) honed his photographic skills with some of the greats of the time, including Ansel Adams, George Tice and Paul Caponigro. In 1993, he was hired by Leo Burnett to continue the work on the Marlboro Country cowboy campaign. The work took him across the Western United States from side to side and top to bottom.

Jim Krantz: “The Cowboy” III

In 2007, Krantz was in New York and went to the Guggenheim Museum, which was showing a 30 year retrospective of Richard Prince. He stopped outside, when he saw a poster on the sidewalk showing a western hat, under which was a cowboy in his pink shirt with his arm outstretched.

Jim Krantz immediately recognized the image. It was from one of his Marlboro Country shoots. It was his photograph, which he called: “Stretchin’ Out”.

Below, you can see the poster for the Richard Prince 30 year retrospective which was called Spiritual America at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. The poster for the show is on the left below. Jim Krantz’s photograph is on the right:

Jim Krantz; “Stretchin’ Out” on the right

“it’s like seeing yourself in a mirror.” said Mr. Krantz in an interview a few days later. He continued: “When I left, I didn’t know if I should be proud, or if I looked like an idiot”. Seemingly a calm and not particularly vindictive person, Mr. Krantz took no action against Richard Prince at the time. He was, however, most unhappy with his photograph being used on a poster at the Guggenheim selling for $9.95. He just wanted a little recognition. Mr. Krantz wanted people to know that there are actually real photographers behind these photographs.

Jim Krantz: “The Cowboys” IV

In Krantz’ own words: “At this point it’s been done, and it’s out there,” he said. “My whole issue with this, truly, is attribution and recognition. It’s an unusual thing to see an artist who doesn’t create his own work, and I don’t understand the frenzy around it. If I italicized ‘Moby-Dick,’ then would it be my book?…. I don’t think so.”

In his book “Looking at Photography”, Professor Stephen Frailey comments on the work of 100 photographers. He says of Richard Prince: “Richard Prince’s work as a component of the hollowing of cultural authority is particularly perverse and savvy; the transaction from yard sale into the ranks of high culture, with the resounding approval of the financial market place”.