IG: @crockpot_cowboy

Cowboy Camp

There is an air to the Wild West, one of retribution, of new beginnings, of total and absolute freedom. The Cowboy is a vision of freedom and agency over his life. That is, the cowboy and those whom he depends on to survive out on those wide open plains. There is a closeness that these boys come to know as their lives. A closeness and a queerness in their conduct. The queerness that is inherent to the life of the cowboy, manifests itself as a style or sign or language that quietly moves on to be utilized by the modern queer as they navigate our world today.

This body of work sings the song of campfires, closeness, and queer connection. In highlighting the quiet codes queer folk have used over time to signal sameness to one another, the pieces embody these relations that mirror each other and celebrate the intrinsic queerness of the human experience.

Bio

Milo McNeel is from Houston, Texas and currently lives and works in Portland, Maine. McNeel has earned a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Printmaking from Maine College of Art & Design.

McNeel’s work utilizes the imagery and culture of their southern heritage as they explore the idea that there is an inherent queerness to the human experience.