What better way to approach an American myth than through a road trip? Joachim Hildebrand travelled through the seven states of the American Southwest, in which the Wild West is located, both geographically and in our imagination.

The title of the book inevitably evokes images full of clichés and stereotypes. Today, where the wilderness has been displaced by “civilization,” Hildebrand discovers entirely different scenes than those generally associated with the Wild West and the American frontier. He sets his sight on blurred contours, contradictions, borders, and transitions: from architecture to nature, from urbanity to landscape. The archetypes of the American West have become mere platitudes.

Untitled #7223
From the series Wild West, 2015-2017 © Joachim Hildebrand

Here, the myths of the Wild West and the “manifest destiny,” which are so essential for the self-understanding of the USA, are deconstructed. For Joachim Hildebrand, however, the West continues to fascinate as a visual adventure.