Louise Serpa,
Rodeo Photographer
Story by Lin Stone
| Thirty years ago Louise L. Serpa was the first woman to be
allowed to enter the rodeo arena to record exciting and
unpredictable rodeo action shots on film. This is all the more
memorable because very few men are allowed in the arena either.
The very first rule of conduct is to stay completely and absolutely
out of the way, to in no way interfere with the action or reaction
going on in the arena. If a bull unexpectedly comes your way
you either learn how to fly, or you lay down dead in your tracks and
let the bull go over you. Climbing a fence is permissible only
if you don't influence the other action in the arena by your
withdrawal. That's just one of the reasons cowboys (and
photographers) make friends with the clowns before the rodeo starts.
(See the above picture) Fleet-footed and courageous clowns have saved many a life and prevented many a crushing disaster in the rodeo arena. We tend to remember determined attacks of bulls more than one of a steer or a cow but any of these can snap three or four ribs into with just one head toss. They prefer to mash their victims up against a fence than to try pounding them into the ground. Horses prefer to rear on their hind legs and flail with their front hooves raking, but they can also strike straight from the shoulder while standing flat footed. Their coup de grace is delivered from the hind hooves working together as one powerful blow. Then there's the danger of just flat getting trampled from falling into the danger zone, or from sliding down below the belly of the critter. For many years Louise had been taking rodeo pictures as a hobby. After divorcing her husband in 1960 she decided to turn the hobby into the means of supporting her two daughters and herself. By 1963, the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association (PRCA) bestowed on her a pink press card-- thus marking her debut to photograph RCA rodeos inside the arena. The professional quality of her photos soon made her a favorite of the professional rodeo stars. "Did you get it? Did you get the shot?" In 1992 a magazine article in The New Yorker described Serpa's evocative black-and-white photographs thusly: "It's hard to believe your eyes when you first see how wild in form her pictures are - both the horses and the cowboys take on shapes so free from gravity that if you didn't know better you'd think they were made of rubber or were products of trick photography." Louise Serpa is now a living legend. In 2002, Serpa received the Tad Lucas Memorial Award. The greatness of her lifetime of work was appropriately recognized during Rodeo Historical Society activities at the National Cowboy Museum. Now 82 years old, she is still spry and professional. With hundreds of rodeos to her credit, Serpa's work is being displayed at the museum as a tour d' force. On February 9, 2008, the museum will open The Rodeo Photography of Louise Serpa, featuring 50 silver gelatin photographic prints. The exhibition will remain on view through May 5, 2008. |
Click HERE for a larger Pic
Note that ALL her pictures are copyrighted
and are to be used in public ONLY with permission.
| The exhibition also will include a documentary titled "When
the Dust Settles," and a 2004 interview with Serpa conducted by
the Museum's
research center director, Chuck Rand. The exhibit opens with a
special public reception February 8 at 6:00 p.m. in conjunction
with Real Western Wear: Beaded Gauntlets from the William Healey
Collection. Serpa will attend the opening and participate in a
special Saturday, February 9 presentation. For reception
reservations and additional information you can call (405)
478-2250, Ext. 219.
Her exhibit reveals the thrill and danger that can only be captured while actually being in the arena as the horse bucks a rider off or a bull charges. The rodeo is one of the few truly American sports, as riveting as it is symbolic of a rapidly changing American West. Rodeo is a sporting even, much like a track meet. There is almost always the bareback riding, bull riding, bull-dogging, roping, and team roping events. From that point the number and kind of other events will vary with the location and timing. Many of the champions specialize in only one of the events. Cowboys that have earned a name that draws crowds can count on a special invite, and a larger purse; all the more reason to ask the photographers for copies of their best shots. One critic remarked that Serpa's
photographs give a magnificent overview of the rodeo sport that
is so much a history of the old West and still is important in
the American West of today. She also was the first woman allowed on the courses of the Grand National in England, and the first to cover the Dublin Horse Show. Clem McSpadden (1989 Rodeo Hall of Fame inductee, 1998 Ben Johnson Memorial Award recipient, and 2008 Chester A. Reynolds Memorial Award recipient at the National Cowboy Museum) called Serpa the "Ansel Adams of Rodeo." Louise L. Serpa is one to ride the river with. |
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