For Cannupa Hanska Luger (b. 1979) the Bison is a symbol of Indigenous resilience and sovereignty. The mass slaughter of North American bison from 1845 to 1895 by settlers of European descent took place for profit, dominion over land and westward expansion. The strategic removal of this vital source of food, clothing, shelter and spiritual reverence for the Great Plains Native American populations forced their assimilation into western culture. It was also an ecological disaster with long lasting effects. Continue reading Cannupa Hanska Luger’s Attrition in City Hall Park→
Trade (Gifts For Trading Land With White People) (1992) is the first painting, in which Native American artist Jaune Quick-To-See Smith depicted a trade canoe, a subject she frequently returns to. Here, Smith uses the painted canoe as a vehicle for examining the history of exploitation in this country, which she underscores with collaged photocopies of old photographs, zoological illustrations, and clippings from newspapers and magazines – many from the publication of her reservation, Char-Koosta News. Continue reading Modern Art Monday Presents: Trade By Jaune Quick-To-See Smith→
Euro-American traditions of landscape art tend to work differently from those of Native peoples, often picturing the land from afar as a space to behold. James Doolin (1932 – 2002) carefully studied the landscape to create Bridges (1989), spending a week at the off-ramp from the 110 Freeway to Interstate 5 in Los Angeles. Using principles that originated in European painting, Doolin designed an expansive vista in which a vast space is seen from a single vantage point. The small figure in the foreground — intended as a stand-in for the artist or viewer — also appears in many traditional landscape paintings. By applying these motifs to 20th Century Los Angeles, Doolin refers to the power of historical images in shaping our modern experience of place.
Photographed in the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles.
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This elaborately Beaded Vest (2013) was inspired by the catalogs for the Burpee Seed Company, an online purveyor of gardening supplies. Whereas much Native American beadwork features flat, abstract designs, Marcus Amerman (Choctaw, Born 1959) stitches each bead individually, alternating colors to create three-dimensional effects. The result is vivid imagery that leaps off the surface and defies our expectations of the medium. Continue reading Eye On Design: Beaded Vest By Marcus Amerman→
Teri Greeves (b. 1970) is a member of the Kiowa Native American tribe, and her culture deeply influences her work. Khoiye-Goo Mah (2004) translates in the Kiowa language as “Kiowa women,” and four Kiowa women are depicted on these sneakers: the artist’s grandmother and mother, both skillful bead workers who taught Greeves this traditional craft, her aunt (the first female fancy war dancer in the state of Oklahoma), and a spiritual woman who had the honor of naming the artist.
