The artists who will be highlighted today are Bunky Echohawk (the artist who has been featured on the background of this blog), Jason Garcia, David Bradley, and Vernon Otero. These artists are are not only the creators of beautiful pieces of art, but also creative agents who help define, revive, and pass on their cultures utilizing art. Their artwork provides an pivotal role for continuity and change within American Indian cultures.
Bunky Echohawk is an American Indian artist from the Pawnee and Yakama Nations, rather than trying to explain his genius, below is a link to a video of his personal profile, he states his inspiration and motivation comes from"injustice in Indian Country, there are a great number of atrocities that our people faced through the past 500 years...there's a lot of ignorance, a lot of preconceived notions about who we are there's a lot of misconceptions, a lot of stereotypes and I feel like through art I can attack some of those and through art I can help reeducate a public."
BUNKY ECHOHAWK VIDEO
This video demonstrates the close connection to Bunky and his community. He says he is interested in creating art for Native people, probably because they are easily able to relate to the art he produces, and for other people interested in the plight of American Indians today. Below are a few of his pieces that really demonstrate his ability to create art with political messages.
MY INTERPRETATION AND INSIGHTS:
To the left, is a political painting with the caption "Is America Ready to Learn the Truth Yet", as I interpret this photo, I see how many Natives are freeze framed into images of the past, Sitting Bull the Native man in black and white was a leader of his people and I interpret this as his truth and the truth of Native peoples of this land has been silenced by mass media. Across the bottom is a political commentary about how the US government is now colonizing Iraq with a reference to the Bureau of Iraqi Affairs (BIA)referencing the current sector of federal government that handles Native issues called the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). I interpret that reference to Iraq as the United States government colonizing another country through the present war we are involved in. The Trust Mismanagement reference is to the multitude of cases stemming from government misuse and mismanagement of Indian monies (recently a case in the Supreme Court was settled Cobell v. US admitting that the government mismanaged Indian monies and is the process of fixing their mistake and paying back the tribal members of effected tribes).
MY INTERPRETATION AND INSIGHTS:
To the right is an image of masked figures dressed in traditional wear. Why the gas masks? Many of Bunky's paintings feature masked figures, which I interpret as a metaphor for the toxic chemicals and uranium mines that are currently being housed on various Indian reservations throughout America. Note the bio hazard symbol on the skull. I can tell these images are meant to be Native because of the clothes they are wearing which are traditional wear for some tribes.
Without some background on issues that affect Indian Country, it may be hard for some people to correctly interpret his symbolism, and who knows maybe my interpretations were not what the artist was trying to convey, that is one feature of art that makes it intriguing.
Jason Garcia is the next artist I will highlight, his art is also culturally derived from the history of the Pueblo American Indian tribes along the Rio Grande river in New Mexico. He is from the Turtle Mountain and Santa Clara Nations. I view his work as bridging the gap between traditional Pueblo culture and modern culture, below are a few of his paintings, some which are done on tiles. A more in depth biography and list of his credentials can be found by clicking in this link: JASON GARCIA Biography
MY INTERPRETATION AND INSIGHTS:For the non-Pueblo Indian, the Natives in these paintings are dressed in traditional clothing, used during specific dances, minus the capes, that is the artist being channeled through his work. Although scarves are used for some dances in certain Pueblos. On the far right the lady is dressed traditionally and using a modern cell phone, this to me is a very real time depiction of Pueblo Indians, as we still practice our culture while simultaneously are immersed in wider society.
Po'Pay the man pictured above and to the right, is a pivotal character in Pueblo history. Before White settlers came to the Southwest, the Spanish colonized Pueblo tribes. Po'Pay orchestrated a revolt against Spanish conquistadores. He is a true hero of the Pueblo Indians because he organized the revolt, that was ultimately successful, among 24 different Nations, speaking six different languages, and spanning 400 miles. So equipped with this history, Garcia's depiction of Po'Pay paints a very true image of a hero for the sovereign nations of the Pueblo tribes. Note the small Spanish conquistadores at the feet of Po'Pay in the cartoon cover painting. By using the template of a cartoon cover, Garcia blends modern art with past history as well as conveying the true history to not only his people but an uneducated public as well, similar to Echohawks mission. The next featured artist is David Bradley, whose work I saw first hand at the Denver Art Museum. David Bradley is from the Chippewa Nation and graduated from IAIA, a short biography can be found by clicking on this link David P. Bradley Biography His piece carries a social and political message of how American Indians are portrayed to mainstream America. The image below is called "Land O Fakes"
MY INTERPRETATION AND INSIGHTS:Many people are aware of the Land O Lakes butter advertising, and unconsciously absorb the images of what Native people look like. The "Indian maiden" in this picture is holding money, which to me, represents the money corporations make off of false portrayals of Natives while simultaneously promote a stereotypical image of Natives to the public.
Many times, we see images of different cultural groups and do not question the authenticity of the image even questioning if it is offensive to those people. A popular controversy in Native America is amongst mascots, the image above can relay my feelings about that particular issue. While these images are heavily peddled to the public, the corporations marketing these images rarely have any remorse or sympathy for the people actually affected by this misrepresentations and in my eyes promotes racism at the expense of oppressed people.
Now that we have seen some art produced by graduates of IAIA I have some pieces from a former IAIA student and his response to questions I had about the institution and his perspectives Indian art. This student's name is Vernon Otero and he comes from the Chippewa Cree and Santa Ana Pueblo Nations. Below is some of his art.
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| The eagle is painted on a real feather |
Being from Santa Ana, it is the clan my family belongs to and the other side of me is the animal has tremendous traditional significance being Chippewa Cree. And it doesn't hurt that it just looks cool and interesting." Just as any artist, visual aesthetic takes priority while also influenced by an artist's culture.
The other picture is of an airbrushed design on a t-shirt. Vernon's inspiration for using airbrush Vernon says is "I introduce an urban aspect with my airbrushing. Somewhat similar to the graffiti culture of the hip-hop generation. It depicts the assimilation which Native culture has now become living in a modern society." Once again a common re-occurrence of the theme of a multidimensional culture being portrayed through art.
Being that the majority of the artists previewed in this blog post have either attended IAIA or graduated from there, I asked Vernon if it seems like his fellow students while at IAIA draw from cultural aspects to which he gave a very good response. "One thing I took from my time at IAIA was that any work created by a Native artists is traditional art. It is only dubbed contemporary by the industry and the criteria in which fulfill their standards of being traditional. I choose to not look at my work as contemporary or traditional rather "Vernesque". That's a sad think about being a Native artists, that "traditional" art is prized and far more valuable to non-Native enthusiasts or collectors. Many new and contemporary artists get overlooked and stop practicing." The art industry has created a space for American Indian art, but is it only American Indian art when it reflects the artist's culture? This is an important question to be asked because it goes back to only viewing Native peoples as one dimensional and freeze framing them in their traditional ways of life. In reality, most Native people lead complex lives living within two worlds of traditional and contemporary.
I ended the interview with Mr. Otero by asking "Where do you see Native art going, or expect it to go in the future?" to which he responded: "I have no particular expectation, as long as it is still being produced. More often than not, social and political messages are in every piece of art today. Maybe even subliminal messages. I personally like people to look at my work and hear their perspectives and interpretations before revealing my intent. I like what Native artists today are doing, it's just that there is no market for their work." It is important to remember that many times art movements are not titled so until after there comes a time to historically label a movement and artists who are famous today were not highly recognized until after their deaths.
Ending the interview with this rather sad note, I feel it is important to realize the colonization of art, what is considered art, and who makes up these "guidelines" for what the industry dubs art. "During the 1930s, influential writers, curators, and arts administrators continued to advance the cause of both Native American art and folk art as aspects of an indigenous, populist Americanism. Elizabeth White demonstrated to sophisticated New Yorkers that Indian art had a place in a colonial revival (Berlo, 18)." As I have mentioned in previous posts, Native art was not highly marketed internationally until after World War I when America sought to be different than Europe. Socially, Americans did this by popularizing Native American art and folk art because those were the truly unique aspects of American culture that could effectively distinguish America from Europe.
Keeping this history in mind, now that America is distinct from Europe and people of color are in the post-Civil Rights era, this has allowed for Native artists to mirror their realities apart from solely traditional realms of art.
If there is no market for a type of art would the art cease to be created? For many Native artists, this would not be the scenario as the art produced is a product of a culture and in many ways tied to epistemology's of these tribes. The modern and contemporary art of the artist featured above is a self reflection of where Native peoples are today and how American society has influenced American Indian identity but did not succeed in eliminating it or assimilating Indigenous groups.
I personally look forward to what American Indian artist continue to produce to educate their people but also wider society as to who and what a modern American Indian is through the eyes of art. As demonstrated by the pieces above, art can have a whole different meaning to the creator and interpreter. If one is to take the responsibility of educating themselves to diverse cultures and world views, a whole new realm of education can be achieved utilizing art.
Being that the majority of the artists previewed in this blog post have either attended IAIA or graduated from there, I asked Vernon if it seems like his fellow students while at IAIA draw from cultural aspects to which he gave a very good response. "One thing I took from my time at IAIA was that any work created by a Native artists is traditional art. It is only dubbed contemporary by the industry and the criteria in which fulfill their standards of being traditional. I choose to not look at my work as contemporary or traditional rather "Vernesque". That's a sad think about being a Native artists, that "traditional" art is prized and far more valuable to non-Native enthusiasts or collectors. Many new and contemporary artists get overlooked and stop practicing." The art industry has created a space for American Indian art, but is it only American Indian art when it reflects the artist's culture? This is an important question to be asked because it goes back to only viewing Native peoples as one dimensional and freeze framing them in their traditional ways of life. In reality, most Native people lead complex lives living within two worlds of traditional and contemporary.
I ended the interview with Mr. Otero by asking "Where do you see Native art going, or expect it to go in the future?" to which he responded: "I have no particular expectation, as long as it is still being produced. More often than not, social and political messages are in every piece of art today. Maybe even subliminal messages. I personally like people to look at my work and hear their perspectives and interpretations before revealing my intent. I like what Native artists today are doing, it's just that there is no market for their work." It is important to remember that many times art movements are not titled so until after there comes a time to historically label a movement and artists who are famous today were not highly recognized until after their deaths.
Ending the interview with this rather sad note, I feel it is important to realize the colonization of art, what is considered art, and who makes up these "guidelines" for what the industry dubs art. "During the 1930s, influential writers, curators, and arts administrators continued to advance the cause of both Native American art and folk art as aspects of an indigenous, populist Americanism. Elizabeth White demonstrated to sophisticated New Yorkers that Indian art had a place in a colonial revival (Berlo, 18)." As I have mentioned in previous posts, Native art was not highly marketed internationally until after World War I when America sought to be different than Europe. Socially, Americans did this by popularizing Native American art and folk art because those were the truly unique aspects of American culture that could effectively distinguish America from Europe.
Keeping this history in mind, now that America is distinct from Europe and people of color are in the post-Civil Rights era, this has allowed for Native artists to mirror their realities apart from solely traditional realms of art.
If there is no market for a type of art would the art cease to be created? For many Native artists, this would not be the scenario as the art produced is a product of a culture and in many ways tied to epistemology's of these tribes. The modern and contemporary art of the artist featured above is a self reflection of where Native peoples are today and how American society has influenced American Indian identity but did not succeed in eliminating it or assimilating Indigenous groups.
I personally look forward to what American Indian artist continue to produce to educate their people but also wider society as to who and what a modern American Indian is through the eyes of art. As demonstrated by the pieces above, art can have a whole different meaning to the creator and interpreter. If one is to take the responsibility of educating themselves to diverse cultures and world views, a whole new realm of education can be achieved utilizing art.
The personal interviews posted and the selection of contemporary artists for this blog is dynamic. It is interesting and educational. It gives me the hope that the life of Indian art carries a long history of culture, from past to present and continues to flourish in everyday society. The young artists in the new millineum are crossing the boundaries dictated in many political, religious, cultural forms and I like it!....Good job and keep up the good work
ReplyDeleteYou do an amazing job of bringing this down to a level where anyone can apreciate it. It is very well written an I never thought of this as an issue. I think your blog demonstrates the importance of looking more in depth to situations. Great job!
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