The Irkutsk Regional Art Museum is hosting an exhibition of graphics by contemporary artists of the indigenous peoples of America, provided by the US Consulate in Yekaterinburg. It runs until March 24.
The exhibition is presented by the U.S. Consulate in Yekaterinburg. In the United States there are more than four hundred federally recognized tribes, each of which has its own language, traditions, and worldview, which often determine the artist’s vision, goals, and achievements.The graphic works in the exhibition are diverse in theme. The artists address such key issues as the importance of maintaining a connection with one’s “homeland” or community. The works also reflect the artists’ devoted attitude toward the memory, history, and traditions of their people, which ultimately determine the identity of Native American artists in the modern world.
For example, artists such as Juan Quick-to-See Smith (Confederated Salish and Kootenai Nation) combine the traditional Native American perception of the world with popular images and techniques characteristic of contemporary Euro-American culture. Another broad group of artists turns to the tribe’s historical memory. It includes, in particular, artists such as Melanie Yazzie (Navajo/Diné), Rande Cook (Kwakwaka’wakw Tribe), and America Meredith (Cherokee). For these masters, the main theme is family and social life. Edgar Heap of Birds’s (Cheyenne/Arapaho) works “Dead Indian Stories” (2011–2012) and “American Leagues” (1995–1996) are built on contrasting juxtapositions intended to convey to viewers the idea of the negative impact on Native communities of the mindset generated by the problem of relocation…
Even through a cursory acquaintance with the work of a small number of artists represented in the exhibition, one can feel the richness of artistic approaches that exist in contemporary Native American art.
The exhibition runs until March 24.
Based on materials from the Irkutsk Regional Art Museum