Native-American Art

Paper Summary:

In this essay, the writer looks at the work of a select group of Native-American artists working in the post-war era. The writer notes that these artists managed to adapt a Modernist language in their own work, while simultaneously subverting that language in filtering it through their own personal experiences as Native artists. The writer points out that while some of the artists discussed here are still active, focus is limited on the period immediately after World War II and up to the 1980s. The writer provides some insights into the ways in which the Modernist paradigm has constantly been challenged by the work of Native-American artists throughout the post-war period. This paper includes color photographs of various works of art.

From the Paper:

"Although Houser would later come to be known primarily for his stone sculptures, this was his first major work in stone, the result of a commission by the Haskell Institute in Lawrence, Kansas. The work was meant to be a tribute to the students of Haskell who had died fighting for the United States in the Second World War. The work is a large-scale monumental piece that, though fairly straightforward in its execution, gives us some insight into the more abstract style that Houser would later develop in the course of his prolific career. The figure depicted, clearly a Native-American Indian male, wears a somber expression on his face. He is staring forward, clearly struck by the immense tragedy of a situation he is barely able to comprehend. He is wrapped in a blanket in an effort to protect himself from the cold harshness of the external world. The sculpture is neither realistic in a monumental sense nor rooted in the traditions of Apache Indian artwork; the style is all Houser's own. The overall shape of the piece is round and smooth. But it is the stunned expression on the Indian's face that ultimately pulls us in, reminding us that there are truths of a more existential nature that cannot be stated so easily, and that it is the task of art to ask such questions."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Rushing, W. Jackson III, ed. Native-American Art in the Twentieth Century. New York: Routledge, 1999.
• Wyckoff, Lydia L., ed. Visions and Voices. Tulsa, OK: Philbrook Museum of Art, 1996.

More papers on Native-American Art:

• Article Review # 22889 : "Native American Art Review"
• Essay # 138047 : "An Analysis of the Natural and Geographic Native American Symbolism in Truth and Bright Water by Thomas King"
• Essay # 23143 : "Native American Imagery"

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