The Post-Colonial Art Of The American Indian Movement & Beyond

  • Period: to

    Native American art

    During this time period art was artist used imagery that represented themselves well instead of stereotypes. They used a lot of warm colors to show the connections native Americans had to the land.
  • George Morrison, Sun and River, 1949, watercolor and crayon on paper, 15 3/4 x 21 in, collection Plains Art Museum

    George Morrison, Sun and River, 1949, watercolor and crayon on paper, 15 3/4 x 21 in, collection Plains Art Museum

    This painting uses geometric forms and rich colors to show indigenous connections to land. By rejecting stereotypical imagery, Morrison put himself as a respected native artist in contemporary art movements of the 1960s.
  • Fritz Scholder, Indian with blanket  No. 1, 1967, stone lithograph on buff Arches paper, 12” x 9-¾”, Adobe Gallery Art of the Southwest Indian

    Fritz Scholder, Indian with blanket No. 1, 1967, stone lithograph on buff Arches paper, 12” x 9-¾”, Adobe Gallery Art of the Southwest Indian

    In fritz scholder’s painting he broke the stigma that had defined “indian” imagery by treating native identity as the subject of his painting. The flat, black and white image, and simple form forced the viewer to question who names identities and why? This marked a turning point for native artists in the mainstream modernism.
  • Period: to

    Protest pieces

    During this period artist used the same warm colors as before but as a representation of native Americans. They were used to highlight injustices that America has done to the tribes in more protest pieces.
  • Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Trade (Gifts for Trading Land with White People), 1992, oil paint and mixed media, collage, objects, canvas, 152.4 x 431.8 cm, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk

    Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Trade (Gifts for Trading Land with White People), 1992, oil paint and mixed media, collage, objects, canvas, 152.4 x 431.8 cm, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk

    The large collage is a post-colonial statement of newspapers, found objects, cheap indian souvenirs, and painted gestures accumulate into a visual argument about land dispossession. The work’s layered collage, drips, and hung items directs the viewer's thoughts to the historic and ongoing injustices.
  • Jaune Quick-To-See Smith, State Names, 2000, oil, collage and mixed media on canvas, 121.9 x 182.9 cm, Smithsonian American Art Museum

    Jaune Quick-To-See Smith, State Names, 2000, oil, collage and mixed media on canvas, 121.9 x 182.9 cm, Smithsonian American Art Museum

    Using collage and maps, Smith exposed how US state borders overwrite indigenous homelands. By layering, she challenges the viewers to question their own country and how US history erased indigenous history.
  • Period: to

    21 century

    During this time artist further expand the injustices that were done to tribes, as well as bring in greater community to assemble art.
  • Jeffrey Gibson, Migration, 2016, Acrylic and graphite on canvas, 177.8 × 145.1 cm, Art Bridges, Texas

    Jeffrey Gibson, Migration, 2016, Acrylic and graphite on canvas, 177.8 × 145.1 cm, Art Bridges, Texas

    Migration is based on parfleche geometric patterns, merging the past indigenous craft with mainstream modern art. The painting references historical indigenous migration referring to the past displacement, and cultural survival indigenous people had to suffer.
  • Cannupa Hanska Luger, Every One, 2018, Ceramic, ink, nylon rope. 12 feet x 15 feet x 3 inches, Museum of International Folk Art

    Cannupa Hanska Luger, Every One, 2018, Ceramic, ink, nylon rope. 12 feet x 15 feet x 3 inches, Museum of International Folk Art

    Everyone is a large collaborative pieces made from thousands of handmade clay beads, each bead representing a missing or murdered indigenous woman, turning statistics into visual. The work exemplify contemporary indigenous art shift toward dehumanization, and resistance toward violence.