{"id":167922,"date":"2023-10-04T09:29:21","date_gmt":"2023-10-04T09:29:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/culture.org\/?p=167922"},"modified":"2023-10-04T09:29:21","modified_gmt":"2023-10-04T09:29:21","slug":"indian-theater-rewrites-indigenous-art-history-through-performance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/culture.org\/history\/indian-theater-rewrites-indigenous-art-history-through-performance\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Indian Theater&#8221; Rewrites Indigenous Art History Through Performance"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Step into &#8220;Indian Theater&#8221; at Bard College&#8217;s Hessel Museum offers an innovative look at Indigenous art history, fusing performance and static art.<\/span><\/p>\n           <!--  <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n                jQuery(document).ready(function() {\r\n                    jQuery(\".key-accordion-item .key-menu\").on(\"click\", function() {\r\n                        if (jQuery(this).parent().hasClass(\"active\")) {\r\n                            jQuery(this).next().slideUp();\r\n                            jQuery(this).parent().removeClass(\"active\");\r\n                        } else {\r\n                            jQuery(\".key-content\").slideUp();\r\n                            jQuery(\".key-accordion-item\").removeClass(\"active\");\r\n                            jQuery(this).parent().addClass(\"active\");\r\n                            jQuery(this).next().slideDown();\r\n                        }\r\n                    });\r\n                })\r\n            <\/script> -->\r\n\r\n\r\n            <!-- start html -->\r\n\r\n            <div class=\"news-key-takeaway-wapper\">\r\n                                <span style=\"background-color:#EF8638;\">Key Takeaways<\/span>\r\n                <ul class=\"news-key-nbox\" style=\"border-color:#EF8638;background-color:rgba(239, 134, 56, 0.1);\">\r\n                                                        <li>The exhibition \"Indian Theater\" at the Hessel Museum of Art offers a unique blend of performance, sculpture, and multimedia art, pushing the boundaries of what defines Indigenous art.<\/li>\r\n                                                                    <li>Curator Candice Hopkins brings together a mix of works that showcase not just art but also the everyday performances in the lives of Indigenous people.<\/li>\r\n                                                                    <li>Despite the rarity of exhibitions focusing on Indigenous artists, \"Indian Theater\" stands out for its ambitious yet grounded conceptual focus.<\/li>\r\n                                                <\/ul>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n            \n<h2><b>The New Epicenter of Conversation: Bard College\u2019s Hessel Museum of Art<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Earlier this summer, Eric-Paul Riege, a Din\u00e9 artist, made art come alive in a whole new way at the Hessel Museum of Art. As visitors wandered through the gallery, they were met with a captivating scene: Riege weaving around his hanging fiber <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/culture.org\/art-and-culture\/louise-bourgeois-iconic-spider-sculpture-anticipates-record-breaking-sale-at-sothebys\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sculptures<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, embracing the pieces as if they were part of a performance. And that&#8217;s exactly what they were.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But here&#8217;s the kicker\u2014this show isn&#8217;t just about Eric-Paul Riege or his dynamic art. It&#8217;s an exhibition called &#8220;Indian Theater: Native Performance, Art, and Self-Determination since 1969,&#8221; and it&#8217;s doing something most shows don&#8217;t. Curated by Candice Hopkins, it challenges our ideas about what Indigenous art can be.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>The Multifaceted Nature of Indigenous Art and Performance<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As you saunter through the exhibit, you&#8217;ll notice that the artworks range from sculptures and photographs to videos. But these aren&#8217;t just static pieces; they&#8217;re imbued with the living essence of Indigenous culture. This isn&#8217;t your typical art exhibit; it&#8217;s more like a living, breathing commentary on Indigenous life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That&#8217;s not all. The art pieces are a manifestation of the duality that many Indigenous artists navigate daily\u2014being both a performer and an artist in their own right. Candice Hopkins carefully teases out the threads of how art and performance meld into the everyday lives of Indigenous peoples. The <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">exhibit<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">helps you grasp how the rituals, cultural symbols, and even clothing are both art and commentary on colonial history.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>The Rarity and Complexity: Why This Show is a Treasure<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/culture.org\/art-events\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Exhibitions<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> like this are like rare gems. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Museums<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> across the country aren&#8217;t exactly overflowing with showcases dedicated to Indigenous artists. Yet, here we are, two hours away from New York City in Annandale-on-Hudson, where an exhibit is bravely steering into the complexities of Indigenous art and identity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But don&#8217;t expect a smooth ride. The show isn&#8217;t shy about posing intellectual challenges. While some pieces, like Dana Claxton&#8217;s &#8220;Headdress&#8221; photographs, bring an immediate visual impact, others, such as Tanya Lukin Linklater&#8217;s text-based video, require a moment of contemplation to absorb their emotional weight. However, these layers of complexity are not a bug; they&#8217;re a feature, making this exhibit all the more significant.<\/span><\/p>\n                        <!-- <div class=\"container-c\"> -->\r\n                        <!-- <div class=\"row justify-content-between\"> -->\r\n                        <!-- <div class=\"col-post-800\"> -->\r\n                        <!-- start html -->\r\n                        <div class=\"blockquote-wapper\">\r\n                            <div>\r\n                                <span class=\"text_quot\">\r\n                                    <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Step into &#8220;Indian Theater&#8221; at Bard College&#8217;s Hessel Museum offers an innovative look at Indigenous art history, fusing performance and static art.<\/span><\/p>\n                                <\/span>\r\n\r\n                                <div class=\"quot_icon\">\r\n                                    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-content\/themes\/culture\/icons\/i_quot.svg\" type=\"image\/svg+xml\">\r\n                                <\/div>\r\n                            <\/div>\r\n\r\n                            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"quot_tick\" src=\"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-content\/themes\/culture\/icons\/i_quot_tri.svg\" type=\"image\/svg+xml\">\r\n                        <\/div>\r\n                        <!-- end html -->\r\n                        <!-- <\/div> -->\r\n                        <!-- <\/div> -->\r\n                        <!-- <\/div> -->\r\n                                    \n<h2><b>Spotlight on Exceptional Works<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Among the highlights is the work by Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, who uses paper dolls to challenge stereotypes of Native Americans. Another standout is Kay WalkingStick, whose abstract representations bust the myth that abstraction is purely a Western invention. Their art not only challenges but defies the preconceptions many of us have about Indigenous art, making the experience all the more eye-opening.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Final Thoughts<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Indian Theater&#8221; does more than showcase art; it holds up a mirror to society. It nudges us to understand that Indigenous art is not just something to be observed but to be engaged with\u2014just like Eric-Paul Riege and his immersive performance pieces. In doing so, it promises an artistic journey that is as enlightening as it is fascinating. So, if you&#8217;re up for a trek to the Hessel Museum of Art, this is one exhibit you don&#8217;t want to miss.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":10028,"featured_media":167938,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[409],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-167922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167922"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10028"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=167922"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167922\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/167938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=167922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=167922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=167922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}