Under The Influence Iroquois Artists at IAIA (1962-2012)
January 21 – July 31, 2012
Since 1962, the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) has played an important role in fostering an ever-expanding Indigenous diaspora through the creative process, instilling a spirit of contemporary community, while at the same time preserving in its students a deep attachment to individual autonomy, home, and nation. A multi-cultural nexus, IAIA has expanded its “creativity is our tradition” legacy by acknowledging and advocating for a future that celebrates diverse artistic traditions.
More than 150 Iroquois artists have attended IAIA since 1962. Many of these individuals have built distinguished careers on the innovative foundations provided by the Institute, bringing forth articulate, imaginative, and eloquent visions. Under the Influence: Iroquois Artists at IAIA is a visual testament to the stimulating atmosphere of interchange and experimentation generated by the IAIA and its impact on one of the most visible and cohesive groups indigenous to the northeast. Influence invites the viewer to enter a dialectically broad and conceptual milieu imagined as a unique territory where the northeast meets the southwest, where aesthetics merge, cultures mingle, and tradition is understood, expanded upon and respected.
Selected works from the artists and the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts collection map 50 years of artistic investigation ignited by the IAIA. Together, as members of the Iroquois Confederacy, a collective history continues to be affirmed and reexamined through symbolism, narrative, color, and form that situate these visual statements in relation to an Iroquois and global worldview. Drawing from a richly expressive, contemporary and traditional vocabulary, the exhibition is comprised of works that convey strong visual declarations of identity, society, tradition, and survival – an artistic stance both initiated and nurtured by the IAIA.
Artists: Jamison Chas Banks, Coleen Bins,
Julie Chrisjohn Bush, Randle Charles, Steven
Chrisjohn, Sr., Ralph Cornelius, Joey David, Beverly
DeCouteau, Katsitsionni Fox, Fred Gonyea, Sue
Ellen Herne, Brenda Hill, Preston Hill, Tom Huff,
Frank Buffalo Hyde, Alex Jacobs, Peter B. Jones,
Judy Jourdan, Rose Kerstetter, Bruce King, Linley
Logan, Kenneth Metoxen, Roger Perkins, Natasha
Smoke Santiago, Hoka Skenandore, Dwayne
Sylvester, Dennis Williams, Kenneth Williams
Curators: Ryan Rice and Colette Lemmon