The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., presents “Making Marks: Prints from Crow’s Shadow,” an exhibition on view from Jan. 17 through May 27. The exhibition showcases 18 works by seven critically acclaimed contemporary Native American artists: Rick Bartow (Wiyot), Phillip John Charette (Yup’ik), Joe Fedderson (Colville Confederated Tribes [Okanagan/Lakes]), Hock E Aye Vi Edgar Heap of Birds (Cheyenne/Arapaho), James Lavadour (Walla Walla), Wendy Red Star (Crow) and Marie Watt (Seneca). This show recently came to the museum from a seven-month run at the museum’s George Gustav Heye Center in New York.
Nestled in the foothills of Oregon’s Blue Mountains, Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts has been a gathering place for contemporary artists since 1992, drawing Native and non-Native artists from around the world to its state-of-the-art printmaking studio, Crow’s Shadow Press. Its goal is to provide opportunities for Native Americans through artistic development.
Lavadour, one of the exhibition’s featured artists, was among several to found Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts in a historic mission schoolhouse on the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon. Today, the space is home to workshops on traditional art forms of the Plateau region, such as basketry, beadwork and horse regalia, as well as marketing, copyright law and other practical subjects. Crow’s Shadow also provides artist residencies alongside master printer Frank Janzen, where artists can draw inspiration from the serenity and beauty of its rural setting. The prints in “Making Marks” were collaborations between Janzen and visiting artists; they are part of the Crow’s Shadow permanent collection.
The National Museum of the American Indian is the 18th museum of the Smithsonian Institution. It is the first national museum dedicated to the preservation, study and exhibition of the life, languages, literature, history and arts of Native Americans. Established by an act of Congress in 1989 (amendment in 1996), the museum works in collaboration with the Native peoples of the Western Hemisphere to protect and foster their cultures by reaffirming traditions and beliefs, encouraging contemporary artistic expression and empowering the Indian voice. For more information, visit www.AmericanIndian.si.edu.
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SI-17-2014
