Demian Diné Yazhi' BFA Intermedia Thesis Fall 2013
BURY MY ART AT WOUNDED KNEE: Blood & Guts in the Art School Industrial Complex
Bury My Art At Wounded Knee: Blood & Guts in the Art School Industrial Complex is a Native north american exhibition that celebrates contemporary Indigenous art production on and off the imaginary boundaries of modern day Indian Reservations.
Through visual, written, & speech-based forms of cultural representation, Bury My Art At Wounded Knee aims to explore and challenge contemporary notions of Native art. The main objective of the exhibition is to acknowledge Indigenous resistance through the origins of the American Indian Movement (A.I.M.), Native north american political art, survivance, & present day issues in Native america. It is dedicated to the long legacy of Native north american artists, warriors, activists, writers, & visionaries, in order to provide an adaptable platform for future exhibitions, projects, manifestations, awareness & uprising.
Bury My Art At Wounded Knee is an exhibition about language & endurance, validation & resistance, and an unavoidable & crucial conversation in a city that is predominantly white; more importantly, in an institution that lacks culturally diverse perspectives in art production and history-making. Blood & Guts in the Art School Industrial Complex references the four years in which I attended Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA). In these four years there has not been an exhibition dedicated to the Indigenous peoples of this continent. Furthermore, there has not been a course dedicated to Indigenous art, history, writing, lived experience, or otherwise. When expressing my frustrations with this, I was told sometimes “we”—I took this as people with a history of oppression, forced assimilation, & genocide—need to bring water to a village in need. Thankfully, I don’t think that way. It is my hope this show has brought on the rain.
Established in 2010, through a heightened awareness of the atrocities that have resulted from patriarchal colonization. The seeds of the collective have been planted firmly in the ground since the onslaught of european madness. At its foundation, R.I.S.E. is inv¬ested in the education, perseverance, & dissemination of Native north american art, activism, writing, history, storytelling & lived experience. R.I.S.E. is a call to action yielding multiple tools including photographs, paint, wheatpaste, clay, beadwork, dancing, words, voices, sounds, ritual & more.
PNCA | Gallery 214
December 05th, 2013 – January 29th, 2014
Winner of a 2014 Thesis Writing Award and the 2014 Intermedia Department Award
Acrylic paint.
Based on letterpresses poster designed by Demian Diné Yazhi'
(Diné)
Four poems by Tommy Pico.
Installation view.
From left to right: Untitled, Douglas Miles; Report, Raven Chacon; kill the man. save the Indian., Shilo George; Untitled (Wheatpaste), collaboration R.I.S.E. & Thomas GreyEyes.
View of exhibition from the entrance (East).
Artifact- Bags - by Jordan Bennett
Ipshaamírapuh Iktiinach (Orphan Dance-Stick) by Fox A.C. Spears
From Right to Left: Untitled, by Douglas Miles; kill the man. save the Indian, by Shilo George; Vision Quest Glyphology, by Kaila Farrell-Smith.
Installation view from inside the glass case.
Artist: Sam Guerrero
Artist: R.I.S.E.: Radical Indigenous Survivance & Empowerment and Thomas GreyEyes
(Diné)
Artist: Raven Chacon
(Diné/Chicano)
Installation of view.
Left to right: The Long Shadow, by Jean Quick-to-See Smith; Captain of My Universe, by Neal Ambrose-Smith; Exhibition display designed by Demian Diné Yazhi'
Take-away from the installation.
Designed by: Demian Diné Yazhi'
(Diné)
Installation view of exhibition from the back entrance (West).
Installation view.
From left to right: Untitled, Nani Chacon; Between Science & Nature, Nani Chacon; Untitled, Nani Chacon; Hybrid, Sam Guerrero; Untitled (Apache Warrior), Douglas Miles.
Artist: Jaune Quick-to-See Smith
(Salish, Confederated Salish and Kooteni Nation, MT)
Installation view.
From left to right: four poems by Tommy Pico; Nametoo, Celeste Pedri; Indigeneity, Ryan Young.
Installation View
From left to right: Navajo Protest Artists Arrested, Flagstaff, AZ (video), Thomas GreyEyes; Indians & Cowboys, Demian Diné Yazhi'; Nametoo, Celeste Pedri.
Artist: Neal Ambrose-Smith
(Flathead Salish, Metis and Cree, Descendent of the Confederated Salish and Kooteni Nation of Montana)
Artist: Shilo George
Tsitsistas (Southern Cheyenne-Arapaho) and Scottish
Artist: Douglas Miles
San Carlos Apache-Akimel O'odham
(December 27, 1963 - )
Geronimo/Warrior reference.
Digital image used for Facebook and Homeroom announcements to promote my thesis defense, as well as the opening of the show.
The image incorporates an inside spread from "Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee" by Dee Brown.
Letterpress posters designed & printed by Demian Diné Yazhi’
Multicolour. Poster measurement 12.5" x 18.5" (individual).
Typeface:
Franklin Gothic Condensed
Cheltenham
Printable/digital poster designed by Demian Diné Yazhi’
Native geometry created by the artist. The poster was made to announce the artists engaging in the exhibition.
Letterpressed showcard designed & printed by Demian Diné Yazhi’
First edition: 290
Second edition: 80
Typeface:
Cheltenham
Letterpressed showcard designed & printed by Demian Diné Yazhi'
First edition: 290
Second edition: 80
Typeface:
Franklin Gothic Condensed
Cheltenham
