Seen Through Native Eyes: A Celebration of Native Art

Spirit of the Wilderness Episcopal Church and the Grand Marais Art Colony are collaborating to bring Seen Through Native Eyes: A Celebration of Native Art to the community. Left: In the exhibit will be works by Robert Two Bulls such as this painting titled Chief What They Want Me To Be. Below: Traditional and contemporary pottery by Johnson Loud will also be on display.

Different cultures, backgrounds, times, places: and the world is seen through varying lenses and expressed in different ways. Native sensibilities have been caricatured and celebrated, copied and admired. In Seen Through Native Eyes: A Celebration of Native Art, we hope to delve deeply and begin to see (at least realize what we can’t see) through native eyes, both to broaden our artistic vision, but also to deepen our understanding. In this year of the 150th anniversary of the massacre of 38 Dakota warriors, we felt it appropriate to stop and consider from a different perspective.

Spirit of the Wilderness Episcopal Church has invited Robert Two Bulls (Pine Ridge Oglala Lakota) and Johnson Loud (Red Lake, Chippewa)—artists and men of deep faith (both are Episcopal priests) to be Artists in Residence from Thursday, February 28 through Sunday, March 3. Active painters and potters, Two Bulls and Loud bring their native sensibilities to their work, using some traditional themes and motifs, but in a contemporary way, such as exploring iconography as a way of portraying the person. Their work will be on display in the Grand Marais Art Colony’s small gallery for four weeks after the presentation.

 

Seen Through Native Eyes: A Celebration of Native Art will include a number of elements:

On Thursday and Friday, February 28 and March 1, Two-Bulls and Loud will work with youth at local schools. In addition, several local artists have expressed interest in mentoring young artists during this course and beyond.

On Friday, March 1, Two Bulls and Loud will present on the theme Seen Through Native Eyes. Having taught courses on art and spirituality as well as the marketing of Native American art, as well as making his own art, Two-Bulls says he finds that minds can be opened by art, calling viewers to think beyond stereotypes and respond to the work itself. This presentation will mark the beginning of their exhibit. A reception will be held and music provided by Briand Morrison.

On Saturday, March 2, Two-Bulls and Loud will teach a workshop on the topic Seen Through Native Eyes at the Grand Marais Art Colony. To register, contact The Grand Marais Art Colony. The morning will be spent learning to see and think in different ways; during the afternoon students will work either with Two Bulls in paint or with Loud in clay.

During Seen Through Native Eyes, we will hand out a call to artists, inviting local artists to express some of what they’ve learned during the weekend. Work will be submitted a month later and be exhibited both in Grand Portage and in Grand Marais (locations to be determined).

On Sunday, March 3, Two Bulls and Loud will lead worship at Spirit of the Wilderness Episcopal Church as well as a dinner and listening circle in Grand Portage on Sunday afternoon/evening.

If you have questions about being involved in Seen Through Native Eyes please contact either Mary Ellen Ashcroft (vicar, Spirit of the Wilderness Episcopal Church) at (218) 387-1536 or the Grand Marais Art Colony at (218) 387-2737.