December 17, 2024

Native American Contemporary Art Discussion w/ Michael Galban (Washoe & Mono Lake Paiute) Dr. John Lukavic and Peter B. Jones (Onondaga Nation)

1 hour 52 minutes

In this episode we have a discussion pertaining to Native American Contemporary Art, I am Joined by Michael Galban Site Manager of Ganondagan State Historic Site, Dr. John P. Lukavic Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Native Arts at the Denver Art Museum and we are joined by the renowned Haudenosaunee Potter Peter B. Jones. Three very knowledgeable individuals come together to explore the notion of what is Contemporary Native Art, who defines it, and who is the target audience? Does Contemporary Native Art have to conform to specific narrative and how does Contemporary Native Art fit in the Modern Art World? I am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the conversation.

BIOGRAPHY:

Peter B. Jones

Peter Jones is an Onondaga artist and potter in New York State. He studied under Hopi artist, Otellie Loloma, while attending the Institute of American Indian Arts in New Mexico in 1963. He also studied art at Bacone College in Oklahoma and at the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts in Montana.

Returning to the Cattaraugus territory in New York, his work draws on aspects of traditional pit-fired Haudenosaunee pottery, which features hand-built coiling and slab construction. “This returns to our people something that is uniquely ours.” Jones’ art reflects the issues that have impacted the Haudenosaunee. His pottery is admired and collected by community members, Native American art collectors, and museums across the country and internationally. Jones operates a pottery workshop and studio on the Cattaraugus Territory, which is open by chance or appointment. He conducts pottery workshops and classes for schools, community groups, and other organizations.

Dr. John P. Lukavic, Denver Art Museum

John P. Lukavic (he/him/his) serves as the Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Native Arts at the Denver Art Museum where he specializes in Indigenous arts of North America. He is the organizing curator for such exhibitions as Each/Other: Marie Watt and Cannupa Hanska Luger (2021), Jeffrey Gibson: Like a Hammer (2018), and Super Indian: Fritz Scholder, 1967–1980 (2015), as well as lead curator for DAM’s reinstallation of their Indigenous Arts of North America galleries (2021). Lukavic received a Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Oklahoma (2012) where he conducted his doctoral fieldwork with Southern Cheyenne moccasin makers and religious leaders in Oklahoma, and he received an M.A. in Museum Science from Texas Tech University (1999). In 2018, he was selected for the Getty Leadership Institute at Claremont Graduate University’s NextGen program for emerging top talent in the museum field.

In 2019 Lukavic received an Award for Excellence from the Association of Art Museum Curators for his essay in the Jeffrey Gibson: Like a Hammer exhibition catalogue. He serves as Vice President for the Native American Art Studies Association as well as a Board member for the Denver Indian Center, Inc.

Artist Links:

Oscar Howe - Yanktonaihttps://www.sdstate.edu/south-dakota.../oscar-howe-biography

Fritz Sholder - Lusieñohttp://fritzscholder.com/Charles Loloma - Hopi https://www.fourwindsgallery.com/artists/charles-loloma/

Otellie LolomaTwo Graces Taos: Otellie Loloma Pottery

https://twograces.blogspot.com/.../otellie-loloma-pottery...

Jeffrey Gibson - ChoctawJeffrey Gibson: the space in which to place me

https://www.jeffreygibsonvenice2024.org/

Cannupa Hanska - Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara and LakotaCannupa Hanska Luger https://www.cannupahanska.com/

Marie Watt - SenecaMarie Watt Studio https://mariewattstudio.com/

Kent Monkman – Fisher River Cree https://www.kentmonkman.com/

Kiowa Five (Six)The Kiowa Five https://www.historynet.com/the-kiowa-five/

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