Photoset
July 09, 2012
106 notes

picturedept:

The Glittering World

Molly Surno is a multi-disciplinary artist, her work ranging from immersive and itinerant public film screenings (Cinema 16), to an upcoming documentary about the Miss Trans World Indian pageant. “The Glittering World” is a series of Polaroid photographs taken with the transgender Native American community while working on this film.

Her work reveals a new reality not only outside of societal norms, but also outside of stereotypical perspectives on subcultures altogether. When we think drag queens, we think pink, heeled, altogether with Western feminine ideals. When we think desert, we do not think disco ball. “The Glittering World” reminds us of the profound diversity of America, and how we yield new traditions through our historical fantasies and present desires. Surno’s use of expired Polaroid film even feels radical, and outside of the usual analog mourning—“nostalgia isn’t what it used to be.”

“The Glittering World” is on view, along with more of Surno’s work, at Gasser / Grunert, closing this week, Friday, July 13.

Images courtesy the artist and Klemens Gasser & Tanja Grunert, Inc.

this is so many of my favourite things in one art project. if only i were in nyc this week… go see this if you are!

Tags: molly surno art artist trans native polaroid film

Photo
March 18, 2012
417 notes
Raven: On the Colonial Fleet, by Skeena Reece (2010, photo by Sebastian Kriete)

Raven: On the Colonial Fleet, by Skeena Reece (2010, photo by Sebastian Kriete)

Tags: skeena reece badass tough babe artist raven on the colonial fleet native aboriginal canadian

Text
January 29, 2012
53 notes

audrey hepburn as an indian princess

if you guys saw that image pop up on your tumblr radar and cringed, you’re not alone. that shit was making the rounds almost a year ago, and i tried to find the source and artist to find out more about it. all of my initial gross gut feelings were reinforced when i saw it was titled “she brave soul.” and hey, what a surprise, the artist is a white guy. since then he changed it to “we don’t even belong to each other” in reference to breakfast at tiffany’s.

the initial title is what really made me lose my shit, as opposed to the already ridiculous pasting together of stereotypical “indian” pastiche. i sent a message to the artist, i posted a comment, without any response for a month and then one short comment.

mostly all that came of it, unfortunately, is the usual “you’re just being offended for the sake of being offended.” actually, verbatim, it was “…just crying racist and following up with nothing doesn’t accomplish anything, except maybe making you feel better about yourself for a moment.” i don’t recommend reading my response.

“why do you care?”

i can’t even count the number of times people have said that to me.

“why don’t you?” is often what i want to respond.

i wish it wasn’t everywhere. it’s just so goddamn pervasive. maybe i wouldn’t care if i saw it balancing out. if i saw as many images of kent monkman or shelley niro circulating. i can’t decide what is worse: a world where the only representations of native people are stereotypical outdated ones (like the “The Magical Indian” in nature, the Sexy Squaw, the Violent Warrior Savage) or a world where so many young people don’t even know what a headdress is, other than a fashion accessory for drunk white hipsters to prance around in. what warpaint represented, which was unique to which tribe/band. just reduced to symbols, objects to buy at urban outfitters, without stories or people or genocide.

Tags: bummer fuck this shit cultural appropriation racism indian native

Link
November 22, 2011
492 notes
What if They Declared an Emergency and No One Came?

sexistappeal:

lols08:

babyslime:

nanettehb:

babyslime:

It’s been three weeks since Attawapiskat First Nation took the extraordinary step of declaring a state of emergency. Since then, not a single federal or provincial official has even bothered to visit the community.

No aid agencies have stepped forward. No disaster management teams have offered help.

Meanwhile temperatures have dropped 20 degrees and will likely drop another 20 or 25 degrees further in the coming weeks. For families living in uninsulated tents, makeshift cabins and sheds, the worsening weather poses serious risk.

Two weeks ago I travelled to this community on the James Bay coast to see why conditions had become so extreme that local leaders felt compelled to declare a state of emergency. It was like stepping into a fourth world. […]

This is Canada, people. CANADA. The blatant racism in these actions is astounding. The way our government treats the first nation peoples is disgusting,

Anyone we can write to? Let them know the world (or at least our little corners of it) is watching?

There’s some contact info in this related post here, http://intercontinentalcry.org/attawapiskat-state-of-emergency-ignored/

What you Can Do

Two petitions are being circulated if you’d like to support the community of Attawapiskat:

You may also want to write a letter to:

  • Prime Minister Stephen Harper: pm@pm.gc.ca
  • Indian and Northern Affairs (INAC): CNAP-NACC@ainc-inac.gc.ca
  • INAC Minister Chuck Strahl: StrahC@parl.gc.ca.

For background and more information, please visit attawapiskat.com, www.attawapiskat-school.com, and Attawapiskat support on facebook

made one minor change - Attawapiskat is the name of the reserve…not the Nation itself

Please take a few minutes to bug the Canadian government and support this First Nations community. Signing a petition on the internet is the absolute least we can do. Tell your friends, family & neighbours!

i was just about to post this. the most depressing thing? yes, this is probably the worst case, but there are countless other native communities across canada facing similar housing shortages, lack of access to clean water, and otherwise lacking in basic human needs and rights.

(via prudeboy)

Tags: native rights oppression racism native canada attawapiskat

Photo
November 10, 2011
14 notes
North American Indian, 2005 colour photograph by Jeffrey M. Thomas (via Semaine de la sensibilisation aux cultures autochtones)

North American Indian, 2005 colour photograph by Jeffrey M. Thomas (via Semaine de la sensibilisation aux cultures autochtones)

Tags: North American Indian Jeffrey M. Thomas art critical post-colonial resistance native rights

Photo
November 10, 2011
14 notes
Shelley Niro, “Red Heels Hard,” 1991, black and white photograph (via A Time of Visions - Larry Abbott Interviews - Shelley Niro)

Shelley Niro, “Red Heels Hard,” 1991, black and white photograph (via A Time of Visions - Larry Abbott Interviews - Shelley Niro)

Tags: shelley niro red heels hard femme badass tough girl gang art native

Photoset
November 09, 2011
6,081 notes

The Shirt by Shelley Niro, 2003.

Niro’s work consists of a connecting series of photographs that should be read together as a whole narrative. The images are set in a pastoral landscape, and each subsequent photograph offers an increasingly incisive statement on the colonization of the land that once belonged to aboriginal peoples.

Shelly Niro was born in Niagara Falls, NY in 1954. She is a member of the Mohawk Nation, Iroquois Confederacy, Turtle Clan, Six Nations Reserve. She is currently based in Brantford, Ontario, and works in a variety of media, including beadwork, painting, photography, and film. (via virtual museum)

Tags: shelley niro the shirt 2003 art canadian art resistance native

Photo
November 09, 2011
76 notes
Indian Act by Nadia Myre (detail), 1999 and 2002. Indian Act speaks of the realities of colonization - the effects of contact, and its often-broken and untranslated contracts. The piece consists of all 56 pages of the Federal Government’s Indian Act mounted on stroud cloth and sewn over with red and white glass beads. Each word is replaced with white beads sewn into the document; the red beads replace the negative space. Between 1999 and 2002, Nadia Myre enlisted over 230 friends, colleagues and strangers to help her bead over the Indian Act. With the help of Rhonda Meier, they organized workshops and presentations at Concordia University, and hosted weekly beading bees at Oboro Gallery, where it was presented as part of the exhibition, Cont[r]act, in 2002. More photos here: (via the medecine project)

Indian Act by Nadia Myre (detail), 1999 and 2002.

Indian Act speaks of the realities of colonization - the effects of contact, and its often-broken and untranslated contracts. The piece consists of all 56 pages of the Federal Government’s Indian Act mounted on stroud cloth and sewn over with red and white glass beads. Each word is replaced with white beads sewn into the document; the red beads replace the negative space.

Between 1999 and 2002, Nadia Myre enlisted over 230 friends, colleagues and strangers to help her bead over the Indian Act. With the help of Rhonda Meier, they organized workshops and presentations at Concordia University, and hosted weekly beading bees at Oboro Gallery, where it was presented as part of the exhibition, Cont[r]act, in 2002. More photos here: (via the medecine project)

Tags: post-colonial art resistance race native indian act nadia myre canadian art

Photo
April 13, 2011
5 notes
Kent Monkman, Study for Wolfe’s Haircut, 2010 (via Upcoming Exhibitions - Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery) “This project by Kent Monkman transforms the Gallery into a camp of military tents in which the new “Canada” that emerges in the decisive battle between Wolfe and Montcalm – the British and the French – is pervaded by the presence of Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, Monkman’s alter ego. As in past works, Monkman revisits North American historical events and cultural representations proposing via a variety of media – painting, video, installation, performance and photography – alternative narratives and possibilities that mine the discourse of civilization and the ethos of foundational myths. Monkman derails the white colonial discourse through a camp esthetic that places sensuality at the center of his critical project. Interspersed throughout the installation are objects of both European and Aboriginal origin on loan from the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the McCord Museum that explore, through their coexistence and modes of display, issues related to the collecting and presentation of the categories of art and material culture by museums and galleries.” OKAY FOR REAL how grumpy am i that i just found out this exhibition is happening, 2 days before it ends? i kind of want to hop on a bus to mtl (but i won’t). i <3 u monkman.

Kent Monkman, Study for Wolfe’s Haircut, 2010 (via Upcoming Exhibitions - Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery)

“This project by Kent Monkman transforms the Gallery into a camp of military tents in which the new “Canada” that emerges in the decisive battle between Wolfe and Montcalm – the British and the French – is pervaded by the presence of Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, Monkman’s alter ego. As in past works, Monkman revisits North American historical events and cultural representations proposing via a variety of media – painting, video, installation, performance and photography – alternative narratives and possibilities that mine the discourse of civilization and the ethos of foundational myths. Monkman derails the white colonial discourse through a camp esthetic that places sensuality at the center of his critical project. Interspersed throughout the installation are objects of both European and Aboriginal origin on loan from the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the McCord Museum that explore, through their coexistence and modes of display, issues related to the collecting and presentation of the categories of art and material culture by museums and galleries.”

OKAY FOR REAL how grumpy am i that i just found out this exhibition is happening, 2 days before it ends? i kind of want to hop on a bus to mtl (but i won’t). i <3 u monkman.

Tags: art badass creative exhibition native regrets resistance kent monkman post-colonial

Photo
May 28, 2010
41 notes
oldchum:  weirdfriends

oldchum:

 weirdfriends

Tags: native resistance