Thomas Blaich

Institutional Critique

It has been a long time since I stepped foot into the Eiteljorg, and since then, they have been

focusing on getting native artists recognized as artists without diminishing their culture. They do so by

bringing in several artists for an exhibit which rotates on a regular schedule. This time around,

Laurence Pool headlines the diverse array of artists, along with Shan Goshorn, Nicholas Galavin, and

Meryl McMaster.

The disappointing thing about this display is that it focused much too heavily on the

controversial aspect of the art, relegating some of the more impressive works of photography, that

actually inspired the viewer to think about what they were seeing, to the walls behind you when you

walked in, instead choosing to direct your attention to more politically charged pieces, especially

Laurence Pool, who feels “remorseful about his lang being taken away” and the “1%”, and showing it

in subtle pieces like “Fucking Creeps They're Environmental Terrorists” in which three

anthropomorphic “monsters” dressed up like oil executives that were literally standing thigh deep in oil

with struggling animals behind them. One had the head of the snake, while another was just a faucet.

There are no layers to this, no subtlety, just a message so blunt that it screams to the viewer that they

would be incapable of understanding any other way.

Around this were placed pieces that attempted to comment on American society and the folly of

our ways in dealing with the native peoples, but instead ended up feeling more like controversy for the

sake of itself than any actual political statement. When you look at pieces like “I Loooooove Your

Culture” by Nicholas Galavin, which is literally a wooden vagina, you find yourself wondering not

what the piece itself means, but “did they actually pay someone $25,000 for this?”

This is disappointing because there are some extremely good pieces hidden within this display.

Almost all of the photography done by Meryl McMaster is top notch, like the Second Self series, which

deals intelligently with the idea of self-identity and masking through the use of bent wire and willing

subjects. Or the “In Between World Series” in which we can see some very beautiful landscapes and

the combination of the old and new cultures in astounding ways.

To me, viewing this exhibit, it seemed that the art that we should be focusing on was being

sidelined for visually impressive, but rather unfulfilling art. What I mean by this is that while the art of

Paul is wonderfully colorful and expressive, even earning him the name the “man of many colors”, it

still felt rather cookie cutter. Indeed, his many paintings shifted from surreal to politically charged to

surreal over and over without much respite. It took away form the meaning and the power of the pieces

by there being so many of them, and it really glossed over some of the more interesting pieces of

protest art.

The best protest art of the display were the baskets made by Shan Goshorn, where the artist took

encyclopedias and treaties and cut them into small strips, making them into baskets. One was entitled

“Separating the Chaff” and it was a sifting basket made with an encyclopedia of Native American

history. These pieces, which combined the traditional aspects of practical art were an amazing blend of

the aesthetic and practical while still managing to deliver their message without feeling overbearing.

I went through the entire exhibit with the feeling that the focus should be on these sidelined but

impressive pieces, and leaving underwhelmed and disappointed because of it.