Featured Indigenous artists merge sound and textile design to create interactive works that explore the connections between humans and the nonhuman world. Through layered cultural meanings, their art bridges tradition and contemporary expression.
Although they are often treated as separate artistic mediums, sound and textiles are inextricably linked: the swish of silk, rustle of cotton, or scratch of tulle all bring to mind memories of textiles that have spoken their presence. Today, prominent Indigenous artists are making art at the intersection of sound and textile design. They draw on historic forms to create complex, culturally pressing work. Many of these works are interactive, allowing visitors to both feel and hear the layered meanings.
Kite (Oglála Lakȟóta, b. 1990– ) translates dreams and musical compositions into stone structures and embroidered hides. Her work draws on the visual language used in Lakȟóta beadwork. Three artists in the exhibition use ziibaaska’iganan, or jingle cones, in their artworks. These jingle cones are usually found on powwow dresses such as the one by Aerius Benton-Benai (Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe Tribe, b. 1999– ). Marie Watt [Seneca Nation of Indians (Turtle Clan) and German-Scot Ancestry, b. 1967– ] and Chelsea Bighorn (Lakota, Dakota, and Shoshone-Paiute, b. 1989– ) use them to create artworks that speak to a history of healing and resistance. Nanibah Chacon (Diné and Xicana, b. 1980– ) works with Lucas Gonzalez (Bogotá, Colombia, b. 1976– ) to create a work integrating Diné textile motifs , abstract line work and sound capabilities which produce noise in response to visitors’ touch. The artworks in this exhibition speak to deep relationships between humans and the nonhuman. Plants, animals, and objects serve as ancestors and shape our lives, building relationships with us.
Listen to the accompanying playlist for this exhibition here.
Murphy Gallery, Pizzagalli Center for Art and Education