JCCC installs contemporary American Indian art on campus
Johnson County Community College
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Todd Defoe (American Indian, Ojibwe) End of the Road, 2000 Catlinite pipe with silver inlay, 4.25 x 22.75 x 1” Collection Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art – JCCC |
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- Johnson County Community College will celebrate the installation of Collection Focus: Contemporary American Indian Art in the east wing of the second floor of the Regnier Center from 6-8:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12. The evening will include gourmet refreshments and is free and open to the public.
“This installation celebrates the extraordinary accomplishment and vitality of contemporary American Indian artists,” said Bruce Hartman, executive director, Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art.
Initially, approximately 50 works of American Indian art spanning a diverse range of cultures and geography (extending from the Pacific Northwest, to the Southwest and Plains) will be on permanent view. The collection showcases a variety of mediums — clay, beadwork, glass, textiles, sculpture, basketry, painting and photography.
Contemporary American Indian Art brings to nine the number of permanent collection focus areas on the campus, places where students, staff and visitors can casually encounter art during their daily activities. The Regnier Center houses the three newest installations — contemporary painting (first floor), contemporary American Indian Art (east wing, second floor) and contemporary Latino Art (west wing, seconf floor).
Kevin Pourier (American Indian, Oglala/Lakota, b. 1958) Swallowtail horn cup, c. 2007 Buffalo horn cap, gold mother of pearl, lapis 4 x 12 x 3 π” Collection Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art – JCCC |
The JCCC art collection, located across campus, has been installed by medium (photography, works on paper, ceramics and paintings), and in accord with the museum/college’s focus, the collection is contemporary.
“The American Indian Art Focus Area was envisioned as we began collecting works in mediums not acquired previously — beadwork, textiles, glass, metalsmithing and basketry. The college began acquiring contemporary American Indian art over three years ago, and we realized we were moving into new genres,” Hartman said.
“This major collection of contemporary American Indian art will deepen our community’s understanding of Native issues and will serve as an educational resource, especially for students in JCCC’s Native Americans class, as well as furthering the college’s diversity initiatives,” said Terry A. Calaway, JCCC president.
A range of ideas and content are presented in the American Indian works. Self-guided tours of the collection are possible with the aid of interpretive labels which include the artists’ biography and provide insight to each work.
Molly Murphy (American Indian, Oglala/Lakota, b. 1977) New Possibilities Bags: Women Stepping Forward, 2008 Mixed media, horsehair, beads on wool, Collection Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art – JCCC |
“Each piece has a story, and the stories are fascinating,” Hartman said. “By reading the interpretive labels, a viewer can begin to understand and appreciate contemporary American Indian art.”
Two of those stories involve commissioned works by well-known American Indian artists.
The Regnier Center, dedicated to business and technology, houses JCCC’s Information Services department. In anticipation of the new focus area, the Nerman Museum commissioned Marilou Schultz (Navajo) to weave a brilliantly hued rug inspired by a computer chip — the union of an ancient art informed by modern technology.
A second commission is New Possibilities Bags: Women Stepping Forward by Molly Murphy (Oglala/Lakota). A pair of beaded red cloth bags depict American Indian women receiving their college degrees. The design of one bag shows a traditional family with mother, father and children. The design on the second bag depicts a nontraditional family — mother, grandmother, children. The title, Possibilities Bags, is a play on the descriptive term, “possible bags,” connoting bags used to store a variety of objects during Plains Indian nomadic journeys.
Les Namingha (American Indian, Hopi/Zuni, b. 1967) Untitled, 2009 Clay, 6.5 x 9" Collection Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art – JCCC |
“American Indian artists are an integral part of contemporary American culture, while they may work in traditional media such as pottery, beadwork or weaving, the works they create are informed by the times in which they live,” Hartman said.
A number of the artists represented in the collection have degrees from universities such as Georgetown University and the University of California-Los Angeles but chose to return to reservations or pueblos to work in a traditional art form passed down through family members. And many of the pieces reflect a utilitarian origin, as expressed in their form or material usage.
“Ultimately the JCCC installation showcases the importance and continuity of contemporary American Indian culture. Their artistic contributions are enormous. And we wanted to represent that within our collection on campus,” Hartman said.
Karen Gerety Folk, curator of art education, Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, said that even during installation the collection attracted many visitors — including a recent art history class from the University of Missouri-Kansas City studying Native American art.
Marcus Amerman (American Indian, Choctaw, b. 1959) Barack Obama bolo-tie with beaded tips, 2009 Glass beads, leather, 21 x 3.5” Collection Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art – JCCC |
“This installation is very accessible for all ages and appeals to everyone from beginners to scholars. We've already included American Indian works in our Contemporary Creations classes for children, fourth-grade school tours, and general tours, providing information about the artists and their cultural traditions,” Gerety Folk said.
Plans call for Collection Focus: Contemporary American Indian Art to increase and extend to the east wing of the Regnier Center’s third floor.
For more information about Collection Focus: Contemporary American Indian Art, call the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, 913-469-3000. The Regnier Center is open 5 a.m. -11 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday; closed JCCC holidays.
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