Jaune Quick-To-See Smith
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Nation of Montana
I've been to several art galleries during my time in New York, and I always find Chelsea galleries to be somewhat of a box of chocolates. Some are glass houses of awe, and some are the size of small studios with just enough room to turn around in a circle. I walked well past the stylish spawn peppered outside FIT and down past Scores (yes... THE scores) and found the ACCOLA GRIEFEN Gallery. It felt cozy and housed an older crowd. Since I didn't know anyone I spent most of my time taking in Water and War. It had very serious undertones, and I came away feeling that if there was ever a way to express the many overwhelming emotions we go through as human beings on this earth, that Jaune's work was the most free and positive way to do so. She is conscious of global warming and consumerism, but brings a very Native world view to her interpretations. She was able to cut through layers of New York gray and evoke true emotion in me. I especially liked that her inspiration from other artists like Frida Kahlo and Picasso shined through. The piece that spoke to me the most was Black Ice, because of the wisdom and understanding she offers in her explanation of how life is imperfect.
Black Ice, 2011, oil on canvas, 72" x 48"
Artist Statement: Water is a giver of life and water is also a destroyer of life such as flood, tsunami, hale, ice storm, blizzard or Black Ice. My reservation newspaper, the CharKoosta, last week had a warning to drivers about Black Ice and the dangers of driving on it at night. As Salish people, we use the number 4 or 6 in our prayers and ceremonies, thus I had to make the Black Ice snowperson with 4 layers instead of 3. Note there's a small circle marking the four directions by the figure's foot. There's also a Trickster Rabbit making trouble for humans trying to maneuver on Black Ice. Black Ice might be a metaphor for treacherous ground we humans suddenly, abruptly, meet up with in our life journey that skids us off our path into the trees with no warning. This too is about life and it's imperfections.
Imperialism, 2011, oil and acrylic on canvas, 72" x 48"
Artist Statement: A war painting in which the aggressor believes that the sun, moon and the stars all favor him sometimes called Manifest Destiny (especially to we Indian people). War is like the moth to the flame. It's seductive; it's profitable. Eisenhower proclaimed in a famous speech that we must beware of our military industrial complex and its all too powerful grip on this country. This war machine ideology sits in the middle of our congress, which protects it. How are we to interfere or lessen the grip of this greed or appetite for war mongering, for building tools or implements of war, for profiteering off war? History repeats the sad lessons about governments who stay continually focused on war until they are spent economically, and reach their demise.
Turtle Island, 2011, oil and acrylic on canvas, 72" x 48"
Artist Statement: All our tribes (566 U.S. Federally Recognized tribes plus 245 Tribes waiting for recognition) have individual creation stories about how we entered the world like the Bible stories in Genesis. Only our stories are closer to Buddhism in the sense that we believe in a connection between all living things. The Iroquois Nations believe that during the great flood Turtle raised it's back and saved the people. In Pan Indian celebrations, many tribes have picked this up and refer to the United States as Turtle Island (Indian Country).
All artwork © Jaune Quick-to-See Smith. Photos: Charlotte Logan.
Artwork dimensions given are for image, h x w. All artworks pictured
are on display at the Accola Griefen Gallery in New York, NY from
February 28th-April 6, 2013.
http://accolagriefen.com/home
This material may not be reproduced for any commercial use
without permission.
