I continue to work on this very large sculpture, between Summer and Fall new projects. Despite having conceptualized it about a year ago and starting it months before I began my MFA program, I still refer to it and think about it a great deal. Especially when considering and further researching contemporary artists (who happen to be Native American) and Gerald Vizenor’s theory of Survivance.
The point to this sculpture was always very straightforward. I took a craft – beadwork – which is stereotypically Native American and has never really been considered ‘art’ in the same sense as painting, drawing, or sculpture but as more of an ‘artifact’ in the anthropological sense. Which excludes it from the art world. By enlarging beadwork, I elevated it to the status of ‘sculpture’. Which, by definition, now makes it ‘art’. The largeness of the work is also straightforward; by taking up space, the piece will claim that space and force the viewer to navigate around it. It’s a direct call back to reservations, settler land claims, and the idea that America was ‘vacant’ before the Europeans colonized it. This is a direct reference to Gerald Viznor’s theory on Survivance – not only is it demanding to be seen, it’s also commanding the space around it.
The basics of the piece are also specifically tied to my own heritage. Each row contains thirteen beads; the Bitterroot Salish calendar was lunar, with thirteen months rather than twelve. Each row represents a year. Eventually, there will be 130 rows representing the amount of time since the Bitterroot Salish were forcibly removed from their ancestral territory and placed on a reservation approximately one hundred miles to the north. The colors of the beads are based on reading oral histories about pigments that were available and their symbolism. The dashes, created by three yellow beads, are representative of foot steps – based on the ledger art of a Bitterroot Salish man named Five Crows. Hence the title, “The Long Walk”, the journey taken out of the Bitterroot valley which continues, through time.
This is, by far, the most Native American piece I’ve done so far. I am really reluctant to have my work stereotyped in any way so I usually avoid overtly Native symbology. But the point of this piece is overtly native so I’ve pushed that.
Making these giant beads is a three-step process. I began by carving three prototypes out of foam. I then made a silicone mold of them. The mold is used to cast new beads in pourable casting foam which is lightweight. To make it durable and to smooth the surface, I coat each bead in a reinforced hydrocal shell. The beads are sanded, painted, and top coated in a durable acrylic clear coat. Once that cures, they are strung using nylon parachute cord. I also had to make my own oversized needle to return through the last row added to start each new row.
The photos show just the first section of the entire sculpture. By the time I am finished, the sculpture will be approximately thirty-seven feet long and is 28″ wide and 3″ thick. The plan has always been to hang it from the ceiling of the venue and have it drape down onto and across a significant portion of the floor. I wanted it to refer back to European cathedrals and the sacred space from the rosette through the alter and down the aisle. I have a second large sculpture planned that will be a rondel eight feet in diameter.
