The change of our calendar from October to November was highlighted by “Celebrating National Native American Heritage Month: Pop-up Gallery”, co-sponsored by Public Art Bridgeville and the Bridgeville Public Library. This impressive collection of art work dedicated to Native American culture, was produced by nine different artists, including five with Native American heritage. Located at the Bill and Grace McDivitt Center for Lifelong Learning, the exhibition will be available to the public during regular Library hours – 10:00 to 7:00 Monday through Thursday and 10:00 to 5:00 Friday and Saturday throughout November (Native American Indian Heritage Month).
Native American woodworker Len Kaminski contributed seven excellent carvings to the exhibit. Three of them (“Friend to All”, “Sun Dancer”, and “Of Good Fortune”) are full busts of warriors, displayed on the tops of bookcases; three others (“Fox”, “Bear”, and “Cat”) are partial heads, mounted on the wall. Each is intricately detailed and remarkably life-like, stained a natural wood shade. He also showed a whimsical, almost sarcastic, “Cigar Store Indian”, which authentically captures the feel of that nostalgic artifact.
Another native artist, Eric Dye, demonstrated the art of ivory carving with two elegant pieces, each illustrating bits of Abenaki folk-lore – “The Owl and the Hare” and “Elder Spirit Sister”. Chippewa descendant Katherine Coolidge is an expert practitioner in a different medium, silk work. Her wall hangings were entitled “Butterfly Dancer” and “Love Transforms”. I was particularly impressed with “Crackle Vase” by Valerie Hanks-Goetz (Muscogee Nation) and wished for a bigger sample of her ceramic pottery. The same could be said for “Horse”, a semi-surrealistic oil painting by native artist Craig George.
The contributions by other artists, based on subjects appropriate to Native Americans, were also impressive. My favorites, of course, were the four giclee prints of paintings by Andrew Knez, Jr. “Silent Travelers” depicted two Native Americans in canoes high-tailing in down-stream; “A Winter Heart”, a grizzled warrior on snow shoes; and “Horse Bonding”, a brave and his mount performing that deed. Best of all was a life-size “Tall Mandan Chieftain”; seven feet tall, it occupied the place of honor, directly over the Library fireplace.
Andrew is indeed a local treasure with a national reputation for works depicting Woodlands and Plains Indians. I am always impressed with the detail in his work. “Silent Travelers” is a perfect example of this. Despite the fact the canoeists are the subject of the work, in the foreground cat-tails and reflections in the stream of the hemlocks on the far side are remarkably detailed. It is unfortunate that the era of large commercial galleries dedicated to individual artists or genres is over; I would love to see examples of all of Andrew’s work collected in one place. Fortunately, his website provides an almost satisfactory alternative.
The work of Denise Kirchoff is certainly suggestive of the Native American weaving crafts-persons in the Southwest today. She employed natural materials – coiled pine needles, ornamental grass plumes, raffia, seed pods, cantaloupe seeds, branches, etc. – along with beads, shells, and thread to produce five basket-like pieces that would be at home in an Albuquerque boutique. The way she combined different shades and tones is especially impressive.
The bison depicted in Kevin Lahvic’s acrylic painting “Spirit of the Plains” clearly exemplified the work’s title. Guy Bellaver’s soldered wire frame sculpture “Buffalo” was another appropriate version of the same theme, in a different medium. I continue to be impressed with artists’ ability to generate three dimensional shapes so effectively with just a handful of wires. I consider myself a competent draughtsman working in two dimensions; perspective and the third dimension are still challenges to me.
Mr. Bellaver also included two pieces related to “Ekwabet”, his massive sculpture of a Potawatomi brave “watching over” the Fox River in St. Charles, Illinois. One was a table-top bronze miniature of the original; the other, a full-size face piece of it. Each is a significant work of art; the original sculpture must be memorable. He also showed “Pony”, a small bronze piece showing a young horse, oozing with exuberance as he runs free, nearly as life-like as the famous Frederic Remington bronzes.
We attended the opening reception for this exhibit and had the opportunity to compliment representatives of the two organizations responsible for it. I am certain Bill and Grace McDivitt would be quite pleased to see this use of the Center they generously funded. And, I suspect they would be equally pleased at the overall efforts of Public Art Bridgeville and the gradual growth of appreciation for the arts that is occurring in their beloved community.
We hope the same can be said for the Bridgeville Area Historical Society. Its contribution to the celebration of Native American Heritage Month is an exhibit at the History Center, entitled “Native Americans in the Chartiers Valley” supplemented by a discussion of the same subject at 7:30 pm, Tuesday, November 28 at the Bridgeville Volunteer Firemen’s Hall. The exhibit will be open to the public through November and December during regular Center hours, 10:00 to 2:00, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.
Our ancestors came to North America five centuries ago eager to exploit the resources of a rich continent. Our failure to respect the culture of the natives we found here is acknowledged as a national embarrassment. In today’s polarized social/political world there is much for us to learn about the coexistence of differing cultures. Understanding our history dealing with Native Americans and the nuances of their society could well be the key to resolving our current problems. We encourage everyone to visit these two exhibits and attempt to interpret things from the perspective of these indigenous people.