Art for a New Understanding

About

Art for a New Understanding, an exhibition from Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art that opened in October 2018, seeks to radically expand and reposition the narrative of American art since 1950 by charting a history of the development of contemporary Indigenous art from the United States and Canada, beginning when artists moved from more regionally-based conversations and practices to national and international contemporary art contexts.

This accompanying book documents and expands on the histories and themes of this exciting exhibition. This fully illustrated volume includes essays by art historians and historians and reflections by the artists included in the collection. Also included are key contemporary writings—from the 1950s onward—by artists, scholars, and critics, investigating the themes of transculturalism and pan-Indian identity, traditional practices conducted in radically new ways, displacement, forced migration, shadow histories, the role of personal mythologies as a means to reimagine the future, and much more.

As both a survey of the development of Indigenous art from the 1950s to the present and a consideration of Native artists within contemporary art more broadly, Art for a New Understanding expands the definition of American art and sets the tone for future considerations of the subject. It is an essential publication for any institution or individual with an interest in contemporary Native American art, and an invaluable resource in ongoing scholarly considerations of the American contemporary art landscape at large.

Authors

Mindy N. Besaw is a curator at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

Candice Hopkins is a curator for documenta 14 and has held curatorial positions at the Walter Phillips Gallery, Western Front Society, the National Gallery of Canada, and the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts.

Manuela Well-Off-Man is an art historian and chief curator at the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts.

Exhibition

1. Oct. 6, 2018 to Jan. 7, 2019 – Crystal Bridges

2. Jan. 25 to July 19, 2019 – IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts

3. August 22, 2019 to Jan. 5, 2020 – Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University

4. February 22 – May 17, 2020 – Memphis Brooks Museum of Art

Adoption

Adopted at: University of Regina
Course: INAH 204 Indian Art and the 20th Century
Course Description: The course will examine twentieth-century Indian art. Politics, revolution, education, and economic issues of Canada, USA, and Mexico will be considered as affecting stylistic developments.
Professor: Audrey Dreaver
Term: Spring 2022