Have you ever looked at a painting and felt completely at peace? Has art ever spoken to you? The work of Fritz Scholder does that to me. Championed as an "Indian" painter, he only ever desired to be recognized as an American painter. I cannot be asked to choose a favorite period of his. Every painting says something different, speaks in a different tone. He was a skilled colorist and perhaps, it is not that he painted and changed the way Native people were portrayed in art, but the colors of his work that I love. His abstract style, vivid (and sometimes stark) coloring make me want to completely immerse myself in the paintings. His background colors can be so deep and rich that I want to climb inside that painting and stay there forever. What I love about Fritz is that he's not just a painter, he's a sculptor, photographer, and so many other forms of artists. He truly embodies the word 'artist'.The first time I ever encountered Fritz's work was at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. in July of 2009. The exhibit was called Indian/Not Indian and featured his paintings that included Indian subject matter and those that did not. Immediately, I was sucked in and fell in love with the colors, context, and textures. Scholder was just so...interesting. His comical treatment of the stereotypes of Native peoples spoke to me like no one had before. I spent hours looking at the paintings, sculptures, drawings, photographs, etc. It had become a task to pull myself away from his work.
After that trip, I used any and every chance that came up to introduce people to his work. When I needed an escape, I would google his paintings. My favorites were Super Indian No. 2 and Indian No. 16. In the fall of 2011, the Native American Art at Dartmouth exhibit opened at the Hood Museum of Art. I was invited to dance at the opening ceremony and tour the exhibit afterwards. As soon as I walked in, I saw him. Dartmouth Portrait No. 17. I was in love again. I lost myself in the depth of the forest green, Dartmouth's color which I had come to admire so much. My eyes searched for the eyes of the figure in the portrait but never found them. I thought to myself, Fritz, how can it be a portrait if I can't look him in the eye? During my walkthrough of the exhibit, I stumbled upon more and more of his work and I simply couldn't believe my luck. Once again, I couldn't bear to pull myself away. [Sidenote: Often, at moments when I least expect it--a feeling overcomes me. The feeling is that "Yes, I am supposed to be at Dartmouth." You'll get more glimpses of these moments as we further explore my life. This moment at the Hood has been noted as a "moment."]Later on in the fall, I went to New York City to visit one of my best friends, Daryl, and her boyfriend, Jose. While we (my other best friends Autumn and Greg) were there, we visited the NMAI in Manhattan. Lo and behold, dear old Fritz had a few pieces in the collection. His presence in art collections overwhelms me in the best way. When I find a Fritz somewhere, I just want to shout from the rooftops: LOOK AT THIS ART, IT'S GREAT, I LOVE IT AND SO SHOULD YOU. I suppose one could say Fritz Scholder is my art soul mate, the art love of my life, my art boo thang, my life pARTner (bad pun). I believe everyone has an artist that they can connect with on this level. You just have to look.
 |
| True Love. |
Links pertinent to this post:
Native American Art at Dartmouth - Hood Museum of Art, Hanover, NH
Indian/Not Indian - NMAI NY/DC
No comments:
Post a Comment