Aboriginal Collaborative Exchange – “The REQUICKENING Project” Venice 52

Aboriginal artists have a proactive role in our diverse communities. Whether they are urban, suburban, rural, or reserve, they secure, critique, innovate and share the cultural knowledge, spirit and traditions of our nations. Artists, curators, art historians and cultural workers continue into the new millennium as participants of our own legacy; writing, producing, documenting, administrating and defining a distinct art historical discourse we can claim as our own. While the margins created by a Western culture may still be present, the Aboriginal arts community stakes a passionate claim to be seen, heard and acknowledged within each artistic discipline. The Aboriginal arts movement traverses and widens the sphere of contested spaces in this age of globalization.

Across the great pond in the “Old World,” we have been privileged and honoured to acknowledge an Aboriginal presence at the Venice Biennale. The international art world has witnessed the provocative and outstanding work by Edward Poitras in 1995 and Fountain (2005) by Rebecca Belmore, at the 51st edition of the 2005 Venice Biennale. The collective Indigenous Arts Action Alliance (IA3) has successfully sponsored three Biennale exhibits (1999, 2001, 2003). In 2005, the National Museum of the American Indian “borrowed” IA3’s merited space for its presentation and entrance to the Venice Biennale with performance artist James Luna’s Emendatio. 

Even as we see these spaces open up and become accessible, an indigenous presence is still imperfect in international art venues. We wish to further the discourse of an Indigenous art history as relevant to our own communities and a global audience. If we are not a participant in Venice 2007, our presence may be forgotten. We see the Venice Biennale is a site of triumph.

It is through the 52 edition of the Venice Biennale where IA3 representative Nancy Marie Mithlo will continue to pursue the goal of establishing an Indigenous presence through her invitation to exchange and collaborate collectively with performance artist and Tribe Inc., director Lori Blondeau, artist/filmmaker Shelley Niro, artist/curator Ryan Rice and Italian coordinator Elisabetta Frasca. The aim of the group is exemplified in its title THE REQUICKENING PROJECT; a reference to the Iroquois condolence ceremony that rectifies states of fragility, and ensuring life continues to flourish. Our exchange and dialogue will ensure and establish a continuum in Aboriginal curatorial practice that will examine community as well as mainstream tactics for making “our” space accessible, vigorous and on a par to the international standards the biennale upholds.

How will this aboriginal presence in Venice conceptualize success?  Contrary to inclusion models that require self-sacrifice of ideals, our collective agenda calls upon indigenous knowledges to contribute to the conversation initiated by the Biennale curator Robert Storr.  Our presence seeks to speak of how indigenous people conceptualize the fragility of life, how art speaks to understanding death and destruction as well as the process of healing.  Our dialogue will consider carefully how to avoid an overworked reaction, or response to the hegemonic values of the West.  We will need to consider strategies for a pro-active exhibition style and methodology to be employed in the process of taking a place with other artists of international standing. Blondeau will create, re-assemble, disassemble and perform States of Grace, inspired by her recent work Grace. Shelley Niro will project her short film Tree across the Italian city’s facade.  Both works will invite audiences to witness the relevance and criticality in which traditional knowledge has upon global issues and the human condition. States of Grace will reveal many instances of human vulnerability through Blondeau’s acts of memory, home, displacement, and decolonization. Her performances will expose an Aboriginal perspective of suffering and pain, healing and hope. Niro’s short film Tree pays homage to the “Keep America Beautiful” campaign from the early 1970’s where stoic actor Iron Eyes Cody gazes at the environment and sees it is no longer being cared for or respected. Niro replaces Cody, the perpetual Indian stereotype, with a matriarchal figure who witnesses the same environmental degradation, some 30 years later.  Our efforts seek to make an intellectual statement concerning aboriginal wisdom in the visual and expressive arts. We wish to articulate this beauty through careful workings of body movement, moving images, sound, place, space and contextualization via authorship of essays. We will interpret contemporary manifestations of Indigenous wisdom by reference to the elegant work of Niro and Blondeau. These expressions are in simultaneous interaction with the project curators and coordinators, refining, challenging and seeking the clearest and most direct statement, given the opportunity that the Biennale affords.  The meta-narratives as they unfold form a basis for new conceptual reasoning, an advanced level of participation in future exhibitions and a more solid presence as unique artistic worlds. The global stage requires our participation. 

Nancy Marie Mithlo and Ryan Rice, Curators

Shelley Niro and Lori Blondeau, Artists

Elisabetta Frasca, Director

This week on Longviews:

-Movies We Watched Over the Weekend. NAICA’s editor has a penchant for basketball movies, documentary Chiefs by David Junge
-The Dallas Gick Report: sorta live from the AFI International Film Festival where Red States rules prohibit laughing at WTC and Osama Bin Laden candles.
-Ask An Indian: burning question goes unanswered.
-A sexy Salish Kootenai gets her degree wedged between a camel and naturo-pathic boobies.

Plus,
Val Kilmer’s reservation hug-in and,
we debut the term “Chero-kilmer” the qualifying quantum by which all Hollywood types claiming Indian blood shall forever be measured.

You heard it here first!
Longviews

I would like to say we can stick to a stringent schedule but as artists and performers sometimes we just don’t feel the inspiration, not to mention experiencing difficulty scheduling guests for segments. But never fear, if you missed our ramblings and sexy squeaky voices never fear for we will have a delciciously cheeky ‘cast for you this evening, late in the evening when, in your lonely quiet hour, you need to hear friendly squaws, I mean squawks, we will be in the ether for you.

just for you.

stay tuned!

Awesome. I wish I were Mel Gibson’s bitch.

Read here  and, here.

This week on Longviews we have plenty of debuts: our new theme song, our upcoming interviews and features, goings-ons or lack thereof (even Anna Nicole left us high and dry!), The Dallas Gick Report with Renee Gick, and Ask an Indian! where co-host Katie Henner, representing mainstream America, asks the questions they all want to know.

(you can write us hate mail at info@thenaica.org)

Enjoy!

Paul Chaat Smith is an important man. He is well-versed in the history of the Native American image in media. He is a man of considerable art scholarship, especially in regards to painting. He is a man who was a part of the American Indian Movement of the 70’s, but has not had a documentary made celebrating his life during those times. I’m not sure why, but I think it’s because he doesn’t talk-sing corny poetry or pontificate like Jesus Christ. Nonetheless, Paul Chaat Smith is an important man.
However, when I first laid eyes on him sitting at the signing table in the great hall at New York’s NMAI, I had no idea who he was. I think he could tell I had no clue who he was and it irked him. He signed my exhibition catalogue perfunctorily and skidded it over the long table towards a smiling James Lavadour.

“Gee what an asshole,” I thought.

Alas I was not there to see him, or James Lavadour, for that matter, I was there to see what Erica Lord concocted for this exhibit. Call me a dilletante, but I hate painting-unless it’s got naked chicks, dudes, Spanish contessas circa 1960, bloody bulls, amorphous sea creatures and bunnies with razor sharp teeth-then I’m all about painting. I love video installation, performance, photography of all sorts, but mostly portraiture that is ironic in some way. I like slip-shoddy work that is blessed with well-honed theoretical blah-d-blah, which is why i like Erica’s work so much. Not that it’s slip-shoddy but it ain’t highfaluttin painting either. I also love writing. I love writers. And I love writers who write non-fiction, especially about cultural diasporas, identity politics, the institution that is race and the construction of culture out of colonization. As it turns out, that asshole who threw my catalogue at poor James Lavadour is the type of writer I love. Paul Chaat Smith’s essay included in my exhibition catalogue was not about the painters included in the show-a medium he has based his entire critical career upon-but about Erica Lord’s mucho post-moderno work. He even proclaims NAICA’s beloved Zacharias Kunuk Native America’s “top dog.”

Indeed!

I didn’t think I’d like someone as surly as Chaat Smith but damn if he ain’t a great writer. He has written all manner of great writing on a many varied topic, mostly related to Native American artists and their media representation. He’s the Indian cultural critic. And I had no idea when I, along with angsty critic Brooke Green, harassed him about painting on the 5 train going uptown. No idea. Paul Chaat Smith is an important man.
A very very important man.

(get yourself versed kids. Read Mr. Smith’s good words here-http://redplanet.home.mindspring.com/index.htm)

Our dearly departed Anna Nicole continues to surprise and delight the world (me) with more bizarre turns in the story that was her life and now death. In recent news, provided by the glorious Gawker.com (god bless them!), we learn that the buxom blond once suffered a bout of “Scarlet Fever” which resulted in the birth of Tohono O’Odham “papoosie.”

Follow the link above to the Phoenix New Times who originally posted the report of Anna Nicole’s sexcapades with Johnny Soto of the aforementioned tribe. There is something not quite right about Soto’s remembrances of Anna Nicole’s salacious remarks regarding her Native lover’s pino (that’s “penis” in Italian). For one, they imply a rather profound knowledge of cultural stereotypes of Native people. I doubt Smith ever considered Indians beyond 40’s Westerns or Dances with Wolves, let alone carried in that spacious and airy cranium of hers a litany of Nativecentric idiocies. It just doesn’t jibe. She’s not savvy enough to utilize the partially-ironic comments Soto claims she made throughout the course of their sweat-soaked relationship. In fact, I think the story is made up and/or the Pheonix New Times put a whole lots of words in Soto’s mouth with the intent to make the story more absurd than it already is, not to mention, the blog report itself goes a long way to contributing to the rank stereotypes that already exist. Way to go assholes!

On the other hand, it’s a highly amusing turn in the story of America’s most ditzy blond. Sad, yes, but in an amusing way.

Original article: PNT

In our weekly podcasts, hosted by NAICA editor Maria Colon and pop culture scholar, Katie Henner, we will discuss the past week’s cultural events and provide updates on various about-to-be happenings/currently-goings-on as pertaining to Indigenous arts, film, and image in mainstream culture. Ahh mainstream culture. What would we have to discuss without it? These half hour offerings will air every Sunday evening ’round abouts 10pm (EST). We like to look back, sometimes in anger, but more often with a winking eye. So here is our first ever Longviews podcast. In this episode we discuss:

So, welcome to it, NAICA’s Longviews (the meaning will become apparent), where all things are not considered and a good microphone is most needed.

Enjoy.