videos + essays
Tarsila do Amaral, Abaporú
This painting inspired a movement called Cannibalism, but it’s not what you think.
Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Trade (Gifts for Trading Land with White People)
Smith created this in 1992, responding to the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ arrival in North America.
Gordon Parks, Off on My Own (Harlem, New York)
Gordon Parks and the writer Ralph Ellison collaborated to show that Harlem is everywhere.
Chilkat past and present
This prestigious garment follows a traditional design passed down through generations of indigenous Alaskans.
Restoring meaning to Crow chiefs
Red Star annotated photographs to restore dignity and context to government-issue photographs of Crow chiefs.
Strange Worlds
Geller captures the tensions of the Jewish immigrant experience in the early 20th-century United States.
Benny Andrews, Flag Day
Does the figure emerge from the stripes of the flag, or do they imprison him?
John Quincy Adams Ward, The Freedman
This remarkable work honors those who fought for their own freedom, but acknowledges that the struggle goes on.
Casta painting in the Spanish Americas
These challenging paintings visually separate Indigenous Americans from the Spanish elite; most were exported.
Nampeyo (Hopi-Tewa), polychrome jar
Nampeyo found inspiration from the old to create a pottery style that was entirely new and highly sought after.
Bear Claw Necklace (Pawnee)
Six bears were required to create this necklace, meant imbue the Pawnee chief with protection and power.
The lure of the American Southwest: E. Martin Hennings, Rabbit Hunt
The Southwest became a hub for artists seeking “quintessentially American” subjects beyond New York and Chicago.
