Looking Indian was a group exhibition of contemporary artwork by Oklahoma American Indians. heather ahtone, curator of Looking Indian, selected American Indian artists to exhibit works in a variety of media, ranging from paintings and prints to digital media and film. ahtone sought to “recognize those Oklahoma artists whose work explores the identity and visual presentation of the contemporary American Indian” and who “contribute to a broad dialog of what Indian Oklahoma looks like.”
The exhibition was part of Untitled [ArtSpace]’s year of Oklahoma-related exhibitions in honor of Oklahoma’s state centennial. American Indians were creating art in Oklahoma long before the area became a state in 1907. “Many Oklahoma Indian artists use their art to envision their world,” curator ahtone said. Their art “creates a record of their lifeways and builds an identity that defies the stereotypes and romantic notions often applied to [the American Indian] community, which includes thirty-nine distinctly different tribes.” Works like photographer Tom Fields’ The Little Drum Calls document the place of tradition in contemporary Native culture. Other works, like Nocona Burgess’ painting Sitting Bull with Red Leaf Quilt, combine familiar imagery of historic figures with the forms of contemporary art to create new ways of “looking at” American Indians. “The title [of the exhibition] reflects the idea of how the Indian community sees itself as a collection of individuals, playing on the idea of seeing with their eyes and being seen from their own perspective,” ahtone said.
“I think this is an important exhibit for everyone to visit, not just American Indians,” Untitled [ArtSpace] Programs Administrator Betsy Barnum said. “We want to give people new ideas about American Indian culture by featuring contemporary artwork that explores the multiple realities of life as an American Indian.”
heather ahtone is a curator, artist, and writer, who has worked for the University of Oklahoma, the Institute for American Indian Arts Museum, and the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts in Santa Fe, NM. She received both her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Printmaking and her Master of Arts in Art History from the University of Oklahoma.
Looking Indian was made possible in part by support from the Oklahoma Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. Looking Indian was an official Oklahoma Centennial event.
  
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