Inside Out 2.0: Native American Artists in the 21st Century
The Southern Ute Cultural Center and Museum announces the opening of Inside Out 2.0: Native American Artists in the 21st Century, which showcases local Native artists and their work, with pieces from their personal collections. Native art today reflects a full range of contemporary and traditional techniques, topics, and media. Native artists are a vital part of the contemporary art community and defy stereotypes about genocide by affirming identity through material and design. Their art symbolizes both personal and cultural meaning and supports resistance, survival, and sovereignty.
Featured artists in Inside Out 2.0: Native American Artists in the 21st Century are:
Oreland C. Joe Sr. was born in Shiprock, N.M., where he grew up on both the Navajo and Southern Ute reservations. His art is influences by his roots in the Four Corners area of the U.S. Southwest combined with classical influences he gained while studying in France, Italy, and Japan. Oreland Joe works in a variety of media and is world-renowned for his stone and bronze sculpture.
Hyrum Joe was born on the Navajo Reservation in Shiprock, N.M. where he grew up in a home rich in Navajo language and culture. He became an artist after taking life-drawing classes at Mesa Community College in Mesa, Arizona and is now recognized for his unique style of portraiture. Mr. Joe exhibits regularly and has won awards including first place in the painting’s category at the 2019 Santa Fe Indian Market.
Norman Lansing, a Ute Mountain Ute, who was born in Towaoc, Colo. Lansing works in all media and is best known for his sgraffito etchings on ceramic vases. He is also known for his acrylic paintings and pen and ink drawings. His art often explores the “relationship between man, animal, earth, and the spirits of all living entities” that are all needed to form a balanced universe.
Edward Burch Box, III, a Southern Ute tribal member, learned traditional Ute culture from his family, especially his grandfather, Edward B. Box, Sr. He practices traditional arts including beading, sewing, and crafting; his beadwork has won awards locally and nationally. Box’s creativity sparks through his beadwork and sewing which he does to represent traditional Ute ways.
Lindsay J. Box is an enrolled member of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and is also descended from the Ute Mountain Ute. Box upholds Ute traditions by doing beadwork, sewing, photography, and videography. She is inspired by her culture and family and prefers to work using more traditional techniques and practices, such as working only when feeling good and incorporating prayer into her work.
Elise Redd, an advocate for cultural arts and crafts, she is the daughter of Bonnie La Zelle Redd (Omaha) and Albert Gunn Redd (Southern Ute). She gained her love of art from her grandmother, mother, and aunt who made traditional clothing and beadwork, and her father who was an accomplished oil painter. In her own work, Redd often uses bright colors, batiks fabrics, and crystals. She enjoys teaching and is the mentor of Rhianna Carel, also exhibiting in Inside Out 2.0.
Rhianna Carel is 16 years old, a member of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, and a rising senior at Ignacio Senior High School. Rhianna’s parents are Marie Joy and Vern Carel and she has a younger sister. Carel has been beading for more than a year now and she has been inspired by designing her own earrings.
“On behalf of the Southern Ute Indian Tribal Council, I would like to invite you to the reopening of Inside Out 2.0: Native American Artists in the 21st Century. The exhibit features acclaimed enrolled Southern Ute tribal members who utilize their talent and skill to carry on the traditions of our Ute people,” shared Chairman Melvin J. Baker.
An opening reception will be held Friday, Oct. 8, 2021 to honor the artists and kick off the installation. Due to COVID restrictions, the reception will be limited to invited guests only and a limited number of invitations will be delivered to the media.
However, all members of the media are invited to attend a pre-reception session to interview artists, learn more about the works on display, and take photographs. To RSVP, please contact Mr. Logan Gasdia, Marketing and Media Coordinator, at 970.563.2997 or via email at lgasdia@southernute-nsn.gov.
The mission of the Southern Ute Cultural Center and Museum is to foster understanding of and respect for the unique origin, culture, language, history, and way of life of the Núuchiu (Ute People) and to advance people-to- people relations through inclusive and effective programming and services