Curators at Work - College of William and Mary

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2 0 0 3 JAune QuiCK-to-see sMith (native American, b. 1940) salmon Moves upriver, 2003 Charcoal and pencil 24 in. x 20 in. Purchase, Gene A. and Mary A. Burns Art Acquisitions Fund, Julian W. Fore Muscarelle endowment, and vinyard Acquisitions and Conservation endowment 2008.202 38 | Curators at Work
nature. Many of the figural representations within these works, particularly those seen in The Ancestors Speak of Death and Laughter, Wine Speckled Water, and Salmon Moves Upriver, directly relate to the traditional pictographs originally produced as petroglyphs and later found in ledgers and winter counts. The image of the horse, such as the one seen in “Wine Speckled Water”, is also one which appears frequently within Smith’s works. This motif is typically viewed as a stand-in for the artist herself and “a form through which she expresses the narrative of her personal life as well as the collective memory of her Native American ancestry”. 7 Through the cohesive combination of symbols and varied meaning Smith references her rich artistic heritage and creates a visual representation of “the mythic present on paper”. 8 Jaune Quick-to-See Smith was born in 1940 on the Flathead Indian Reservation near St. Ignatius, Montana. Due to her father’s profession as a horse-trader, Smith moved numerous times during her childhood. Much of the inspiration for Smith’s works come from her experiences and her father’s manner of observation “that was less about gathering information and more about sharing the realities of others”. 9 Smith decided she would be an artist at a very young age. She received her BA in Art Education from Framingham State College in Massachusetts where one of her professors told her that she could never be a successful artist as a woman. She experienced similar discouragement as she attempted to pursue a Master’s degree. After several attempts, Smith was admitted into the MFA program at the University of New Mexico and holds four honorary doctoral degrees. While studying at the University of New Mexico Smith was greatly influenced by the works of artists such as Picasso, de Kooning, Klee and Rauschenberg. Although these men came from very different backgrounds than Smith, she responded to their seeming familiarity with “primitive” art. Their influence is evident in the many cohesive elements which come together through the high energy compositions of her work. Her interest in combining modern and primitive elements within a work of art is well suited for Quick-to-See Smith’s message of the constant push and pull between modernity and preservation of Native American tradition. Although many of the artists who inspired Smith took their inspiration from African art, Smith was able to draw upon her own heritage for many of the symbols and techniques featured in these drawings. 10 1 Taken from “All was Virginia” wall panel from exhibit: Jaune Quick-to- See Smith: Contemporary Native American Paintings and the Response to Colonization…Anniversary of the Beginning…Beginning of the End, Muscarelle Museum of Art, 2007. 2 Words of Jaune Quick-to-See Smith relating to exhibit: Jaune Quick-to- See Smith: Contemporary Native American Paintings and the Response to Colonization…Anniversary of the Beginning…Beginning of the End, Muscarelle Museum of Art, 2007. 3 For a detailed analysis of the Five Crows Ledger see: Keyser, J. D. (2000). The Five Crows Ledger: Biographic Warrior Art of the Flathead Indians. Salt Lake City: The University of Utah Press. 4 Zorn, D. E. (2008). Encyclopedia of Native American Artists: Artists of the American Mosaic. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. (204). 5 Roger Matuz, e. (1998). St. James Guide to Native North American Sarah Stanley ‘11 Artists. Detroit, MI: St. James Press. (528). 6For a more complete description of the mythic present see: Farrer, C. R. (1994). Thunder Rides a Black Horse: Mescalero Apaches and the Mythic Present. Chico, CA: California State University. (1-14). 7Roger Matuz, e. (1998). St. James Guide to Native North American Artists. Detroit, MI: St. James Press. (528). 8A special thanks to Buck Woodard and Dr. Danielle Moretti-Langholtz, Director of the American Indian Resource Center at William & Mary for taking the time to talk to me about Smith’s works and for providing this particularly applicable description of her artistic style. 9Zorn, D. E. (2008). Encyclopedia of Native American Artists: Artists of the American Mosaic. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. (203). 10Zorn, D. E. (2008). Encyclopedia of Native American Artists: Artists of the American Mosaic. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. (204). 16 Memoranda for 16 Artists | 39
Page 1 and 2: Curators at Work 16 Memoranda for t
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Page 6 and 7: 1 8 0 5 Attributed to Gilles-louis
Page 8 and 9: 1 8 9 3 henri-eDMonD DelACroix, cal
Page 10 and 11: 1 9 0 9 Arthur B. DAvies (American,
Page 12 and 13: 1 9 2 3 Attilio PiCCirilli (America
Page 14 and 15: 1 9 2 9 BlAnChe lAzzell (American,
Page 16 and 17: 1 9 3 7 thoMAs hArt Benton (America
Page 18 and 19: 1 9 4 5 MAx WeBer (American, 1881-1
Page 20 and 21: 1 9 5 3 MArino MArini (italian, 190
Page 22 and 23: 1 9 6 4 MAn rAY (American, 1890-197
Page 24 and 25: 1 9 6 9 PABlo PiCAsso (spanish, 188
Page 26 and 27: 1 9 7 2 ClAes olDenBurG (American,
Page 28 and 29: 1 9 7 4 JiM Dine (American, b. 1935
Page 30 and 31: 1 9 7 8 JAsPer Johns (American, b.
Page 32 and 33: 1 9 8 8 DonAlD K. sultAn (American,
Page 34 and 35: 1 9 8 8 WAYne thieBAuD (American, b
Page 36 and 37: 2 0 0 3 JAune QuiCK-to-see sMith (n

Curators at Work - College of William and Mary

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