RACE/ETHNICITY--page 2



Note: Click on small image to see a larger version.

Read the following biographical information and look carefully at the images. Answer the questions at the end.


HELEN HARDIN [Or Tsa-sah-wee-eh--"Little Standing Spruce"] (1943-84)

Photograph of Helen Hardin

Hardin's mother was Pablito Velarde, one of the most famous of traditional Native American painters. (Click here to see an example of her work.) They were members of Santa Clara Pueblo in New Mexico. Hardin studied drafting in high school where she learned to use drafting tools and templates. Unlike traditional painters, Hardin used acrylics, inks, drafting tools and air brush in her works.
 

Santa Clara Deer Dance (and detail)

1970

 
 

Father Sky Embracing Mother Earth

1971
Unlike the preceding work which is more representational, this uses symbolic religious elements--the sky as eagle, for example.
 

Messengers of the Sun

1980
print
The eagle's wings become prayer sticks as well as stylized feathers on the right. The sun, as life-giving force, has three petals and a disk.
 

Changing Woman

1981
This is a self-portrait. What emotions are expressed?
 

Incantation of the Four Winds

1983



Hardin's conflicts as an artist are different from those of Johnson. By the time she was working as an artist, Native American art was recognized as being valuable, beautiful, and wonderfully crafted. Her dilemma as an artist was how to use her heritage AND develop her uniqueness as an artist. Native American art traditionally used strong color without much modeling (light and shadow to make objects appear three-dimensional), decorative elements and repeated motifs, and symbolism, usually derived from their religion. (Click here to see some examples of traditional Indian art.) How does Hardin express her unique identity while still being true to her heritage? If you are a member of an ethnic/racial minority, how are your identity conflicts similar to Hardin's? If you are white, how do they differ?


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