Indigenous Arts, Cultural Representation, and the Future with John Lukavic
In this podcast, Cray interviews John Lukavic, the Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Native Arts and head of the Native Arts Department at the Denver Art Museum. John explains that his department includes indigenous arts of North America, arts of Africa, and arts of Oceania, but they are kept separate to maintain their identity. His primary focus is on indigenous arts of North America, and he emphasizes the importance of using indigenous ways of knowing, being seen, and doing as a guiding light for their work.
The Denver Art Museum has always focused on contemporary indigenous art, rather than trying to preserve the ways of the past. Their indigenous art collection includes about 18,000 works of art that span from the 20th to the 21st century, with the biggest regional groups being the Southwest, Plains, and Northwest coast. Due to the nature of the historical works, the museum has to do rotations quite often.
The conversation also touches on the ebb and flow of attention given to indigenous arts by non-native art institutions and the recent groundswell of interest in indigenous voices, which may be attributed to social events such as Black Lives Matter protests and the intersectionality movement. The conversation revolves around the Denver Art Museum's collection and how they acquire new pieces. They often work with collectors to build a collection that is donated to the museum over time or receive donations from individual donors.
Massacre in America: Wounded Knee
https://www.denverartmuseum.org/en/object/2016.174
List of artworks and credit lines mentioned in John Lukavic’s interview for
Beyond the Art podcast
5.1.23
- Jamie Okuma (Luiseño, Shoshone-Bannock, Wailaki, and Okinawan), with contributions by Cameron Linton, Sandra Okuma, Pat Pruitt, Keri Ataumbi, and Tania Larson, Untitled, 2018–19. Ribbon, seed beads, thread, dentalium shell, metal, buckskin, brass sequins, silk, fur, and human hair. 26½ × 32 × 17¾ in. Denver Art Museum: Funds by exchange from the William Sr. and Dorothy Harmsen Collection at the Denver Art Museum, 2018.863. ©Jamie Okuma. Photography ©Denver Art Museum.
- Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas (Haida), DAM Dancing Crane, 2020. Steel Toyota Tercel automobile hood, acrylic lacquer, paint, copper leaf, and paper; 32 x 55 in. Gift in honor of Jeremy G. and Anna L. Fogg & family, Sarah T. and William J. Connolly III & family, Marion McMillin Wooten, Susan Anne Wooten, Simeon Franics and Ellen Kelley Wooten & family, and William Boulton and Ellen Harvey Kelly & family, 2019.867. © Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas.
- Fritz Scholder (Luiseño), Indian at the Bar, from Indians Forever, 1971. Print; 30 x 22 in. Denver Art Museum: Museum Purchase, 1973.53.5. © Estate of Fritz Scholder.
- Julie Buffalohead (Ponca), A Little Medicine and Magic, 2018. Oil paint on canvas; 52 x 72 in. Denver Art Museum: Native Arts acquisition funds, 2018.301A-B. © Julie Buffalohead.
- Kent Monkman (Fisher River Band Cree), The Scream, 2017. Acrylic paint on canvas; 84 x 132 in. Denver Art Museum: Native Arts acquisition funds and funds from Loren G. Lipson, M.D, 2017.93. © Kent Monkman.
- Jeremy Frey (Passamaquoddy), Watchful Spirit, 2022. Ash tree fibers, porcupine quill, and sweet grass; 27 3/8 in. x 22 1/4 in. dia. Denver Art Museum: Purchased with the Nancy Blomberg Acquisitions Fund for Native American Art, 2022.51A-B © Jeremy Frey.
- Dyani White Hawk (Sicangu Lakota), Untitled (Quiet Strength, II), 2017. Denver Art Museum Collection: Native Arts acquisition fund, Purchased with funds from Loren G. Lipson, M.D., 2018.32. © Dyani White Hawk.
- Fritz Scholder, Massacre in America: Wounded Knee, 1972. Oil on canvas, 71 x 68 in. Gift from Vicki and Kent Logan to the Collection of the Denver Art Museum, 2016.174.
- Sonya Kelliher-Combs (Inupiaq/ Athabascan), Credible, 2019. Installation of 32 panels - acrylic polymer, paper, human hair, and nylon thread on panel; 60 x 232 in. Denver Art Museum: Potosky acquisition fund, 2020.192.1-35. © Sonya Kelliher-Combs. Image courtesy of Minus Space Gallery. Photography © Yao Zu Lu.
- Kwakwaka’wakw artist, Welcome Figure, About 1914. Wood with metal support; 64 x 52 x 12 in. Denver Art Museum: Native Arts acquisition funds, 1969.492.
