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Artist James Luna (Luiseño/ Ipai/Mexican) famously put his own body on display as a museum artifact in 1987. Later, he divided his face in two with his work, “Half Indian/Half Mexican,” a photo commentary on “the absurdity of being of measurability mixed blood ancestry.” In 2014 he reimagined Ishi, the last of the Yahi tribe, with photography. Last month the Native art world mourned when Luna unexpectedly walked on at the age of 68. We’ll remember his art and life with family and friends.
Guests:
Joanna Bigfeather (Cherokee Nation/Mescalero Apache) – curator/artist/writer/educator
Preston Singletary (Tlingit) – glass artist
Amber-Dawn Bear Robe (Blackfoot) – visiting faculty in art history and cinematic arts at the Institute of American Indian Arts
I worked with James for 1996 to 2016, and was always learning something about the man behind the artist. He truly gave a voice to the native narrative in American art.
Working with James was something else. We collaborated in a few performances the last few years in Native Stories and I performed with him in Ishi multiple times. I especially loved how his performance captivated, and evaluated humanity.