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Early in his artistic career, Jimmie Durham claimed Cherokee descent. He has become a major contemporary artist. Under mounting scrutiny he’s since backed off Native heritage claims although he continues to use Native imagery in his work. A new retrospective of his work is traveling through selected institutions in North America reviving criticism that he has not adequately addressed his Native connection. Cherokee officials and artists went so far as to publicly call him a ‘trickster.’ We’ll hear from some of those who want Durham to come clean.
An art piece by Jimmie Durham (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
Guests:
America Meredith (enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation) – artist and editor of “First American Art Magazine”
Ashley Holland (enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation) – doctoral student at the University of Oklahoma in Native American art history, former assistant curator of Native American art at the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art
Jeffrey Gibson (Mississippi Band of Choctaw and half Cherokee) – artist
Break music: Mahk Jchi (song) Ulali (artist) Heartbeat: Voices of First Nations Women (album)
