Arthur Amiotte
Encyclopedia
Arthur Douglas Amiotte, (Wanblí Ta Hócoka Washté or Good Eagle Center) (born 1942) is an Oglala Lakota
American painter, collage artist, educator, and author.
on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
. He was given the name Warpa Tanka Kuciyela or Low Black Bird as an infant, but received his second Lakota name in 1972. Amiotte's parents are Walter Douglas Amiotte and Olive Louise Mesteth. His great-grandfather was Standing Bear. He lived in the reservation until he was six and then visited it during summers up to the age of 15.
During his studies at Northern State University
in Aberdeen, South Dakota
, Arthur Amiotte attended a workshop from Oscar Howe
in 1961. By this encounter, Arthur Amiotte got a concrete example of how a native artist can be a contemporary artist. Arthur Amiotte received his Bachelor’s Degree in Art and Art Education and was subsequently a teacher at Woodrow Wilson Junior High School in Sioux City from 1964 to 1966.
Two mentors, in particular, guided Amiotte. From 1969 to 1975, his grandmother Christina Standing Bear, a sacred bundle keeper, taught him the heritage of his great-grandfather Standing Bear (Mató Nájin), who illustrated Black Elk Speaks
. In the period from 1972 to 1981, Arthur Amiotte was influenced by the Lakota medicine man Pete Catches (Oglala Lakota
), who introduced Amiotte to Lakota spirituality and rituals belonging to Lakota traditions.
He received his Masters of Interdisciplinary Studies in 1983 from the University of Montana-Missoula.
Amiotte was professor of Native American art
history at Brandon University
, Manitoba
, but in 1985, he decided to dedicate himself to art and he established his studio in Custer, South Dakota
in 1986.
Amiotte curated exhibitions about the culture of the tribes on the Great Plains, such as at the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian
in Santa Fe, New Mexico
; the Akta Lakota Museum in Chamberlain, South Dakota
; the Buffalo Bill Historical Center
of Cody, Wyoming
; and the Museum of World Cultures
of Frankfurt am Main, Germany
in 2006. In 2004, Arthur Amiotte lectured Oscar Howe Memorial Lecture
Amiotte defines his work as being bound to the reservation culture which bridges the gap between yesterday and today, a split which is often mastered in an amazing manner. Amiotte has said, "I realized that contemporary art was ignoring the whole reservation period. This had been a dynamic time. Some people were going to school in the east, to Carlisle
and Hampton
... People were moving onto land allotments. They were familiar with print media, exposed to lots of magazines, pictures, photographs... Daily life was infused with this mixture of nonliterate/literate. There were new technologies... it seemed to me that it was more honest to deal with all this in my art, rather than to create a fake hide painting."
His collage work is inspired by Ledger art
but takes it to a new level. In a pointed and sharp-witted manner, they reveal the discrepancy of Lakota culture between tradition and modernism ("The Visit," 1995, Acrylic-Collage; Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Wyoming). He also explores experiences of Lakota people in Europe, during the Wild West show era of the early 20th century.
Amiotte has participated in over 100 exhibitions, including over 20 solo exhibitions. He has shown throughout the United States and Europe, including at the Kunsthallen Bradts Klaedefabrik in Odense, Denmark in 1994-5.
His work, ranging from painting to sculpture and textile objects, is present in 26 public and about 200 private collections. His work is included in such public collections as the Denver Art Museum
, the Sequoyah National Research Center in Little Rock, Arkansas, the National Museum of Natural History
, as well as the following institutions.
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, The Ethel Morrison Van Derlip Fund:
Joslyn Art Museum
:
Hood Museum of Art
:
Whitney Gallery of Western Art:
Amiotte was awarded various fellowships and grants, including the Lila Wallace Readers Digest Artists at Giverny, France in 2002; the Bush Artist Fellowship; and the Getty Foundation Grant in 1994-5.
In 1999, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award as Artist and Scholar by the Native American Art Studies Association.
Arthur Amiotte holds honorary doctorates from the Oglala Lakota College and the Brandon University
, Manitoba
.
Oglala Lakota
The Oglala Lakota or Oglala Sioux are one of the seven subtribes of the Lakota people; along with the Nakota and Dakota, they make up the Great Sioux Nation. A majority of the Oglala live on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, the eighth-largest Native American reservation in the...
American painter, collage artist, educator, and author.
Biography
Arthur Amiotte was born on March 25, 1942 in Pine Ridge, South DakotaPine Ridge, South Dakota
Pine Ridge is a census-designated place in and the most populous community of Shannon County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 3,308 at the 2010 census. It is the tribal headquarters of the Oglala Sioux Tribe on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.-History:By 2011, a gang culture...
on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is an Oglala Sioux Native American reservation located in the U.S. state of South Dakota. Originally included within the territory of the Great Sioux Reservation, Pine Ridge was established in 1889 in the southwest corner of South Dakota on the Nebraska border...
. He was given the name Warpa Tanka Kuciyela or Low Black Bird as an infant, but received his second Lakota name in 1972. Amiotte's parents are Walter Douglas Amiotte and Olive Louise Mesteth. His great-grandfather was Standing Bear. He lived in the reservation until he was six and then visited it during summers up to the age of 15.
During his studies at Northern State University
Northern State University
Northern State University is a four-year public university located in Aberdeen, South Dakota, United States. NSU is governed by the South Dakota Board of Regents and offers 38 majors and 42 minors, as well as six associate, eight pre-professional and nine graduate degrees.-History:Founded on the...
in Aberdeen, South Dakota
Aberdeen, South Dakota
Aberdeen is a city in and the county seat of Brown County, South Dakota, United States, about 125 mi northeast of Pierre. Settled in 1880, it was incorporated in 1882. The city population was 26,091 at the 2010 census. The American News is the local newspaper...
, Arthur Amiotte attended a workshop from Oscar Howe
Oscar Howe
Oscar Howe was an American artist from South Dakota, who became well known for his casein paintings.-Early life and education:...
in 1961. By this encounter, Arthur Amiotte got a concrete example of how a native artist can be a contemporary artist. Arthur Amiotte received his Bachelor’s Degree in Art and Art Education and was subsequently a teacher at Woodrow Wilson Junior High School in Sioux City from 1964 to 1966.
Two mentors, in particular, guided Amiotte. From 1969 to 1975, his grandmother Christina Standing Bear, a sacred bundle keeper, taught him the heritage of his great-grandfather Standing Bear (Mató Nájin), who illustrated Black Elk Speaks
Black Elk Speaks
Black Elk Speaks is a 1932 book by John G. Neihardt, an American poet and writer, who relates the story and spirituality of Black Elk, an Oglala Sioux medicine man or shaman. It was based on conversations by Black Elk with the author and translated from Lakota into English by Black Elk's son, Ben...
. In the period from 1972 to 1981, Arthur Amiotte was influenced by the Lakota medicine man Pete Catches (Oglala Lakota
Oglala Lakota
The Oglala Lakota or Oglala Sioux are one of the seven subtribes of the Lakota people; along with the Nakota and Dakota, they make up the Great Sioux Nation. A majority of the Oglala live on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, the eighth-largest Native American reservation in the...
), who introduced Amiotte to Lakota spirituality and rituals belonging to Lakota traditions.
He received his Masters of Interdisciplinary Studies in 1983 from the University of Montana-Missoula.
Amiotte was professor of Native American art
Native American art
Visual arts by indigenous peoples of the Americas encompasses the visual artistic traditions of the indigenous peoples of the Americas from ancient times to the present...
history at Brandon University
Brandon University
Brandon University is a Canadian university located in the city of Brandon, Manitoba, with an enrolment of 3383 full-time and part-time students. The current location was founded on July 13, 1899, as Brandon College as a Baptist institution. It was chartered as a university by then President Dr....
, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, but in 1985, he decided to dedicate himself to art and he established his studio in Custer, South Dakota
Custer, South Dakota
Custer is a city in Custer County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 2,067 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Custer County.-History:...
in 1986.
Amiotte curated exhibitions about the culture of the tribes on the Great Plains, such as at the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian
Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian
The Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian is a museum devoted to Native American arts. It is located in Santa Fe, New Mexico and was founded in 1937 by Mary Cabot Wheelwright, who came from Boston, and Hastiin Klah, a Navajo singer and medicine man....
in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
; the Akta Lakota Museum in Chamberlain, South Dakota
Chamberlain, South Dakota
Chamberlain is a city in Brule County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 2,387 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Brule County. Chamberlain is home to the Akta Lakota Museum and Cultural Center, which profiles the lives of nomadic Plains Indians...
; the Buffalo Bill Historical Center
Buffalo Bill Historical Center
The Buffalo Bill Historical Center is a complex of museums displaying artifacts and art of the American West located in Cody, Wyoming. Founded in 1917, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center is the oldest museum in the West...
of Cody, Wyoming
Cody, Wyoming
Cody is a city in Park County, Wyoming, United States. It is named after William Frederick Cody, primarily known as Buffalo Bill, from William Cody's part in the creation of the original town. The population was 9,520 at the 2010 census...
; and the Museum of World Cultures
Museum der Weltkulturen
The Museum of World Cultures is an ethnological museum in Frankfurt, Germany. Until 2001 it was called the Museum of Ethnology .-History:...
of Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in 2006. In 2004, Arthur Amiotte lectured Oscar Howe Memorial Lecture
Main exhibitions and artworks
Lakota philosophy and oral history form the foundation of Amiotte's artistic work. His creativity as a whole is an expression of the Lakól wicóh’an washtélaka – the love of the Lakota traditions. Amiotte promotes Lakota rituals and the visionary experiences during the traditional ceremonies also find their impact on his artistic work.Amiotte defines his work as being bound to the reservation culture which bridges the gap between yesterday and today, a split which is often mastered in an amazing manner. Amiotte has said, "I realized that contemporary art was ignoring the whole reservation period. This had been a dynamic time. Some people were going to school in the east, to Carlisle
Carlisle Indian Industrial School
Carlisle Indian Industrial School was an Indian boarding school in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1879 at Carlisle, Pennsylvania by Captain Richard Henry Pratt, the school was the first off-reservation boarding school, and it became a model for Indian boarding schools in other locations...
and Hampton
Hampton University
Hampton University is a historically black university located in Hampton, Virginia, United States. It was founded by black and white leaders of the American Missionary Association after the American Civil War to provide education to freedmen.-History:...
... People were moving onto land allotments. They were familiar with print media, exposed to lots of magazines, pictures, photographs... Daily life was infused with this mixture of nonliterate/literate. There were new technologies... it seemed to me that it was more honest to deal with all this in my art, rather than to create a fake hide painting."
His collage work is inspired by Ledger art
Ledger Art
Ledger Art is a term for Plains Indian narrative drawing or painting on paper or cloth. Ledger art was primarily from the 1860s to about 1900, although some of the old style drawing continues to the 1930s. There is also a contemporary group of accomplished Native American artists who work in the...
but takes it to a new level. In a pointed and sharp-witted manner, they reveal the discrepancy of Lakota culture between tradition and modernism ("The Visit," 1995, Acrylic-Collage; Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Wyoming). He also explores experiences of Lakota people in Europe, during the Wild West show era of the early 20th century.
Amiotte has participated in over 100 exhibitions, including over 20 solo exhibitions. He has shown throughout the United States and Europe, including at the Kunsthallen Bradts Klaedefabrik in Odense, Denmark in 1994-5.
His work, ranging from painting to sculpture and textile objects, is present in 26 public and about 200 private collections. His work is included in such public collections as the Denver Art Museum
Denver Art Museum
The Denver Art Museum is an art museum in Denver, Colorado located in Denver's Civic Center.It is known for its collection of American Indian art,and has a comprehensive collection numbering more than 68,000 works from across the world....
, the Sequoyah National Research Center in Little Rock, Arkansas, the National Museum of Natural History
National Museum of Natural History
The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. Admission is free and the museum is open 364 days a year....
, as well as the following institutions.
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, The Ethel Morrison Van Derlip Fund:
- Prince Albert, 1989, Collage and acrylic on canvas
- 1913 Spring/Summer 1913- Giving Away His Suit, 1990
Joslyn Art Museum
Joslyn Art Museum
The Joslyn Art Museum is the principal fine arts museum in the state of Nebraska, United States of America. Located in Omaha, it is the only museum in the state with a comprehensive permanent collection...
:
- New Horse Power in 1913, 1994, acrylic and collage on canvas
- Ascent of the Maiden, 1964, casein (tempera) on paper
Hood Museum of Art
Hood Museum of Art
The Hood Museum of Art is a museum in Hanover, New Hampshire, USA. Dating back to 1772, the museum is owned and operated by Dartmouth College and is connected to the Hopkins Center for the Arts. The current building, designed by Charles Willard Moore and Chad Flloyd, opened in the fall of 1985. It...
:
- "Saint Agnes" Manderson, S.D. Pine Ridge Rez, 2001, Acrylic and collage on canvas, Purchased through the Phyllis and Bertram Geller 1937 Memorial Fund
Whitney Gallery of Western Art:
- The Visitors from Oklahoma, 1996, Collage and acrylic
Publications and lectures
He frequently lectures at home and abroad and is a published author. In 1989 Amiotte wrote with a chapter about Sioux Arts in the important volume, Illustrated History of the Arts in South Dakota, published during the state's centennial.- Indian Arts and Crafts Board of the U.S. Department of the Interior, Photographs and Poems by Sioux Children, from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota, selected by Myles Libhart and Arthur Amiotte, with an essay by Arthur Amiotte, Rapid City 1971.
Honors
From 1979 to 1981, Amiotte served on the Presidential Advisory Council for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. In 1980, he was awarded the South Dakota Governor’s Award for Outstanding Creative Achievement in Arts. That same year, Amiotte was awarded the Bush Leadership Fellowship, which allowed him to study Northern Plains art collections in the United States and Europe at the University of Montana-Missoula.Amiotte was awarded various fellowships and grants, including the Lila Wallace Readers Digest Artists at Giverny, France in 2002; the Bush Artist Fellowship; and the Getty Foundation Grant in 1994-5.
In 1999, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award as Artist and Scholar by the Native American Art Studies Association.
Arthur Amiotte holds honorary doctorates from the Oglala Lakota College and the Brandon University
Brandon University
Brandon University is a Canadian university located in the city of Brandon, Manitoba, with an enrolment of 3383 full-time and part-time students. The current location was founded on July 13, 1899, as Brandon College as a Baptist institution. It was chartered as a university by then President Dr....
, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
.
External links
- Arthur Amiotte, Vision Project