Jeffrey Gibson
Encyclopedia
Jeffrey Gibson is a Choctaw
-Cherokee
painter
and sculptor. He is known for his landscape-like artworks and his unique use of silicon
and urethane foam.
, as a child his family moved frequently. As a youth he lived in Germany
and Korea
. Important to his role as an artist, press releases state that "..This unique combination of cultural perspectives and exposure are essential to understanding Gibson’s artworks that combine and transform seemingly disparate references drawn from both Western and non-Western sources."
. In 1998 he received his Masters of Fine Arts from the Royal College of Art
, which was paid for by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. Gibson on this opportunity provided for him: "My community has supported me..My chief felt that me going there, being a strong artist, made him stronger."
, as well as looking at art. He also occasionally teaches art, in 2010 he was a visiting artist at the California College of the Arts
where he taught classes. He lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
and his dramatic nightclub persona. Pow-wow
s, nightclubs, and raves provide contrasts as rural and urban venues, serving as spaces for dancing, movement, and dramatic fashion/regalia. Keeping with regalia, 19th-century Iroquois
beadwork also provides inspiration, as colorful beads often find their way into Gibson's artworks. Gibson also provides his own spin on graffiti
, which is seen frequently in his works.
He also credits his nomadic lifestyle as a major influence, bringing together what he describes as:
wall abstracts, have been described as "atmospheric landscapes". Working in oil paint
he also brings together objects that have become a signature to his works: pigmented silicon, urethane foam, and beads.
ing is another common tool used in his paintings, sculptures, and prints, incorporating oil paint and spray paint to create neon colored abstracts such as Singular (2008) and Submerge (2007). These works also find inspiration in graffiti, reflective of Gibson's urban life in New York City
.
Burner Bomb (2009) is a limited-edition digital print with hand-painting by Gibson. Bringing together brightly colored ink jet images of street art
found in Greenpoint, Brooklyn
(where Gibson lives), he also brings together photos of mannequins and store front windows. After printing, he adds his signature spray painted stripes in layers over the print. The title comes from the graffiti terms "burner": a great piece of graffiti made of bright colors and "bomb": a dramatic painting covering an artists tag.
sculptures, in 2009 Gibson produced the Totems series for an exhibition at Sala Diaz in San Antonio, Texas
. This series of sculptures involved Gibson arriving five days before the opening to put together a collection of found objects to create what have been described, by the artist, as "fantasy sex partners, objects of desire".
The Totems feature objects such as mannequin
s acquired from Craigslist
, a wig
, plastic flowers
, toys, cowboy boots, flower pots, his signature spray paint and other objects. In the end Gibson created two human-like figures and a totem pole
from the flower pots. Writer Ben Judson described Totems as way Gibson "uses the stereotyping of his own people as a way of exploring the use of metaphor in identity formation, cultural critique and consumerism without forfeiting lyricism or indulging in self-righteousness (apart, that is, from his press release)."
, punk
, pop music
, rap, R&B, disco
, as well as East Indian drumming
.
, Cy Twombly
, Chris Ofili
, and Indigenous Australian art. Artist and poet Jimmie Durham
declared that Gibson "might be our Miles Davis
", our referring to Native America. While some celebrate him as a Native artist, others celebrate his ability to move freely in and out of Native and non-Native contemporary art worlds.
Gibson has also exhibited at numerous events such as the New Art Dealers Alliance Fair
, ARCOmadrid, as well as many private galleries and public institutions.
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians
The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians is one of three federally recognized tribes of Choctaw Indians. On April 20, 1945, the tribe organized under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. Also in 1945 the Choctaw Indian Reservation was created in Neshoba and surrounding counties...
-Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and sculptor. He is known for his landscape-like artworks and his unique use of silicon
Silicon
Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. A tetravalent metalloid, it is less reactive than its chemical analog carbon, the nonmetal directly above it in the periodic table, but more reactive than germanium, the metalloid directly below it in the table...
and urethane foam.
Early life
Born in ColoradoColorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, as a child his family moved frequently. As a youth he lived in 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...
and Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
. Important to his role as an artist, press releases state that "..This unique combination of cultural perspectives and exposure are essential to understanding Gibson’s artworks that combine and transform seemingly disparate references drawn from both Western and non-Western sources."
Higher education
In 1995 Gibson earned his Bachelors of Fine Art from the Art Institute of ChicagoArt Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
. In 1998 he received his Masters of Fine Arts from the Royal College of Art
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...
, which was paid for by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. Gibson on this opportunity provided for him: "My community has supported me..My chief felt that me going there, being a strong artist, made him stronger."
Current life
When not creating art, Gibson enjoys reading about art theory and art historyArt history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
, as well as looking at art. He also occasionally teaches art, in 2010 he was a visiting artist at the California College of the Arts
California College of the Arts
California College of the Arts , founded in 1907, is known for its broad, interdisciplinary programs in art, design, architecture, and writing. It has two campuses, one in Oakland and one in San Francisco, California, USA...
where he taught classes. He lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
Fine art career
Utopia was important for me to envision and relates to my being Native American and having grown up solely in a Western consumer culture. My desire to act out the role of an explorer depicting an inviting landscape, via painting and specimen retrieval, was a reaction to Native tribes’ being consistently described as part of a nostalgic and romantic vision of pre-colonized Indian life. The aesthetic of these paintings and sculptures came from turn-of-the-century Iroquois whimsies, contemporary and historic powwow regalia, cultural adornment of non-Western cultures, techno rave and club culture, and earlier utopian models. - Jeffrey Gibson
Influences
Gibson pulls influences from events that revolve around dancing, pulling inspiration from Leigh BoweryLeigh Bowery
Leigh Bowery was an Australian performance artist, club promoter, actor, pop star, model and fashion designer, based in London. Bowery is considered one of the more influential figures in the 1980s and 1990s London and New York art and fashion circles influencing a generation of artists and...
and his dramatic nightclub persona. Pow-wow
Pow-wow
A pow-wow is a gathering of North America's Native people. The word derives from the Narragansett word powwaw, meaning "spiritual leader". A modern pow-wow is a specific type of event where both Native American and non-Native American people meet to dance, sing, socialize, and honor American...
s, nightclubs, and raves provide contrasts as rural and urban venues, serving as spaces for dancing, movement, and dramatic fashion/regalia. Keeping with regalia, 19th-century Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
beadwork also provides inspiration, as colorful beads often find their way into Gibson's artworks. Gibson also provides his own spin on graffiti
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
, which is seen frequently in his works.
He also credits his nomadic lifestyle as a major influence, bringing together what he describes as:
...varying aesthetics of each place. Some have had specific cultural aesthetics, language barriers, cultural barriers, etcetera. These differences funnel through me, a queer Native male born toward the end of the 20th century and entering the 21st century. I consider this hybrid in the construction of my work and attempt to show that complexity.
"Atmospheric landscapes"
Currently Gibson's most notable works, his at times 3-DStereoscopy
Stereoscopy refers to a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by presenting two offset images separately to the left and right eye of the viewer. Both of these 2-D offset images are then combined in the brain to give the perception of 3-D depth...
wall abstracts, have been described as "atmospheric landscapes". Working in oil paint
Oil paint
Oil paint is a type of slow-drying paint that consists of particles of pigment suspended in a drying oil, commonly linseed oil. The viscosity of the paint may be modified by the addition of a solvent such as turpentine or white spirit, and varnish may be added to increase the glossiness of the...
he also brings together objects that have become a signature to his works: pigmented silicon, urethane foam, and beads.
Airbrushing
AirbrushAirbrush
An airbrush is a small, air-operated tool that sprays various media including ink and dye, but most often paint by a process of nebulization. Spray guns developed from the airbrush and are still considered a type of airbrush.-History:...
ing is another common tool used in his paintings, sculptures, and prints, incorporating oil paint and spray paint to create neon colored abstracts such as Singular (2008) and Submerge (2007). These works also find inspiration in graffiti, reflective of Gibson's urban life in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Burner Bomb (2009) is a limited-edition digital print with hand-painting by Gibson. Bringing together brightly colored ink jet images of street art
Street art
Street art is any art developed in public spaces — that is, "in the streets" — though the term usually refers to unsanctioned art, as opposed to government sponsored initiatives...
found in Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Greenpoint is the northernmost neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bordered on the southwest by Williamsburg at the Bushwick inlet, on the southeast by the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and East Williamsburg, on the north by Newtown Creek and Long Island City, Queens at the...
(where Gibson lives), he also brings together photos of mannequins and store front windows. After printing, he adds his signature spray painted stripes in layers over the print. The title comes from the graffiti terms "burner": a great piece of graffiti made of bright colors and "bomb": a dramatic painting covering an artists tag.
Totems
Creating his own totemTotem
A totem is a stipulated ancestor of a group of people, such as a family, clan, group, lineage, or tribe.Totems support larger groups than the individual person. In kinship and descent, if the apical ancestor of a clan is nonhuman, it is called a totem...
sculptures, in 2009 Gibson produced the Totems series for an exhibition at Sala Diaz in San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
. This series of sculptures involved Gibson arriving five days before the opening to put together a collection of found objects to create what have been described, by the artist, as "fantasy sex partners, objects of desire".
The Totems feature objects such as mannequin
Mannequin
A mannequin is an often articulated doll used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, and others especially to display or fit clothing...
s acquired from Craigslist
Craigslist
Craigslist is a centralized network of online communities featuring free online classified advertisements, with sections devoted to jobs, housing, personals, for sale, services, community, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums....
, a wig
Wig
A wig is a head of hair made from horsehair, human hair, wool, feathers, yak hair, buffalo hair, or synthetic materials which is worn on the head for fashion or various other aesthetic and stylistic reasons, including cultural and religious observance. The word wig is short for periwig and first...
, plastic flowers
Artificial flower
Artificial flowers are imitations of natural flowering plants, used for commercial or residential decoration. They are sometimes made for scientific purposes .Materials used in their manufacture have included painted linen and shavings of stained horn in Egypt, gold and...
, toys, cowboy boots, flower pots, his signature spray paint and other objects. In the end Gibson created two human-like figures and a totem pole
Totem pole
Totem poles are monumental sculptures carved from large trees, mostly Western Red Cedar, by cultures of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America...
from the flower pots. Writer Ben Judson described Totems as way Gibson "uses the stereotyping of his own people as a way of exploring the use of metaphor in identity formation, cultural critique and consumerism without forfeiting lyricism or indulging in self-righteousness (apart, that is, from his press release)."
Creation process
In order to keep regular studio hours, Gibson prefers to work between the hours of 10am and 6pm. His computer, cell phone and a movie are generally at his reach if a break is needed while working. Music usually plays in the background, sometimes random, sometimes a specific record with genres ranging from African funk, jazzJazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, rap, R&B, disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
, as well as East Indian drumming
Music of India
The music of India includes multiple varieties of folk, popular, pop, classical music and R&B. India's classical music tradition, including Carnatic and Hindustani music, has a history spanning millennia and developed over several eras. It remains fundamental to the lives of Indians today as...
.
Reception
Gibson's abstract works have been compared to artists such as Martin Johnson HeadeMartin Johnson Heade
Martin Johnson Heade was a prolific American painter known for his salt marsh landscapes, seascapes, portraits of tropical birds, and still lifes...
, Cy Twombly
Cy Twombly
Edwin Parker "Cy" Twombly, Jr. was an American artist well known for his large-scale, freely scribbled, calligraphic-style graffiti paintings, on solid fields of mostly gray, tan, or off-white colors...
, Chris Ofili
Chris Ofili
Chris Ofili is a Turner Prize winning British painter best known for artworks referencing aspects of his Nigerian heritage, particularly his incorporation of elephant dung. He was one of the Young British Artists, and is now based in Trinidad.-Early life:Ofilli was born in Manchester. He had a...
, and Indigenous Australian art. Artist and poet Jimmie Durham
Jimmie Durham
Jimmie Durham is an American-born sculptor, essayist and poet, currently living in Europe.-Life and work:Durham was born in Washington, Arkansas and became active in theatre, performance and literature related to the US civil rights movement in the 1960s. His first solo exhibition as a visual...
declared that Gibson "might be our Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
", our referring to Native America. While some celebrate him as a Native artist, others celebrate his ability to move freely in and out of Native and non-Native contemporary art worlds.
Notable collections
- Denver Art MuseumDenver Art MuseumThe 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....
- Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art
- National Museum of the American IndianNational Museum of the American IndianThe National Museum of the American Indian is a museum operated under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution that is dedicated to the life, languages, literature, history, and arts of the native Americans of the Western Hemisphere...
- School for Advanced ResearchSchool for Advanced ResearchThe School for Advanced Research on the Human Experience , until 2007 known as the School of American Research and originally founded in 1907 as the School for American Archaeology , is an advanced research center located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA...
Notable exhibitions
- Collision, 2010, Rhode Island School of DesignRhode Island School of DesignRhode Island School of Design is a fine arts and design college located in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1877. Located at the base of College Hill, the RISD campus is contiguous with the Brown University campus. The two institutions share social, academic, and community resources and...
, Providence, RI - Vantage Point, 2010, National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, DC
- Flushing Town Hall Projects, 2008, Flushing Town HallFlushing Town HallFlushing Town Hall is a historic Town Hall located in the Flushing section of the New York City borough of Queens. It was built in 1862 and is a 2-story, three-by-six-bay, brick building with basement and attic. A small rear wing was added in 1938 containing a block of jail cells. The front...
, New York, NY - Group show, 2008, Kentler International Drawing Space, Brooklyn, NY
- Voices From the Mound, 2008, Institute of American Indian ArtsInstitute of American Indian ArtsThe Institute of American Indian Arts is a college focused on Native American art. It is situated in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is congressionally chartered, and was created by an executive order of former American President John F. Kennedy in 1962...
, Santa Fe, NM - Group show, 2007, New England School of Art and DesignNew England School of Art and DesignThe New England School of Art and Design at Suffolk University is a fine arts and design school located in Boston, Massachusetts. The school offers undergraduate and graduate degrees, as well as continuing education courses and programs for the local community. The School of Art & Design is...
, Boston, MA - Off the Map, 2007, National Museum of the American Indian, New York, NY
- SONOTUBE, 2007, Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts, Santa Barbara, CA
- BROOKLYN, 2006, Westport Arts Center, Westport, CT
- No Reservations, 2006, Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, CT
- Paumanok-a, 2006, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
- Tropicalisms, 2006, Jersey City MuseumJersey City MuseumJersey City Museum is a former art museum that was most recently located in the Van Vorst Park section of Downtown Jersey City, New Jersey. Serving a diverse community, the Museum collects, exhibits, preserves, and interprets its collections of 19th- and 20th-century paintings, works on paper,...
, Jersey City, NJ - Indigenous Anomaly, 2005, American Indian Community House, New York, NY
- (re)positions, 2001, Bronx Museum of the ArtsBronx Museum of the ArtsThe Bronx Museum of the Arts is a cultural institution located in the New York City borough of The Bronx. The museum focuses on contemporary and 20th century works created by American artists, and it has hosted exhibitions of art and design from Latin America, Africa and Asia...
, New York, NY
Gibson has also exhibited at numerous events such as the New Art Dealers Alliance Fair
New Art Dealers Alliance
The New Art Dealers Alliance is a not-for-profit arts organization founded in 2002 that supports collaboration and the exchange of information between its members. Membership extends to invited galleries, curators and gallery directors...
, ARCOmadrid, as well as many private galleries and public institutions.
Notable awards
- Eiteljorg Museum Fellowship for Native American Fine Art, 2009, Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art
- Ronald & Susan Dubin Fellowship, 2008, School for Advanced Research
External links
- Gibson's work exhibited in Off the Map from the National Museum of the American Indian
- Jeffrey Gibson: Indigenous Anomaly from the American Indian Community House
- Jeffrey Gibson: Totems, Gibson's blog from the Sala Diaz show