STORIES OUTSIDE THE LINES: AMERICAN INDIAN LEDGER ART
Opens December 15, 2012; on display through October 27, 2013
The Heard goes beyond the Southwest in our Plains art exhibit. Ledger book drawings began in the late 19th century when, as a legacy of warfare, the U.S. government was placing Native people on reservations. The tribes that were relocated were largely Plains tribes, and many of their cultures had traditions of recording events on animal hides using natural pigments. Confined to a reservation or faced with imprisonment, the Indians turned to the materials they had available to them – ledger books and pencils, provided by traders and government agents – to record events and past achievements in their lives. The tradition has continued through the years as contemporary artists create stories and scenes inspired by these artists from long ago. This collection includes drawings and a few hide paintings.
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