All posts tagged: Tom Greyeyes

The Painted Desert, Part II

The sheltering sky is huge in Navajo country, and city slicker Street Artists have room to expand their minds and their imaginations when they get out to see the landscape dotted by occasional man-made structures. Jetsonorama and Yote invited a handful of them to come out and meet some local artists and the folks who live here.

By meeting the business owners and community members who invited them to create work on their buildings, the artists learned a little about local customs, their histories, and relationships. According to Jetsonorama, the guys appreciated that this project wasn’t about big walls with lots of exposure and were interested in connecting with people and the land to inspire their work. The resulting collection has a character and context very specific to the culture and the qualities of life here.

Overunder. White and yellow corn are symbols that play into the creation story for many native people. Overunder incorporated those symbols with the power lines that punctuate the sky here. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Overunder. White Corn, Yellow Corn. Detail.  (photo © Jetsonorama)

Overunder added a rainbow to encourage rain. Shortly after he finished it, the sky obliged. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Overunder (photo © Jetsonorama)

Gaia at Labrona’s Wall (photo © Jetsonorama)

Labrona. Detail. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Labrona (photo © Jetsonorama)

Labrona and Gaia collaboration. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Labrona and Gaia collaboration. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Gaia. The Bluebird Diner. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Gaia. The Bluebird Diner. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Gaia. The Bluebird Diner. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Gaia (photo © Jetsonorama)

Doodles (photo © Jetsonorama)

Doodles (photo © Jetsonorama)

Doodles and Labrona collaboration. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Doodles takes in the universe at White Mesa Arch. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Jetsonorama. Ben Water is Life. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Jetsonorama. King of the Store. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Jetsonorama and Breeze Collaboration. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Breeze (photo © Jetsonorama)

Tom Greyeyes (photo © Jetsonorama)

Doing pullups on a fence. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Click HERE to see Part I of The Painted Desert Project

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The Hive Gallery Presents: “Rezolution” A group Show (Phoenix, AZ)

Rezolution
Chip Thomas and Thomas “Breeze” Marcus (photo © Chip Thomas)

R E Z O L U T I O N
7 Artists will converge upon The Hive art space in Phoenix, Arizona on December 16th 2011 for the group show titled Rezolution (Resolution).
Rezolution (spelled with a Z instead of an S), is a focus on 7 artists who have experienced Native American Reservation life first hand and know the historical as well as the daily modern struggles, triumphs, smiles and cries better than anyone else in the so called American Dream Land. A popular term amongst Native people refers to these communities and land areas simply as “The Rez”.
Douglas Miles is an Apache artist from the San Carlos Apache Nation although he has already been recognized internationally and nationally for the last decade and more, Miles has recently gained the attention of the southern California gallery and street style art scenes. Miles brings stark depictions of strength with his stencils and illustrations of contemporary Apache women and warriors, while incorporating elaborate hand written typography that is heavily influenced by inner city “Cholo” writing which has its origins in Los Angeles.
Chip Thomas, a doctor on the Dine(Navajo) Reservation for the last 24 yrs, has recently taken inspiration from international street artists like Blu, JR, Os Gemeos, Gaia, and others by starting his own series of giant wheat paste murals from images that he has photographed and documented since first moving to Shonto, Az in 1987. Although not Navajo himself, Chip has seen a lot of love and support from his community of Shonto Arizona, as well as heavy outside criticism.
In addition to Doug and Chip: Anthony “Thosh” Collins (Photographer), Razelle Benally (Film Maker), Dwayne Manuel (Painter), Tom Greyeyes (Painter) and local Phx muralist Breeze will be participating. All 7 artists know what it means to live on a “Rez”, and have taken their experiences of everyday life, cultural identities and harnessed them into positive creativity through contemporary Photography, Film, Brush Painting, Charcoal, Graffiti Art, Propaganda, Stencils, Wheat Paste, Spray Paint, and more.
In many ways, the tool known as Art is now a modern warrior’s weapon and resource in being a voice for the at times seemingly forgotten original inhabitants. Rezolution is a platform to exhibit various styles and educate the unaware and unknowing populations about contemporary Native life, art work and the missions to break stereotypes and presumptions of what mainstream society portrays and exploits the American Indian as.
The imagery in this show will be truthful, abstract, blunt, surrealistic and ironically foreign to many eyes looking in from the outside.

-Thomas Breeze Marcus

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