NON-EXHIBITED WORKS
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The viewer learns that the three “exhibits” inside the display case are not artworks typical of those seen in an art museum. Rather, the viewer learns that these exhibits are more like artifacts in a natural history museum from the information card and the overall aesthetic.
In Bowl and Dice (see opposite page, right), the viewer is presented with a rendition of one of the most widespread pre-contact Native American games of Northeastern America, often called “hubbub” by a variety of New England tribes (“Pequot Village,” Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center). In hubbub, players roll dice in a basket and wager small items of value by betting on the outcome (Prindle). Pre-contact dice were usually made from antlers or animal bones; the vessel to contain the die was often a wooden bowl or woven basket. However, in Bowl and Dice, the dice are from the turkey of my Thanksgiving Day supper (2008), shaved and ground from the animals’ femur bones. The bowl is a hollowed tree burl, an arboreal infection.
Ring and Pin is a traditional pre-contact Native American game found in the majority of Native American tribes across North America (Prindle). The game is simple: Players grasp a pin, usually made of wood or animal bone, and attempt to throw a circular ring, attached