BACKGROUND STEPS FORWARD // THE FLOWER MOON ART SHOW AT THE TULSA ARTISTS’ COALITION

by Sallie Cary Gardner

Artist Jaime Misenheimer literally laid the railroad tracks that, figuratively, took her on the journey of a lifetime: working on the set of Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon. Misenheimer’s partner’s family owns AOK, a shortline railroad in southeastern Oklahoma that was contracted by the movie’s art director to construct railroad tracks for the film. Through that work, Misenheimer—a painter and former university art instructor—was selected to appear as an extra in the film as well. Now she is co-curating an art show featuring arts and crafts made by herself and other extras in the movie.

The Flower Moon Art Show opens at the Tulsa Artists’ Coalition Gallery on Friday, October 6, in anticipation of the national release of the movie later in the month. The film tells the story of the Osage “reign of terror” in the 1920s, when white criminals killed Osage people for their oil headrights.

Helping tell the story of the Osage reign of terror deeply moved the extras—or “background actors,” as they’re often known. “Working with Osage actors was very emotional. They had relatives who were affected. We didn’t have to be told to cry on set because we were already crying,” said Misenheimer, who is Choctaw. “It was the most incredible experience of my life.” Since the film wrapped, a group of about 20 of the extras have met at area restaurants once a month for over a year. Since many of them create art or traditional native crafts, Misenheimer had the idea to organize an exhibit of their works.

In addition to curating the show, Misenheimer will have her own paintings in the exhibition, impressionistic oil scenes and portraits that she made while she was a background actor. “This show is unique in that it combines the work of trained artists, craftspeople, and outsider artists. It incorporates painting, photography, beadwork, and other media, and at the opening, we’re planning to host performances of spoken word and poetry,” said Colleen Stiles, Tulsa Artists’ Coalition president. “We are honored to help tell this story.”

Misenheimer said that, since extras have a lot of down time, she began painting oils of some of them during production and giving them their finished portraits. Misenheimer also gave fellow extra Alex DeRoin impromptu art lessons on set. DeRoin will have several mixed media works in the show. In his art, he said he has combined his activism with the Landback movement with Dada art theory to create his own genre that he has named “House of Landada.”

DeRoin created his works for the show by combining mixed media with digital art. His works fall into two categories: paintings of Osage County landscapes, which are reminiscent of book covers from old Westerns with their saturated colors, extreme contrast, and stylized shapes; and mixed-media collages employing the scratch technique, through which he uses an instrument like a stylus to scratch through the paint’s surface to reveal different layers or colors beneath. DeRoin uses this technique in pieces expressing his political views about Native American sovereignty and oil companies. He combines scratching with clippings of newspaper headlines and vintage photographs copied from old Osage County newspapers contemporary with the reign of terror.

Misenheimer’s paintings reflect her years of experience as a painter and art teacher. For the exhibit, she will show mostly oil paintings she created on set. Her experience shows in her ability to capture a person’s essence in just a few rough brushstrokes. For example, in Portrait of Aurelius she presents a young boy whom the viewer can tell is full of mischief. In addition to her character portraits, she paints dreamlike landscapes that exquisitely capture the quiet beauty of the Osage hills. Misenheimer achieves these works with muted colors and loose brushwork. In her landscapes, she also uses contrasting streaks of bright pastels to portray the intense western light at sundown. With an exceptional ability to match her medium to the scene, in Field Light Misenheimer renders a man on horseback during a fierce rain shower with the fine markings of watercolor pencil.

Since they played such an important part of the design of Killers of the Flower Moon, traditional crafts are also featured in the show. Chris Iron, an extra in the movie, has been making moccasins since she was 12. When production first started in 2021, costume designer Jacqueline West ordered 200 handmade moccasins from Iron. To fill such a large order, Iron recruited her mother to help. Iron’s moccasin styles range from being covered with beadwork to plain buckskin.

Jeremy Good Voice was promoted from being a background actor to having a speaking part in the film. He is descended from three tribes: Muskogee, Choctaw, and Lakota. In addition to his part in the movie, he also learned to drive the antique cars used on set. Good Voice’s art practices are sketching and beadwork. He commonly uses the peyote stitch in his colorful pieces, several of which appear in the show.

Jerry Logsdon was an extra who read about the movie on social media. He is a 23-year-old Cherokee citizen and lives in Tahlequah where he works as a forklift operator. Although he hadn’t picked up a paintbrush since elementary school, when he heard about the Flower Moon Art Show, he painted an acrylic work with the seal of the Osage nation represented as a flower and the words “Survivors of the Flower Moon.” He had never heard of the reign of terror until he worked on the movie.

Cody Hammer lucked into his work as the only still photographer allowed on set. He had recently started a job as a photographer for the Osage News, the monthly newspaper based in Pawhuska, when production came to town. Although Apple Original Films, which produced the movie, didn’t pay him, they didn’t allow any other photographers on set.

The Flower Moon Art Show can be seen at the Tulsa Artists’ Coalition Gallery from October 6 through October 28. For more information, see tacgallery.org.

SALLIE CARY GARDNER is retired from a long career in writing and public relations. Her assemblage art was featured in Reflections, a group show at the TAC Gallery in March.