Art OFocus k l a h o m a from the editor The image on the cover of this issue of Art Focus Oklahoma is a handwoven basket by Tulsa-based artist Shan Goshorn. While the basket is a beautiful piece of artistry and craftsmanship, it also contains a powerful message. Titled Reclaiming Our Power, the double-weave basket addresses the high statistics of violence directed at Native American women on tribal lands by nonnatives. The interior of the basket is printed with statistics while the exterior portrays Native women of all ages wrapped in intertribal shawls, set against text from the Violence Against Women Act of 2013.
Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition 730 W. Wilshire Blvd., Suite 104 Oklahoma City, OK 73116 ph: 405.879.2400 • e: director@ovac-ok.org visit our website at: www.ovac-ok.org Executive Director: Holly Moye director@ovac-ok.org Editor: Kelsey Karper publications@ovac-ok.org Art Director: Anne Richardson speccreative@gmail.com
Art Focus Oklahoma is a bimonthly publication of the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition dedicated to stimulating insight into and providing current information about the visual arts in Oklahoma.
Goshorn’s work, particularly her recent basket series, has earned national and international recognition including a Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship and a Native Arts and Culture Artist Fellowship. Through this work she presents both contemporary and historical subjects that continue to be relevant today.
Mission: Supporting Oklahoma’s visual arts and artists and their power to enrich communities.
Like Goshorn, there are many Native artists in Oklahoma making work that preserves their heritage while addressing current issues. In an effort to document their work and capture their stories, the Oklahoma Oral History Research Program of the Oklahoma State University Library began the Oklahoma Native Artists’ Project in 2010. Dozens of artists, including Goshorn, have been interviewed for the project which is led by Julie Pearson-Little Thunder. Audio and video recordings of the interviews are available on their website. Read more about the project and the value of oral histories in our feature story on page 20.
OVAC welcomes your comments. Letters addressed to Art Focus Oklahoma are considered for publication unless otherwise specified. Mail or email comments to the editor at the address above. Letters may be edited for clarity or space reasons. Anonymous letters will not be published. Please include a phone number.
This project not only highlights the careers of Native artists, it also raises awareness of the cultural and economic importance of their work. According to the OSU Library, there are more professional Native artists in our state, producing a greater diversity of work, than anywhere else in the country. You’ll see work by several of these artists in this issue of Art Focus. As you begin this new year, I hope you’ll be inspired to reconsider what you thought you knew about artists in Oklahoma. What seems familiar at first may reveal new perspectives on our modern world.
OVAC welcomes article submissions related to artists and art in Oklahoma. Call or email the editor for guidelines.
OVAC Board of Directors July 2014-June 2015: Margo Shultes von Schlageter, MD, Christian Trimble, Edmond; Jon Fisher, Moore; Bob Curtis, Gina Ellis (Treasurer), Hillary Farrell, TiTi Fitzsimmons, Michael Hoffner (Secretary), Stephen Kovash, Travis Mason, Suzanne Mitchell, Renée Porter (President), Douglas Sorocco, Oklahoma City; Dean Wyatt, Owasso; Joey Frisillo, Sand Springs; Shelley Cadamy, Jean Ann Fausser, Susan Green (Vice President), Janet Shipley Hawks, Ariana Jakub, Tulsa. The Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition is solely responsible for the contents of Art Focus Oklahoma. However, the views expressed in articles do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Board or OVAC staff. Member Agency of Allied Arts and member of the Americans for the Arts.
Kelsey Karper publications@ovac-ok.org
© 2015, Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition. All rights reserved. View the online archive at www.ArtFocusOklahoma.org.
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On the cover Shan Goshorn, Tulsa, Reclaiming Our Power, 2014, 16” X 16” X 13.5”. Arches watercolor paper splints printed with archival inks, acrylic paint. See page 20.
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