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An Honor Song at Oklahoma Contemporary New exhibition celebrates local artist Edgar Heap of Birds BY L AV I N I A C R E S WA
P H OTO S BY J U S T I N M I E R S
CARPENTER SQUARE'S 1009 W. RENO SPACE IS HOME TO AMPLE ROOM FOR AUDIENCES, A LOBBY ART GALLERY AND OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY THEATRE
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klahoma City has quietly been the home of a world-renowned, prolific artist for decades, and now he is getting the recognition he deserves. Beginning Feb. 20, Oklahoma Contemporary will have a large retrospective across multiple galleries exhibiting the incomparable work of Hock E Aye Vi Edgar Heap of Birds (Cheyenne and Arapaho Nation.) Curator of this exhibition Pablo Barrera first encountered the art of Heap of Birds in 2007 and has been drawn to his work ever since. “This exhibition is long overdue for an artist of this caliber,” Barrera said. “This is the first major retrospective of his entire career that he has had, and we are really thankful that he chose to work with Oklahoma Contemporary.” The title of the exhibition — Hock E Aye Vi Edgar Heap of Birds: Honor Song — features the artist’s full name, as he is a citizen of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Nation. An “honor song” is an aspect of Indigenous culture which Barrera described as an offering to commemorate an individual or meaningful event. “The reason we titled this exhibition Honor Song is twofold: First, this is a celebration of the amazing achievements of an artist with over four decades of work. 56
FEBRUARY 2025
Second, his work is about honoring the presence and the resilience of the Indigenous community. It serves as the artist’s honor song for amazing figures, culturally important sites, as well as the issues and events that are part of our unresolved, uncomfortable history.” The opening reception will feature a drum performance of an honor song, intended to inaugurate the space and allow guests to share in the intention of the exhibition. Afterward, Heap of Birds will discuss aspects of the works on display and his career. Heap of Birds is a conceptual artist, known for his political and social commentary through a culturally informed lens enriched by his Native American heritage. He creates work in all mediums, which will be evident from the broad array of pieces across the Oklahoma Contemporary campus. From paintings to sculpture, drawings, etchings and glass, there is no shortage of interesting art on display, and with over 100 pieces of art inside and out, there is something for everyone to enjoy. When asked if he had a favorite piece on display, Barrera admitted that one piece in particular does speak to him strongly. “It is a
beautiful piece called ‘Family’ from 2022. It is a large-scale, overwhelming, 48-panel print in different hues of blue composed of 24 monotype prints and 24 ‘ghost prints’ created from a second pull of the same plate. It highlights the artist’s use of color theory and is meant to honor his family members.” Oklahoma Contemporary offers free admission, so visitors can come back regularly to examine this massive exhibition. “What I love about contemporary art is how it invites the viewer to reconsider ideas and topics that they thought they understood,” Barrera said. “This is what the art of Edgar Heap of Birds does for the audience. He takes elements from all around us and brings them back in a way that is intriguing, challenging and exciting.” → For more information on Hock E Aye Vi Edgar Heap of Birds: Honor Song or to plan your trip to Oklahoma Contemporary, visit oklahomacontemporary.org.