Fritz Scholder: Indian/Not Indian

In the 1960s and 70s, the notion of American Indian art was
turned on its head by artists who fought against prejudice and
popular clichés. At the forefront of this revolution was Scholder
(1937 2005), whose portrayals of Native American life
combined realism, tragedy, and spirituality with the genres of
abstract expressionism and pop art. Published to coincide with
an exhibit at the Smithsonian s National Museum of the
American Indian in New York City and Washington, D.C., this
retrospective features hundreds of works from Scholder s
career as a painter, printmaker, and sculptor. Essays explore
Scholder s major themes humanity s place in the natural
world, ancient mythical beings, women, Christian iconography,
the millennium, and the afterlife as well as Scholder s decades
of prominence in the art world, his role in the Native American
community, and his myth-shattering depictions of the realities
of Native American life. A fascinating figure who fearlessly
took on his own contradictions and those of his times,
Scholder continues to generate passionate discussion today.
Fritz Scholder: Indian/Not Indian offers a lively, insightful
exploration of his place in twentieth-century American art
history as a colorist, expressionist, and figurative painter.