Inside Out Haudenosaunee

Contemporary Native American artists at new Nazareth gallery in Pittsford

Native American artists blend time periods in work on exhibit at new Nazareth art gallery

By Stuart LowA pioneering art show at Nazareth College brings age-old Native American designs into the world of iPods and space aliens.

“Inside Out Haudenosaunee” features seven contemporary Iroquois artists with a dual identity. With one foot in tradition and the other in the computer age, they infuse familiar clay and beads with today’s images.

You might find a portrait of a young Mohawk man with a nose ring, headphones and Ozzy Osbourne sunglasses. Another picture will make you ask: Why’s that Seneca woman flying over giant Budweiser billboards in Times Square?

“These 21st-century images reflect who the Seneca are today,” says Cathy Sweet, director of Nazareth College Arts Center’s new gallery. “But the notion of displaying their art in a white, contemporary gallery like ours is new to them.”
Comment:  For more on modern Native art, see Two Views of The Way of the People and Currents at University of Northern Colorado.

Below:  "Black Flint" by Alex Jacobs at Nazareth College's "Inside Out Haudenosaunee" exhibit.