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The Poetry of Line: The
Pen and Ink Drawings of Earl Biss
April 12 - October 12, 2008
Gilcrease Museum's
newest exhibit, The Poetry of Line: The Pen and Ink Drawings of Earl
Biss, opened April 12, 2008. The exhibit will continue through October
12, 2008.
More than 50 drawings make up the exhibit, which is the
first time on display since becoming part of the Gilcrease permanent collection
in 2004. While Biss is widely known for his paintings, these drawings let
the visitor view his work from a different perspective.
"Biss was among the most thoughtful of his generation
of artists," Randy Ramer, interim senior curator, said. "His subjects
are often very emotional and speak to his upbringing at Crow Agency in Montana."
Earl Biss (Crow/Chippewa) was a central figure during the
1960s as he helped change the face of Indian and Southwest Art. "Biss'
work represents an important departure from traditional approaches to Native
American art," Carole Klein, assistant curator in the art department
at Gilcrease Museum, said. "Biss became a central figure among a group
of very innovative artists during the 1960s at the Institute of American
Indian Art in Santa Fe that included Fritz Scholder, T.C. Cannon, and Kevin
Red Star."
Biss contributed to the changing face of Native American
art and experimented with Abstract Expressionalism, allowing him an emotional
outlet which he used as a tool to present a contemporary Native American
perspective, portraying in a modern visual language the Indian living in
the modern world. His landscapes and themes drawn from the history of the
Crow Nation allow Biss to present a Native American perspective using contemporary
visual language.
The drawings explore the expressionistic nuance of shadow
and light affected by dark ink on paper. The drawings that make up the exhibit
were produced in 1992 and 1993.
Once the Gilcrease exhibition finishes on October 12, 2008,
The Poetry of Line: The Pen and Ink Drawings of Earl Biss will travel
to other museums throughout the country.
Gallery text panels from the exhibition
by Carole Klein
- THE POETRY OF LINE
- The Pen and Ink Drawings of Earl Biss
-
- BIOGRAPHY
-
- Earl Biss (Crow/Chippewa) was born in Renton, Washington,
in 1947. He was given the name "Meadow Lark Boy" as a child,
and later as an adult took the name "Spotted Horse". Raised by
his grandmother at Crow Agency, Montana, he would return frequently throughout
his life to live and work. His creative approach represents an important
stylistic departure from traditional Native American art. A central figure
during the 1960s among a group of artists at the Institute of American
Indian Arts in Santa Fe, including Fritz Scholder, T.C. Cannon, and Kevin
Red Star, Biss contributed to changing the face of Indian and Southwest
Art. A classically trained artist, he was exposed to Abstract Expressionism
while studying under Fritz Scholder. Incorporating this style into his
work and using it as an emotional outlet, Biss presented a contemporary
Native American perspective, portraying in a modern visual language the
Indian living in the modern world. After graduating, he attended the San
Francisco Art Institute. In a subsequent year of independent study in Europe
he frequented museums and painted, maintaining a studio in the Netherlands
and painting on the Greek island of Corfu for six months. Biss was impressed
by the translucent skies of Turner, the impressionistic brushwork of Monet,
the illusive suggestiveness of Whistler's landscapes. He also had great
admiration for the stark emotional statements of Edvard Munch and Oscar
Kokoschka. These influences are seen in his work.
-
-
- THE DRAWINGS
-
- Biss began his expressive and responsive drawings with
specific ideas, abstracting his forms and figures. He focused on gesture
rather than detail, universalizing his experiences. His subject matter
is drawn from the landscape and the rich cultural background of his people,
the Crow Nation of the northern plains. Once a nomadic people roaming freely,
their spirituality is built upon oneness with the earth and the elements.
-
- Biss's art is both Indian and not Indian, representing
a common spirituality. In his work, one can sense the pulsation of all
living things. Using the artistic element of line, he creates mass, volume
and movement. Free-flowing, the lines dance across the paper with energy,
liveliness and rhythm, creating a kind of visual poetry. He pulls the viewer
into the image and sets his mind adrift. The drawings are subtle yet powerful-images
of ephemeral moments reflecting the transience of time.
QUOTES: Earl Biss for gallery walls
(all these by Earl Biss himself)
-
- I am not concerned with capturing the outward image
of nature, but rather those powers or forces of nature which play such
an important part or basis for the way things are.
-
- I feel that too many of us have lost touch with the
beautiful world that is around us. If I can share with people a dream that
is pleasant, I feel that I have fulfilled a responsibility that I must
share with my fellow man.
-
- I like to think of my painting as windows to another
time and place -- a magical window through which one's mind may drift:
a place that is good and right.
-
- If I had my way the world would be beautiful, alluring,
idyllic, simple, poetic and heroicI know the old days will never be again,
but in my dreams I see them
(above: Earl Biss, Full Headdress Chief, Pen and
ink on paper. 13.3929. Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, Oklahoma
(above: Earl Biss, Stampeding Buffalo with a Shadow,
Pen and ink on paper. 13.3896. Gilcrease Musuem, Tulsa, Oklahoma)
(above: Earl Biss, Shocking the Hay, Pen and ink
on paper. 13.3893. Gilcrease Musuem, Tulsa, Oklahoma)
Object labels from the exhibition
- Earl Biss (1947-1998) Crow/Chippewa
-
- Rainbow Warriors
- in Search of the Southern Cross
- pen and ink on paper, 1992
- 13.3892
- Museum purchase, Carlson Bequest, 2004
-
-
- Earl Biss (1947-1998) Crow/Chippewa
-
- Native American Family Portrait -
- Circa 1878 , Two Years after Dr. Zhivago
- pen and ink on paper
- 13.3894
- Museum purchase, Carlson Bequest, 2004
-
-
- Earl Biss (1947-1998) Crow/Chippewa
-
- Shocking the Hay
- pen and ink on paper, 1992
- 13.3893
- Museum purchase, Carlson Bequest, 2004
-
-
- Earl Biss (1947-1998) Crow/Chippewa
-
- Stampeding Buffalo with a Shadow
- pen and ink on paper, 1992
- 13.3896
- Museum purchase, Carlson Bequest, 2004
-
-
- Earl Biss (1947-1998) Crow/Chippewa
-
- Two of the Chief's Horses in Short Grass
- pen and ink on paper, 1992
- 13.3895
- Museum purchase, Carlson Bequest, 2004
-
-
- Earl Biss (1947-1998) Crow/Chippewa
-
- Racing Stripes Work Just Fine on Hot Rods
- Racey Spots Suit our Needs Just Fine
- pen and ink on paper, 1993
- 13.3897
- Museum purchase, Carlson Bequest, 2004
-
-
- Earl Biss (1947-1998) Crow/Chippewa
-
- Left Handed Drawing
- of the Chief wth a Cross
- pen and ink on paper, 1992
- 13.3898
- Museum purchase, Carlson Bequest, 2004
-
-
- Earl Biss (1947-1998) Crow/Chippewa
-
- Wagons with Oxen
- pen and ink on paper
- 13.3899
- Museum purchase, Carlson Bequest, 2004
-
-
- Earl Biss (1947-1998) Crow/Chippewa
-
- A Kind Hearted Compadre
- pen and ink on paper
- 13.3901
- Museum purchase, Carlson Bequest, 2004
-
-
- Earl Biss (1947-1998) Crow/Chippewa
-
- Empty Wagon in the Dark
- pen and ink on paper, 1993
- 13.3900
- Museum purchase, Carlson Bequest, 2004
-
-
- Earl Biss (1947-1998) Crow/Chippewa
-
- Outlaw Horses for Outlaw Indians
- pen and ink on paper, 1993
- 13.3903
- Museum purchase, Carlson Bequest, 2004
-
-
- Earl Biss (1947-1998) Crow/Chippewa
-
- Nine Horses Running About
- Before the Storm
- pen and ink on paper, 1992
- 13.3902
- Museum purchase, Carlson Bequest, 2004
-
-
- Earl Biss (1947-1998) Crow/Chippewa
-
- Where the Poplar and Pines
- Meet the Mountains and Sky
- pen and ink on paper, 1993
- 13.3905
- Museum purchase, Carlson Bequest, 2004
-
-
- Earl Biss (1947-1998) Crow/Chippewa
-
- Death Riding A Grey Horse in 1876
- pen and ink on paper, 1992
- 13.3904
- Museum purchase, Carlson Bequest, 2004
-
-
- Earl Biss (1947-1998) Crow/Chippewa
-
- Digging a Ditch
- pen and ink on paper, 1993
- 13.3907
- Museum purchase, Carlson Bequest, 2004
-
-
- Earl Biss (1947-1998) Crow/Chippewa
-
- He Had Designs on Spotted Ponies
- pen and ink on paper, 1993
- 13.3906
- Museum purchase, Carlson Bequest, 2004
-
-
- Earl Biss (1947-1998) Crow/Chippewa
-
- Portrait of a Baby Being Born as a Sketch
- pen and ink on paper, 1992
- 13.3909
- Museum purchase, Carlson Bequest, 2004
-
-
- Earl Biss (1947-1998) Crow/Chippewa
-
- Waiting for the Train
- pen and ink on paper, 1993
- 13.3908
- Museum purchase, Carlson Bequest, 2004
-
-
- Earl Biss (1947-1998) Crow/Chippewa
-
- Quick Sketch of a Group of Mixed Riders
- pen and ink on paper, 1992
- 13.3911
- Museum purchase, Carlson Bequest, 2004
-
-
- Earl Biss (1947-1998) Crow/Chippewa
-
- Crying in Baton Rouge
- One Mid July Afternoon
- pen and ink on paper, 1992
- 13.3910
- Museum purchase, Carlson Bequest, 2004
-
-
- Earl Biss (1947-1998) Crow/Chippewa
-
- A White Horse Going into the Woods
- pen and ink on paper, 1993
- 13.3913
- Museum purchase, Carlson Bequest, 2004
-
-
- Earl Biss (1947-1998) Crow/Chippewa
-
- Foreward Scouts on the Lookout
- pen and ink on paper, 1993
- 13.3912
- Museum purchase, Carlson Bequest, 2004
-
-
- Earl Biss (1947-1998) Crow/Chippewa
-
- Towards the End of Harvest
- pen and ink on paper, 1992
- 13.3915
- Museum purchase, Carlson Bequest, 2004
-
-
- Earl Biss (1947-1998) Crow/Chippewa
-
- A Peasant's Banquet
- pen and ink on paper, 1992
- 13.3914
- Museum purchase, Carlson Bequest, 2004
-
-
- Earl Biss (1947-1998) Crow/Chippewa
-
- No Way to Treat an Animal
- pen and ink on paper
- 13.3917
- Museum purchase, Carlson Bequest, 2004
-
-
- Earl Biss (1947-1998) Crow/Chippewa
-
- Striped Vest
- pen and ink on paper, 1993
- 13.3916
- Museum purchase, Carlson Bequest, 2004
-
-
- Earl Biss (1947-1998) Crow/Chippewa
-
- His Feathers Went Every Which Way
- pen and ink on paper, 1993
- 13.3919
- Museum purchase, Carlson Bequest, 2004
-
-
- Earl Biss (1947-1998) Crow/Chippewa
-
- He Had Deer Medicine
- pen and ink on paper, 1993
- 13.3918
- Museum purchase, Carlson Bequest, 2004
-
-
- Earl Biss (1947-1998) Crow/Chippewa
-
- A Portrait of Natti White Arm
- pen and ink on paper, 1992
- 13.3921
- Museum purchase, Carlson Bequest, 2004
-
-
- Earl Biss (1947-1998) Crow/Chippewa
-
- Below the Wolf Mountains
- pen and ink on paper, 1992
- 13.3920
- Museum purchase, Carlson Bequest, 2004
-
-
- Earl Biss (1947-1998) Crow/Chippewa
-
- Warriors Under the Moon
- pen and ink on paper, 1993