Pictured: Tlingit artist James Johnson with his skateboard decks.
"This exhibition reflects our lives – unique yet universal. PIVOT refers to the quick transitions we make between our traditional and day-to-day lives. We often work in cities while continuing to contribute to our ancestral communities and homelands.
As individuals, we’ve learned to shift between these incongruous societies and to integrate them within ourselves. As artists, we’ve developed motifs melding traditional themes with contemporary experiences. As in life, we all started with the same naked canvas and brought to it unique talents and experiences – personal, familial and tribal. Everything we experienced adds to our art - the people we met, the places we went, the things we did. We dreamed and looked and thought and gathered. We influenced and inspired each other across the permeable boundaries of culture. We chose our tools – brush or knife, paint or ink – then created, with the same agility that we use to navigate through the maze of days and between cultures. At any moment, we can switch directions. At any moment, we can change the picture, paint over, sand back to bare wood, transform what was into what will be. We balance here in this moment, between where we’ve been and where we’re going, placing our mark in the pivotal “now.”
Art reflects life. We hope this art can also inspire." - Guest Curators Duane Koyawena & Landis Bahe
PIVOT, curated by Duane Koyawena (Hopi) and Landis Bahe (Dine), featured original works on a unique canvas. The show included over 114 skateboard decks by Native American/Indigenous artists and provides insight into the contemporary Native art landscape while acknowledging the traditional cultures that help shape the identities of the artists who create the works.
PIVOT Artist Videos:
PIVOT Video: Retrospective on a Successful Collaboration
PIVOT Video: Artist Roundtable