A grid of collage on postcards: 153 separate collages on Bockley Gallery exhibition announcements with a black and white photograph by Frank Stefanko of musician and artist Patti Smith, wearing a jacket, t-shirt, necklace and small hoop earrings; printed text on the back with information about an exhibition of Frank Stefanko photographs at the Bockley Gallery, Minneapolis.

%C2%A9 Frank Big Bear

Untitled (Patti Smith), 2012

expand_more
On View in Gallery 373expand_more

Born in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, Frank Big Bear is an acclaimed Ojibwe painter, draftsman, and printmaker, whose work explores the diverse social, political, and cultural realities of Native American life, past and present. Though Big Bear's work is nearly always representational, it is typically characterized by mosaic-like patterns of layered and interwoven forms and colors that produce a distinctive abstracted reality. Many of his compositions have a fragmented quality, reminiscent of Cubist canvases. For this work, however, Big Bear repurposed discarded invitations to a 2007 exhibition at Bockley Gallery in Minneapolis, which featured photographs by Frank Stefanko of rocker/poet Patti Smith. In adulterating and collaging the images, Big Bear pursues issues of cultural identity and political and social conflict.

file_downloadprintshare
arrow_back home
Details
Title
Untitled (Patti Smith)
Artist Life
(White Earth Nation), born 1953
Role
Artist
Accession Number
2012.57.1-153
Provenance
The artist; [Bockley Gallery, Minneapolis]; sold to MIA., 2012.
Curator Approved

This record is from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator, so may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.

Does something look wrong with this image? Let us know

A grid of collage on postcards: 153 separate collages on Bockley Gallery exhibition announcements with a black and white photograph by Frank Stefanko of musician and artist Patti Smith, wearing a jacket, t-shirt, necklace and small hoop earrings; printed text on the back with information about an exhibition of Frank Stefanko photographs at the Bockley Gallery, Minneapolis.

© Frank Big Bear

Because of © restrictions, we can only show you a small image of this artwork. (You'll have to come see it in person.)