Lithograph and screenprint on two sheets of paper. Right panel is bleed printed from three plates in blue, light pink, and dark pink depicting a coyote in a tutu. Left panel is bleed printed from one plate in blue and screenprinted from one screen in black and satin gloss depicting a rabbit in a skirt with a wand.

Copyright %C2%A9 Julie Buffalohead%2C published by Highpoint Editions

The Trickster Showdown, 2015

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In Native American storytelling, tricksters are often portrayed as anthropomorphized rabbits, coyotes, or crows. Tricksters are the tales’ protagonists, possessing supernatural powers but representing paradox—their chief characteristic is ambiguity. As shape-shifters (beings who morph from human to animal or other forms), they may be both wise and foolish, cultural heroes and mischievous pranksters, mythical creators and reckless destroyers. In The Trickster Showdown, Julie Buffalohead portrays a lighthearted face-off between two tricksters of perhaps equal powers: a skirted rabbit holding a star-tipped wand and a coyote wearing a pastel-colored tutu. Using white ink on a dark blue ground, Buffalohead depicts her tricksters as ethereal beings set in an indeterminate space, each figure rendered with a naturalistic exactness that reveals her deep understanding of animal anatomy. For Buffalohead, “[the trickster] represents what it means to actually be a human being and to have all these feelings and emotions and contradiction within yourself.”

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Details
Title
The Trickster Showdown
Artist Life
(Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma), born 1972
Role
Artist
Accession Number
2020.85.16a,b
Provenance
Highpoint Editions, Minneapolis (publisher); sold to MIA, 2020.
Curator Approved

This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.

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Lithograph and screenprint on two sheets of paper. Right panel is bleed printed from three plates in blue, light pink, and dark pink depicting a coyote in a tutu. Left panel is bleed printed from one plate in blue and screenprinted from one screen in black and satin gloss depicting a rabbit in a skirt with a wand.

Copyright © Julie Buffalohead, published by Highpoint Editions