American

Fritz Scholder

U.S. 1937-2005
Bi-Centennial Indian 75.0035

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Fritz Scholder's paintings and lithographs of American Indians attempt to readjust traditional images by white artists. "When I first came to Santa Fe," Scholder wrote in 1971, " I vowed to myself that I would not paint Indians. Then I saw the numerous over-romanticized paintings of the 'noble savage' looking into the sunset and decided that someone should paint the Indian in a different context. My concern therefore includes depicting the strange paradox created in the transition of the warrior to the 20th century; the quiet humor of the nature-oriented person; the faces that show the imposition of the non-Indian and the tenacity for holding onto an identity; the monstrous metamorphosis that at times makes the Indian his own worst enemy; the contemporary Indian/cowboy with a can of beer in his hand; and finally the isolation of Indian objects for a more candid view."

 

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