Frank LaPena's Curatorial Legacy

Recently, I visited the Offering Our Gifts to the World:Curatorial Legacy of Frank LaPena exhibit at the Donald and Beverly Gerth Special Collections and University Archives.  The exhibit is a tribute to artist, art writer, dance, musician, Sacramento State professor of art, former Director of Native American Studies, and poet Frank LaPena (1937-2019).  It also showcases his curatorial legacy.

Frank LaPena

Exterior to the Donald and Beverly Gerth Special Collections and University Archives

Offering Our Gifts to the World exhibit

The exhibit focuses on five exhibitions that LaPena played a large curatorial role in. The exhibitions include This Path We Travel: Celebrations of Contemporary Native American Creativity (1994), The Extension of Tradition: Contemporary Northern California Native American Art in Cultural Perspective (1985-86), Images of Identity (2004), The Real People (El Autentico Pueblo) (1979), and Ceremonial: Contemporary Native American Art (1999).

This Path We Travel

This exhibition highlights the contemporary art of indigenous peoples. It acknowledged their belief systems, ceremonies, and environmental effects on Indian land and culture. It allowed fifteen indigenous artists to collaborate on works at the four cardinal points of North America. The artists came from different artistic disciplines and combined them to make a vision of the Indian cosmos according to traditional views of the indigenous world.

I think that the idea of having the indigenous artists collaborate on sacred sites is very interactive. It allows them to get in touch with their cultural roots and to demonstrate their culture to the public which includes non-Native Americans.

This Path We Travel photographs by Walter Bigbee of artists Josephine Wapp, Harold Littlebird, Frank LaPena, and Allen DeLeary participating in a performance at Gila River, Arizona

The Extension of Tradition

This exhibition displayed traditional works of art such as baskets and ceremonial regalia. It showed that contemporary art of Native California was a rebirth and extension of traditional indigenous culture.

The idea of extending tradition into contemporary works is a valuable thing as it keeps the culture alive. I agree with LaPena's introduction to this exhibition when he states that in order for their to be a renaissance of Native American arts, there needs to be wisdom and knowledge. This will be acquired by Native Americans having a connection and awareness of tradition.

Images of Identity

LaPena co-curated this exhibition with Terri Castaneda at Sacramento State. Twelve artists from LaPena's network came to display their art such as himself, Frank Day, and Judith Lowry. Some of their works were on display in the Special Collections, so I was able to see works like Lowry's Sorcerer/Doctor/Elder Woman and Day's Cremation. The objective of this exhibition was to display the connection between the artists' roots in their tribal traditions and their identification with their heritage.

This exhibition does a great job at focusing on the relationship between the indigenous artists and their communities/traditions. It is important to showcase their works to non-Native Americans, but it is still important to focus on themselves and their connections to their roots.

Judith Lowry, Maidu/Pit River, Sorcerer/Doctor/Elder Woman, 2001, oil on canvas

Frank Day, Maidu, Cremation, 1962, oil on cardboard

The Real People 

For this exhibition, LaPena was able to travel to Cuba as a guest of the Cuban government to exhibit and give interviews and lectures. Many indigenous artists were able to display their artwork internationally for the first time because of this exhibition. Not only was it a chance for the Cuban government to display their like-mindedness with the tribal nations of North America, but it was an opportunity for artist to overshadow politics with themes of native tradition and harmony with nature. These themes helped to demonstrate that every tribe belonged to a global indigenous community.

This was a very forward thinking exhibition in terms of having indigenous artists show their works internationally. It was a great way to bring different tribes and traditions together, while also showing the world that there is art that is not just done by white men from western countries.  

Photograph of the public viewing the installation of traditional arts of Indigenous North America at The Real People exhibition, Cuba

Ceremonial

This was a collective effort of eight concerned Native American artists who wanted to recognize the need to address contemporary social issues in an honest way. Ceremonial was an international exhibition that was held at the 48th Venice Biennale. It displayed works like LaPena's Diaspora: California Indians that demonstrated the effects of colonization and how it is still impacting Native Americans.

This exhibition was another great effort to showcase the contemporary works of indigenous artists internationally. By internationally displaying works that focused on social issues, indigenous artists could voice their messages to the world.

Frank LaPena, Wintu-Nomtipom-Filipino, Diaspora: California Indians, 1999, mixed-media mural on paper, 8 panels

I enjoyed this exhibit as it was very informative on the importance of sharing indigenous contemporary art. It showcased the impact that Frank LaPena had on the display of indigenous art to the world.  Through his curatorial work, he played a major role in spreading indigenous artist's messages and issues to the public. In doing this non-Native Americans have been able to learn about the different indigenous cultures and their past and current issues, and Native Americans have been able to learn or reconnect with their roots.