In Fall 2020, students led by Associate Professor Louise Siddons created a digital project documenting the art exhibition history of Oklahoma State University, with the assistance of Digital Scholarship Librarian Megan Macken. Students used the digitized archive of the student newspaper, the Daily O’Collegian—today the O’Colly— to construct a database of exhibitions held between 1960 and 1999.
Here on the collection blog, we’re featuring reflective essays written by students about their work on this project, based on the research they did to compile the online exhibition history. This week’s essay is by McKenzie Branham. It has been edited for length and clarity.
For the Digital History Project, my group had the years 1995 through 1999. Our time period was especially important as it was the turn of the century and a time of new ideas and wider acceptance for minority groups. A few of the common themes of our years seemed to be celebrating diversity as well as highlighting the talents of Oklahoma State University’s students and staff. When viewing our selection of years, it is difficult to pinpoint a set theme or any sort of real consistency between exhibition subjects. This only enforces the idea of inclusion because there is a breakaway from only focusing on works made with traditional materials by well-off Americans and instead recognizing the range of different people on our campus.
Many of the exhibitions are organized by staff members of Oklahoma State University. This was to be expected, but there were also quite a few exhibitions that were organized by people from outside of the university. Some were exhibitions that were international and hosted artists from the university, while others were held at Oklahoma State but hosted by outside organizations, including professional artists or museums from around the country that brought their art to the campus. There were also a couple of exhibitions hosted by the art students at Oklahoma State University, offering a fresh viewpoint of the art world. Those exhibitions tended to stray more from the norm, with a lot of mixed media pieces and themes with a lot of depth.
When it came to finding the viewpoint of the audience, the O’Colly tended to stay neutral when giving information about exhibitions. The opinions on the exhibitions came from organizers or attendees giving their input about the show through interviews. The O’Colly would state the facts and the history behind each exhibition and sometimes include additional opinions from others outside the newspaper.
One exhibition I chose to look into is “A Native American Child’s World: Beyond the Negative.” This exhibition was different in that it explored Native American culture through the eyes of children. It ties into the themes of celebrating diversity and acknowledging local students because fourth- and fifth-grade Native American children from a Tulsa elementary school also took part in contributing pieces. Items dating back to 1942 were included in the show. Pat Radford, curator at the Bartlett Center, described the importance of the show well when he stated that it was intriguing to see how intricate Native American toys were for their children. It shined a light on how devoted Native American mothers were when caring for their children and allowed others to see the family dynamic of Native American lifestyles.
The 1990s were an important time for Native American rights, and the beginning of justice for the wrongful acts committed by the American government for centuries. The Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 promoted Native arts by prohibiting misrepresentation in marketing. This made it illegal to advertise a product as Native American when it was not made by a Native person. Likewise, President Clinton offered more support for Native colleges and institutions in 1996 when he signed an executive order extending funding into the 21st century. “Beyond the Negative” took these relevant events in stride, showcasing authentic Native American art and taking great care to make sure all pieces were handled with care. This is especially important since many of the organizers were not Native American. Despite not coming from that heritage, they made sure to be respectful to Natives and keep the exhibition true to their culture.
Another exhibition I chose to analyze was of Mexican pottery, held in 1997. Six Mexican potters displayed their pottery at the Gardiner Gallery and were given the opportunity to auction off their pieces as well as hold a workshop for Oklahoma State students. This exhibition is interesting because it gave these potters a chance to share their trade with students. They were from Mata Ortiz, a village in Mexico where many of the population are potters. Professor Richard Bivins of Oklahoma State University gave details of the techniques the potters used as well as explained how important it was for students to observe cultures outside their own.
In the 1990s, there was turmoil in Mexico as natural disasters wreaked havoc and political unrest caused tension between the government and its people. Mexican-born Americans were allowed to have dual nationality starting in 1998. This meant that Mexican Americans could be recognized as citizens of both the United States and Mexico. The pottery exhibition was a way to give outsiders a perspective on Mexican culture that was not tarnished by news stories of riots and wars in Central America. Not only did it give insight to the agricultural lifestyle of some Mexicans, but it also gave students a chance to connect with that Mexican culture by creating pottery side-by-side with Mexican potters by using their techniques. It created a bridge between American culture and Mexican culture.
When organizing these exhibitions, great care was taken to highlight the cultures of other minority groups without shadowing them with the American viewpoint. This seems like a far cry from what we have learned in class when it came to Native American art being seen as inferior, or used only when Americans stole aspects of their art and used it for themselves. Finally, we see that instead of cultural appropriation where the Native American and Mexican voice is lost as outsiders try to interpret their art without their influence, this is instead a type of cultural exchange. Outside communities are able to view art with respect and have the background knowledge needed to interpret it accordingly.
What seems to have been overlooked is the diversity of staff for some of these exhibitions. It is a little discouraging to see people from outside minority groups organize these events when it should be the people from those backgrounds putting together these exhibitions to keep their history alive and provide the most accurate viewpoint. There could be input from outside organizations, but I think it would have been a lot more meaningful if Oklahoma State University had staffed a more diverse art department that was capable of putting together exhibitions highlighting different cultures from the perspective of someone who actually lives with that heritage.
Today, I would love to see exhibitions put together by minority groups highlighting their culture from their perspective only, not with any outside influence. I have always been interested in Native American art, and I’d love to see an exhibition put together by Native Americans. I am getting tired of hearing of only the European side of history, and I think we need to make an effort to listen to the Native American side of our history. Pieces like Wendy Red Star’s “Last Thanks,” giving Americans a different viewpoint from the Thanksgiving they learned and idolized in school, or Nicholas Galanin’s “The American Dream is Alive and Well,” making contemporary pieces with aspects of his culture while showing the dangers of assimilation, would be much more meaningful from a Native American organizer. As interesting as “Beyond the Negative” was to learn about, it takes more than just showcasing Native American art from the past fifty years to make an impact on others.
Oklahoma State University Art Collection 