Review of On the Trails of the Iroquois Exhibition, in Germany

Prof.  Wolfgang Hochbruck, of the English and North American Studies department of the Department of English / North American Studies at Albert Ludwigs University in Freiburg visited the exhibition "On the Trails of the Iroquois" in Bonn -- the exhibit (as per my prior post) is soon to open in Berlin. 

He has given me permission to post his review of the exhibition, which was posted in the American Indian Workshop listserv.

I saw this exhibition with my 11-year old son yesterday in Bonn -- a four-hour trip each way, but worth the time and the effort at least for me: this is easily the most comprehensive collection and presentation of things Haudenosaunee ever to be seen in Germany so far. Or elsewhere, for that matter.
The fact that the Seneca Art Project in the 1930s left so many reconstructions and reminiscences of earlier arts and crafts is of course an historical factor that aided the curators, but the wide variety of artefacts and documents brought together from North America and a variety of European countries including Russia is still amazing. 

There are a number of gems and rarities -- the Iroquoian show troupe members on 1920s postcard photographs from Munich, all decked out in the obligatory 'indian' headdresses. The treaty of 1701 at the end of the Beaver Wars and the years of fighting the French. 

 Some items remain puzzling -- are the bows and arrows sports and childrens' toys? With their wooden tips they couldn't have been used for serious hunting. A bit more on military strategies might have been helpful to explain, how and why the Iroquois managed to keep their position of power between the Colonial forces for so long. Their early acquisition of guns from the Dutch, and formation of rifle units. Or else the fact that in Pontiac's Rebellion Iroquoian and Wendat/Huron fight side by side, but then the whole topic of trans-tribal alliances still needs research. And i might have provided a couple of old copies of the Akwesasne Notes. 

Never mind. 

The exhibition is quite big anyway -- anyone wanting to see everything in detail should count on at least three hours, and allow for breaks. And unfortunately, the whole setup and layout is a lot more scholarly and conservative than the Iroquoian warrior and his graphic-story background at the entrance makes one assume: There is very little for even an interested 11-year old to keep his attention focused for hours and hours of showcases upon showcases and gargoylish museum wardens to ward him off any painting that he came closer to than a foot-length distance -- maybe, upon second thoughts, it is a good idea that the measly museum shop did not sell replicaed war clubs (but all sorts of junky books and movies, and the very detailed and highly recommendable catalogue only in German). 

It is to be hoped that the traditional-style Longhouse erected outside on the premises somehow goes along to Berlin; it is absolutely magnificent and for once kids can sit on the mats and touch things - if they still dare to do that after the experience in the museum. Also, the Bonners charged extra for a visit inside; not a nice move after you have shelled out 16.- € for two family members already. 

Summary: definitely worth the visit, but as an educational experience more arduous than would have been absolutely necessary.

Germany

Upcoming exhibition on the Iroquois, in Berlin

This looks as if it will be a fascinating exhibition -- it already has been shown in Bonn.

On the Trails of the Iroquois

18 October 2013 to 6 January 2014

Martin-Gropius-Bau

Niederkirchnerstraße 7, 10963 Berlin ‎

Of the hundreds of Native American peoples, only a few have over the centuries engaged the European and Euro-American imagination to the extent that the Iroquois did. This fascination is in a large measure due to the outstanding role the Five (and later Six) Nations played in the arena of colonial encounters in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century North America, which gained them a reputation as fierce warriors and skilled diplomats and is also reflected in a host of fictional literature. But European interest has always far exceeded this pre-occupation with political and military excellence. Western intellectual struggle with Iroquois culture has left enduring imprints not only on the history of anthropology, but also on popular culture, the peace and women’s movements, and even efforts to establish the foundation of alternative lifestyles. 

The present exhibition will attempt to trace the development of Iroquois culture from its origins up to its vibrant articulations in the present-day United States and Canada, following their varied history through colonial times characterized by war, trade, and European missionary efforts; the subsequent weakening of their power through loss of land and political autonomy and the eventual break-up of the League after the American Revolution; the cultural transformations during the Reservation period; and their strive for sovereignty in the twentieth century up to very contemporary concerns.

Presenting approximately 500 objects this large-scale exhibition On the Trails of the Iroquois brings together for the first time historical paintings and drawings, precious ethnographic objects, and extraordinary examples of Iroquois contemporary art from major collections in Europe, the United States, and Canada.
Conceived in close cooperation with Iroquois artists, curators, and intellectuals, the exhibition aspires to a multi-layered representation of Iroquois culture as well as contemporary indigenous voices on their history and present-day identities. As Tuscarora artist and writer Richard W. Hill expressed it, “it can safely be said that today, the Haudenosaunee [self-designation of the Iroquois as ‘People of the Longhouse’] define themselves through their diversity”, as each generation “adds to that layered definition, taking the artistic expressions of the past, the oral traditions of their ancestors, and add that to their own life experiences”.
Aside from Prof. Dr. Christian Feest, former director of the Museum of Ethnology Vienna, it was possible to cooperate with important Iroquoian scientists and artists from Canada and the USA, including Dr. Thomas Hill, former director of Woodland Cultural Centre in Brantford, Ontario, and Peter Jemison, manager of the Ganondagan State Historic Site, New York. 

The catalogue accompanying the exhibition (published in a German as well as an English edition) provides insights into the historical and cultural context of the exhibits and their makers. In addition, it also highlights the importance of the ethnographic collections held by museums today for an understanding of a fascinating people and their culture. The catalogue is published by Nicolai Verlag Berlin.

Big Exhibition on the Iroquois Opens in Germany

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

A major exhibition on the Iroquois has just opened in Bonn, Germany at the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany.

"On the Trails of the Iroquois" opened March 22 and will run until August 4. Accompanying it is an outfoor installation -- "The Iroquois Longhouse and The Iroquois Garden Landscape" -- which features the reconstruction of an Iroquois longhouse.

The exhibition description notes:

Of the hundreds of Native American peoples, only a few have over the centuries engaged the European and Euro-American imagination to the extent that the Iroquois did. This fascination is in a large measure due to the outstanding role the Five (and later Six) Nations played in the arena of colonial encounters in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century North America, which gained them a reputation as fierce warriors and skilled diplomats and is also reflected in a host of fictional literature. But European interest has always far exceeded this preoccupation with political and military excellence, and Western intellectual struggle with Iroquois culture has left enduring imprints not only on the history of anthropology, but also on popular culture, the peace and women's movements, and even efforts to establish the foundation of alternative lifestyes.

Curated by Dr. Sylvia Kasprycki, it states, the exhibition, 

will attempt to trace the development of Iroquois culture from its origins up to its vibrant articulations in the present-day United States and Canada, following their varied history through colonial times characterized by war, trade, and European missionary efforts; the subsequent weakening of their power through loss of land and political autonomy and the eventual break-up of the League after the American Revolution; the cultural transformations during the Reservation period; and their strive for sovereignty in the twentieth century up to very contemporary concerns.

Moccasins, Iroquois, Ca. 1820 
Deer skin, porcupine quills
© Museum der Kulturen, Basel

Bringing together for the first time art and artifacts from major collections in Europe, the United States, and Canada and conceived in close cooperation with Iroquois artists, curators, and intellectuals, the exhibition aspires to a multi-layered representation of both Western appropriations and imaginings of Iroquois culture as well as contemporary indigenous voices on their history and present-day identities. As Tuscarora artist and writer Richard W. Hill expressed it, "it can safely be said that today, the Haudenosaunee define themselves through their diversity," as each generation "adds to that layered definition, taking the artistic expressions of the past, the oral traditions of their ancestors, and add that to their own life experiences." This large-scale exhibition aims to portray this diversity and the Iroquois people's continuous creative adaptations to ever-changing living conditions over time, presenting approximately 500 objects on about 1600 square meters of representative exhibition space (in addition to parts of the 9000 square meters roof garden) at the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bonn.

Belgium -- "Nudie Suits" exhibit/Bobbejaan Schoepen

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

The Fashion Museum in Antwerp, Belgium is presenting the first exhibition in Europe of the flamboyant clothing designed, mainly for country music stars and other popular entertainers, by Nudie Cohn, the "Rodeo Tailor" (and king of sartorial rhinestone glitz).

The show, called "Dream Suits", opened Oct. 28 and runs til Feb. 12. It features clothing owned -- and worn -- by the popular Belgian entertainer Bobbejaan Schoepen, who died in 2010 at the age of 85.

Drawn from the personal collection of iconic Belgian entertainer Bobbejaan Schoepen and his wife Josée, this show — curated by fashion historian Mairi MacKenzie and designer R. Cerimagic — will be the first European exhibition to examine the work of the Ukrainian born tailor who revolutionized the clothing of Country & Western Music.

Originally a designer of highly embellished g-strings for New York strippers, Nudie Cohn moved to Hollywood in 1947 and originated the rhinestone cowboy look that has become visual shorthand for Country & Western style. His fantastical, intricately embroidered and heavily ornamented outfits adorned the backs of numerous music and film stars, including Elvis Presley, Gram Parsons, Porter Wagoner, Dolly Parton, Roy Rogers, John Wayne, Elton John, Cher, John Lennon, Steve McQueen, Johnny Cash, and Bobbejaan Schoepen. Today his work is still sought after and admired. Contemporary musicians such as Bobby Gillespie from Primal Scream, Mike Mills from R.E.M. and Beck, fashion photographers such as Craig McDean and fashion designers from Tommy Hilfiger to Ralph Lauren have been inspired by his incredible designs. Bobbejaan Schoepen was a lifelong client and collector of Nudie Cohn designs. This resulted in a close friendship between the two men, and an exceptionally large and well-preserved collection of Nudie designs. This exhibition will celebrate both Nudie’s very particular aesthetic as well as the relationship between these extraordinary men.

Schoepen was a singer, actor and comedian whose career and style included a hefty dose of old-style comic country music -- including virtuoso whistling and yodeling. He got his first breaks entertaining American troops in Europe after World War II. He was one of the first Europeans to appear at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, performing three times there in 1953 with Roy Acuff.

A short film made by Alice Hawkins to accompany the exhibit is very consciously retro -- but I find it fails to capture the joy, verve and dazzlingly ironic sense of fun that Nudie,  his often outrageous costumes and his over the top cars embodied.

Exhibitions -- Indigenous Peoples of North America, Rosenheim, Germany

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

This looks like a terrific exhibition -- and I'll try to go there next month. The curator, Christian Feest, is tops in the field, and the authors of the essays in the catalogue are excellent. Bravo to all involved!


INDIANS - INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF NORTH AMERICA

Lokschuppen Rosenheim
8 April - 6 November 2011
Mo-Fr 9 am - 6 pm, Sa, Su, legal holidays 10 am – 6 pm

Until 6 November, the Lokschuppen in Rosenheim, a large exhibition center southeast of Munich, is showing “Indianer - Ureinwohner Nordamerikas” (Indians - Indigenous Peoples of North America).

Curated by Christian Feest, the exhibition uses 550 objects dating from the eighteenth to the twenty-first century from sixteen museums in Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, and the Vatican and nearly 200 images to convey a sense of the cultural diversity, historical complexity and ongoing vitality of indigenous peoples in the United States, Canada, and Greenland.

The exhibition is arranged in twelve chapters, which tell very specific stories, but which together are embedded in a framework of the effects of globalization processes of the last 250 years for indigenous peoples. After discussing the European concept of “Indians” as an artifact of the colonial encounter, it looks at the first-contact situation on Vancouver Island, when the ancestors of the present-day Nuuchahnulth were visited by Captain James Cook in 1778. The issue of indigenous lands is examined in a section dealing with the American Revolution, in which the future of Indian lands was to be decided, and when the German mercenaries fighting for King George could see the effects of land loss and cultural adaptation among the peoples living along the St. Lawrence River. Greenland provides an example, in which colonization ultimately led to autonomy, whereas under similar circumstances the peoples of Russian America (Alaska) fared very differently. The western Great Lakes region in the mid-nineteenth century provides a case study for the encounter with Christian missionaries and for the emergence of Indian Christianity. The Sioux and the Apache are shown as contrasting examples for the origins and effects of the “Indian Wars” of the late nineteenth century (with the Comanche looking over the shoulders of the Apache not only as their eternal enemies in Karl May’s novels, but also as the only group of Native Americans who signed a treaty of peace and friendship with German colonists). Hopi katsina religion stands as an example for the complexity indigenous worldviews and ritual practice. A chapter on glass beads illustrates that Western trade goods (and ideas) did not necessarily lead to a leveling of cultural differences and serves as a introduction to the section on indigenous arts and their encounter with the Western art world. The final segment of the exhibition looks at aspects of the contemporary Native American experience.

The exhibition is accompanied by a richly illustrated 270-page book with essays by the curator and Cora Bender, Peter Bolz, Matthias Dietz-Lenssen, Henry Kammler, Sylvia Kasprycki, Christer Lindberg, Sonja Lührmann, Gawan Maringer, Hans-Ulrich Sanner, Tom Svensson, Marthe Thorshaug, and Christine Zackel.

Italy -- Upcoming Lakota Event in Florence

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

I'm back from 3 very busy months in the United States -- on a fellowship, visiting family, giving a lecture tour -- and will be able to post more... To start off, here's information about Wolakota, a nine-day event and exposition on Lakota Sioux culture to be held in Florence April 11-20.

With sponsorship from the regional authorities in Florence, Wolakota will feature lectures, films and round-table discussions, with a main event on April 16.

Imaginary Wild West: Michael Jackson's Western Style

The Autry National Center in Los Angeles has just opened a special exhibit on How the West Was Worn... by Michael Jackson.  

It's a sartorial Imaginary Wild West that traces its way back to the glamour clothes of Buffalo Bill, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry and a host of rhinestone cowboys and glittery country and western singers.

In the world of style, pop icon Michael Jackson’s willingness to try different patterns and designs made him truly unique. Millions of people around the world saw his elaborate costumes, but very few realized the Western influence in the design. The Autry National Center’s installation shows how Jackson’s use of Western wear evolved over the years, reflecting his ability to use classic Western styles in distinctive ways.

 The Autry is a wonderful museum that pays particular attention to the West of the Imagination as well as the reality of the American frontier experience. I had a fellowship there a few years ago to study the creation and marketing of the western myth, and I have a date to speak to museum docents there next month.

Autry Museum -- Curator discusses exhibiting west and imagination

 Gene Autry exhibit in the Autry Museum. Photo (c) Ruth Ellen Gruber

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

About five years ago, I was a visiting scholar at the Autry National Center/Institute for the Study of the American West. My project looked at how the "western myth" was created and marketed to the world... it fit well within this wonderful museum's exhibition, which includes big sections on the romance of the west and the west of the imagination and popular culture.

In this interview, Jeffrey Richardson, one of the museum's new-- young -- curators, discusses this imagery and its impact on various generations of visitors, including young people who scarcely know what a "western" is -- and mistake old TVs for game-boys... Richardson, the Autry’s associate curator for film and popular culture, sees his job as one that bridges old and new views of the West.

“That question of the fresh look is really apropos for the Western, because so many people do see it as a dying genre,” said Richardson, who is 33 years old. “How do you take what many people perceive as a dying genre and present it, not only to those people who appreciate the genre and grew up with it, but to people like myself, who did not grow up with the Western?”

Richardson said that, as a child of the 1980s, he wasn’t really aware of Westerns. That occurred later, when he gained an appreciation of history. He thinks the GameBoy-toting 8-year-olds of today have an even bigger hurdle to jump in understanding that legacy. So he tries to craft shows and exhibits  that appeal as much to them as to the 80-year-olds that likely saw those Westerns in movie theaters.

Read full article

Heads Up for American Indian Exhibition in London

 Photo from British Museum web site: Returning the Gaze. Assiniboine dancer Kevin Hawaye with face paint. © Jeff Thomas.

The venerable British Museum in London will be hosting a major exhibit on American Indian honor and ritual. Called Warriors of the Plains, it opens Jan. 7 and runs til April 5. Admission is free!

The museum's web site describes it as "A rare opportunity to explore the fascinating world of Native North American warfare and ritual."

The exhibition focuses on the material culture of Native North American Indians of the Plains between 1800 and the present, and the importance of the objects in a social and ceremonial context.

Men of these tribes were expected to join a ‘warrior society’ – a social, political and ritual group that engaged in warfare and organised ceremonial life.

The societies played a prominent role in battles, offering members the opportunity to gain honours through individual acts of bravery such stealing horses, capturing women, and taking scalps during war raids. These societies, however, had a rich ritual life that was marked by a strong sense of spirituality. In their ceremonies society members made use of objects such as pipes, rattles and headdresses, as these were significant to their shared ideas of ritual and honour.

The exhibition explores the world of the Plains Indians through exceptional examples of feather headdresses, shields, moccasins, painted hides, scalps, pipes, tomahawks, and traditional and contemporary costumes. Although many of these items may seem initially familiar from popular culture, the exhibition uncovers the deeper ritual significance of these iconic objects.

A selection of photographs shows past and present contexts of the objects used in these societies. The legacy of the warrior societies is also examined, revealing how crucial they are in the maintenance of tribal identity among Plains Indians today.