Jaune Quick To See Smith is a Native American artist known for her mixed media works that comment on Native American identity, history, and environmental issues from an indigenous perspective. She uses maps as a theme in several of her paintings from 2000, including "Untitled (Memory Map)" where indigenous symbols cover an apparent map of the US, "Tribal Map" with names of living Native communities instead of state names, and "Echo 2" which also shows melting borders through dripping paint to raise awareness of oppression of Native cultures. Her style is inspired by both traditional Native art as well as modern artists like Picasso.
Jaune Quick To See Smith is a Native American artist known for her mixed media works that comment on Native American identity, history, and environmental issues from an indigenous perspective. She uses maps as a theme in several of her paintings from 2000, including "Untitled (Memory Map)" where indigenous symbols cover an apparent map of the US, "Tribal Map" with names of living Native communities instead of state names, and "Echo 2" which also shows melting borders through dripping paint to raise awareness of oppression of Native cultures. Her style is inspired by both traditional Native art as well as modern artists like Picasso.
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Jaune Quick To See Smith
By Yesha Thakore Biography
Jaune Quick To See Smith (born 1940) is a Native American artist and curator, as well as an art educator, art advocate, and a political activist. She is a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and is also of Metis and Shoshone descent. Her work is from a Native American point of view and is commentary on the Native American identity, history of oppression, and environmental issues. Era: Modern Medium: Mixed Media Group Affiliation: Native American Theme
The theme I’ve chosen is maps. A map is a “graphic representation, drawn to scale and usually on a flat surface, of features - for example, geographical, geological, or geopolitical - of an area of the Earth or of any other celestial body” (Britannica). The formal elements communicate maps by lines, shapes, color and texture. Similarly, the principles of design also communicate maps by unity and variety, rhythm and repetition, etc. The theme of maps is presented in all three of the works by Smith that I’ve chosen. Untitled (Memory Map), 2000
Type: Painting Medium: Oil Context: When the viewer looks from far away, it appears to be a normal map of the US. However, upon further inspection, the map is covered in Indigenous symbols. Some of these pictographs are all that remain of past Native cultures. Tribal Map, 2000
Type: Painting
Medium: Oil and Mixed Media
Context: Smith uses primary colors, dark
greens, and pale pinks, similar to regular US maps. Except, instead of state names, the viewer sees names of living Indigenous communities. Furthermore, the borders drip and bleed together to indicate boundaries melting. Echo 2, 2000
Type: Painting
Medium: Oil and Mixed Media
Context: Similar to the previous two maps, this
map also lures the viewer into thinking it’s a plain US map. But again, it’s not. Once more the dripping paint is used to show the melting of boundaries. Smith uses this painting to raise awareness about oppression of Native cultures. Reflection
I must say that the more I learn about Jaune Quick To See Smith, the bigger of a fan I am. Her unique style of using mixed media to express Native American identity, history, and environmental issues is very clever. I also like how she was inspired by both traditional Native art and formal artists such as Picasso. As for the map themed artworks, I like how the closer you look, the more details you can spot. For example, in all of them, paint is dripping down the map to show melting boundaries. Finally, you might expect art to move you, but Smith’s artwork doesn’t just carry emotion, it also educates the viewer and raises awareness about Native oppression. Works Cited
“Jaune Quick-to-See Smith.” To, https://www.jaunequicktoseesmith.org/.
“Jaune Quick-to-See Smith: Artist Profile.” NMWA, 16 Nov. 2021, https://nmwa.org/art/artists/jaune-quick-see-smith/. Fuechsel, Charles. “Map.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2022, https://www.britannica.com/science/map. “Jaune Quick-to-See Smith.” Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2012, https://americanart.si.edu/artist/jaune-quick-see-smith-4505.
