ANNA TSOUHLARAKIS
MY INDIGENOUS ROLE MODEL- ANNA TSOUHLARAKIS, a performance artist.
PERFORMANCE ARTWORKS: 1.Lets Dance-2004, 2.Legends-2005, 3.Intervals of Pretense-2011
SCUPTURES/INSTALLATIONS:
1.Clash of Titans-2007
2.In Other Words- A Native Primer- 2013: this piece was a part of her 2007exhibition, it was an assemblage of responses to the question, what is it like to live in Washington, DC as a Native?
PHOTOGRAPHY:
1.Aesthetically Speaking-2011: in this series, she brought up the concept of misinterpretation and lack of real knowledge about Native Americans.
2.Untitled (silhouettes), 2016: a photograph series to protest for the Dakota Access Pipeline,US.
2 solo EXHIBITIONS: "She Made for Her" -2016(keep reading to find a link to this virtual show), and the Native Primer-2013.
She has exhibited her work in more than 15 group EXHIBITIONS.
AWARDS AND FELLOWSHIPS: - R.C. Gorman Award (1995), - Indigenous Peoples Award (2000)- Di Modolo Award (2001), - 2002 Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture Fellowship, Yale University, Skowhegan Fellowship, 2011 Eiteljorg Contemporary Art Fellowship, 2015 Harpo Foundation, - DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, 2018 for $6,000, 2015, The Native Arts and -Cultures Foundation , 2016 Halcyon Fellowship.
PUBLICATIONS: In this article,Unsettled- 2015- Tsouhlarakis discusses her exhibition, Curated by Jaune Quick-to-See Smith( fellow Native American Artist)
Since we have looked at her contributions and recognitions, we continue by
exploring her context through the map below and
understanding insights from her art-making practice and its relevance to today's realities and to us, as individuals.
Ruchi, (She/Her)
She redefines the boundaries of contemporary aesthetics
In addition to being a voice for indegenious lives and combatting colonisation, Tsouhlarakis challenges the stereotypes within Native American Art, and the Native American community about what Native Art can be instead of what it is expected to be.
We further explore some of my favourite works:- Legends-2005, Lets Dance, 2004 and Clash of Titans- 2007, these are the finest examples of what makes her unique from other Indegenious artists even today.
LEGENDS, 2005 - For this photography and performance art, she uses duct tape to cover different parts and amounts of her body followed by taking the duct tape off, she encourages her viewers to come up with their own interpretation of this series.
She adds “While the surface of such pieces may seem disconnected from indigenous aesthetics, the foundation of the work remains rooted in Native beliefs and philosophies"
LETS DANCE, 2004 - This video is 15 minutes and 30 secs, consisting of 30 different dances from Harlem Shake to Salsa, each taught/performed by Anna Tsouhlarakis and a new individual and a backdrop. Her intentions again, challenge what Indigenous art is believed to be, she suggests that nothing needs to be tied to a specific culture, natives can perform non-native dances as well.
CLASH OF TITANS, 2007- A part of her 2007 exhibition, this piece is inspired by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, (Gabo-the most significant Author from the 20th century) and the Greek Mythology. This iconoclastic piece combines her Navajo Heritage with her greek culture following themes of violence and change. Disobeying the stereotypical statements of what is Native American Culture/Art.
To elaborate on this combination, she explains "A lot of artists make Indians look the same. Indians are diverse people and are always changing, and as Navajo people we cannot stay stagnant."
"Change is important. Our ancestors encouraged change. We must be strong enough to change or else our culture will die"
I value the time you spent learning about my Indigenous Role Model, Anna Tsouhlarakis. In return, please enjoy the (On the right) influential photographs of her family and some of her incredible artworks ✨
Sources to educate yourself further:
A 6min video of an Artist Talk with Anna Tsouhlarakis: link
Anna Tsouhlarakis's own website: link
Anna Tsouhlarakis's Instagram: link
A sneak peeks into her solo show "She Made for Her" -2016, with some precious footage of detailed curation by herself, on every presented piece: 60min video: link/ website+photo album: link
CITATIONS
IMAGES USED:
Image1: (backdrop) Anna Tsouhlarakis, "Legend series- Oct2018", Crystal Bridges Museum for American Art, source
Image 2: Anna Tsouhlarakis, "Her Words still echo", Pandemic art-oct 2020, source
Image 3: Anna Tsouhlarakis
Image 4: Anna Tsouhlarakis, "Unsettled- on view at CUE November 7 - December 19, 2015, CUE Art Foundation, source
Image 5: Facebook post and dialogue: Gyasi Ross, source/ Image rights reserved: Anna Tsouhlarakis
Images used in the map:
1) Anna Tsouhlarakis, Native Land, Photography, Car wash graffiti, Tulsa Oklahoma- jul10, 2018, source
2) Anna Tsouhlarakis, at Guesthouse with "INCOMPLETE DRAWINGS OF DECOLONIZATION” , Feb3-Presented by Camille Obering Fine Art, source
3/5) Anna Tsouhlarakis, Attempts at minimalism. Performance still- oct17-2019, Pieces exhibited in her Art-portfolio, source
4) Anna Tsouhlarakis, Her selfie from work during the pandemic, she works as an assistant professor at Colorado University, sep-17, source
Images used in Carousel:
1) Anna Tsouhlarakis, Snow day activity— repair- nov16-2018, Washington.DC, source
2) Jeffery Gibson, Georgetown University, sep27- 2018source
3) Anna Tsouhlarakis, Haverford College, source
4) Anna Tsouhlarakis, A drawing of a pissed off “Freedom”, the Indigenous/Greek woman that sits atop the US Capitol in DC, source
6) Anna Tsouhlarakis, Drawing I (Burn pages from the Bible and the Book of Mormon translated into Navajo, marks not evenly dispersed.)Dimensions: 27” x 41"/Materials: Fire and ash on Paper, source
7) Anna Tsouhlarakis, The Native Guide Project, Colorado. It was a combination of 2 billboards, DEC-2019, source
8) Anna Tsouhlarakis and her kids, Celebrating Greek Independence Day at Greek School🇬🇷, Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral, oct-2019, source
9/10) Anna Tsouhlarakis's, Closeup shots from her Installation presented in the Camille Obering Fine Art, Square Space, source
11) With her daughters, Black Lives Matter-Indegenious Solidarity, Colorado State Capitol Protest-June6, source
OTHER SOURCES USED:
❗️One of her works (context: image of left) talks about the chain of being indigenous and utmost vulnerable, besides, being tricked by the justice system to imprisonment and taken advantage of, from the 1990s to even now, must end. (Please read more about increasing crime rates here : link / and about false accusation and denied justice here: link)
❗️As an artist with the minimum following, having to deal with a larger public that chooses to neglect and reject the truth because it is discomforting is dispiriting. Battling against hate/threats and still choosing to produce art, makes her and all of these 200 icons powerful. She indeed is heroic, but are we doing our part? Our contributions to changing this system with her? partially? not even close. Applauding her statements, work and getting inspired is the start. Still, it is not enough. Waiting for international indigenous day to show our solidarity, Performative activism is never enough.
❗️We need to be outrageous and loud; we need to keep creating like it is our last piece and choose to live with the same fear, strength and power that indigeneity holds to continue surviving every single day. The fact that this device's dictionary autocorrected indigeneity to indignity is where we stand, in context of our contributions and acknowledgments of realising the urgency of these issues.