Gregg Deal

Last updated
Gregg Deal
Born1975 (1975)
Park City, Utah
Nationality Pyramid Lake Paiute, American
Education George Mason University
Known forperformance art, mural work, painting, filmmaking, spoken word
Notable work
The Last American Indian On Earth,
White Indian,
American Genocide Reconciled Thru Football
Spouse(s)Megan Deal
Website http://greggdeal.com

Gregg Deal (Pyramid Lake Paiute) is an artist and activist whose work deals with "Indigenous identity and pop culture, touching on issues of race relations, historical consideration and stereotype" [1]

Contents

Biography

Gregg Deal was born in Park City, Utah, to a Caucasian father and Native American mother. [2] Deal is an enrolled as a member of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe. [2]

Deal met his wife, Megan Prymak in Provo, Utah in 1998. The following year, they moved to Montclair, Virginia and married. [2] Deal enrolled as a student at George Mason University in 1999, studying art with a concentration in painting. [2] He and his family lived in the Washington, DC area for 17 years before moving to their current place of residence, Colorado Springs, CO. [3] He resides there with his wife and five children.

Career and artwork

Deal lived and worked as a graphic designer then self-employed artist in the Washington, D.C. area for 16 years. [2] [3] After moving to Denver, CO, the Denver Art Museum hosted Deal as a Native Arts Artist-in-Residence. [4] Currently, Deal is an Artist-in-Residence at UC Berkeley for the 2017–2018 school year. [1]

Solo exhibitions [5]

Activism

Deal’s activism exists in his art, as well as his participation in political movements. He has been heavily involved with the #changethename movement, which addresses the Native American mascot controversy and has appeared on an episode of Totally Biased with Kamau Bell as well as The Daily Show with John Stewart. [9] He created a #changethename video on Vimeo to invite Indigenous people to weigh in on the mascot issue in response to what he perceived as mainstream media’s failure to include Indigenous voices within the discussion. [14]

Inspiration / Influences-

Gregg Deal cites James Luna, a Payómkawichum(Luiseño) as one of his main influences. After winning a mentorship with the Ford Foundation, Deal accompanied Luna to the Venice Biennale, where he assisted Luna for his performance piece "Emendatio" for two weeks. Afterwards, Deal developed the concept of The Last American Indian on Earth. [15]

Deal draws inspiration from various street artists; he cites Washington local artists 181HKS, Ultra, Con and Maz Paz in an interview with Aljazeera, as well as national artists GIANT, REVOK, TWIST and Shepard Fairey. Deal also mentions several Indigenous artists that inspire him: Jaque Fraqua, Ernesto Yerena, Nani Chacon, Cheyenne Randall and Jared Yazzie. [16]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "Gregg Deal "Indigenous Identity and Existence: Fighting Erasure and Racism"". Colorado College. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Coronado, Kris (14 February 2014). "'Last American Indian' finds challenges in performance art". The Washington Post. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  3. 1 2 Bartlett, Lindsey (22 March 2016). "#StillBernie: Denver Street Artists Represent for Bernie Sanders". Westword. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  4. ↑ Deal, Gregg (4 January 2016). "Artist Gregg Deal Challenges Fantasies & Stereotypes About Native People". Denver Art Museum. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  5. ↑ Deal, Gregg. "CV". Gregg Deal. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  6. ↑ ""Existence as Protest" by Gregg Deal". Shepherd Express. 10 June 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  7. ↑ Hegge, Lauren (18 January 2017). "Explore Power, Rebellion & Epic Empires at Untitled". Denver Art Museum. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  8. ↑ "The Identity Politics of Indigenous Artist Gregg Deal – At The Fridge". Capitol Hill Corner. 9 April 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  9. 1 2 Bernadett, Gabriela (29 January 2016). "Look at Tat'! Pyramid Paiute Artist to Perform 'White Indian' at Denver Art Museum". Indian Country Today. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  10. ↑ Rodriguez, Kaylah (October 2015). "Art Mart". Whurk. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  11. ↑ BWW News Desk (27 Jan 2015). "Woolly Mammoth Sets Companion Events for CHEROKEE". Broadway World Washington, D.C. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  12. ↑ Regan, Tim (23 September 2014). "Gregg Deal's Performance Art Exposes the Real-Life Effects of the Washington Football Team's Name". Washington City Paper. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  13. ↑ Home, Ben (10 October 2014). "Local Indigenous Artist Showcases the Racism of Redskin". We Love DC: Your Life Beyond the Capitol. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  14. ↑ "Activism". A Native Deal. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  15. ↑ "Art Talk with visual artist Gregg Deal". National Endowment for the Arts. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  16. ↑ Lois Nam (April 9, 2016). "'Beyond 140': Indigenous artist Gregg Deal on 'Redskins' name controversy". Al Jazeera America.
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