Norman Akers is a Native American artist known for his landscape works that incorporate cultural, historical and contemporary visuals of Native American life.[1] He is a member of the Osage Nation and currently teaches painting in the Department of Visual Art at the University of Kansas.[2]
Norman Akers was born in Fairfax, Oklahoma and is a citizen of the Osage Nation.[3] In 1982, Akers received his BFA in Painting from the Kansas City Art Institute.[1] The next year Akers received a certificate in Museum studies from the Institute of American Arts. In 1991, Akers received an MFA from the University of Illinois.[1]
Artistic process
Akers's artwork is inspired by his background as a Native American and what it means culturally to be an Indian.[4] He has stated that he interprets his art as a form of cultural expression that tie to his views politically and historically, while maintaining a contemporary form.[1] The art often includes references to multiple perspectives or interpretations and how these ideas are used to identify spiritual places. Akers has specified that there is no certain physical place or destination, as it represents the spiritual origin these images bring him and relate to him culturally.[4] Akers will use maps in his work, which he has described as an expression for spiritual connection to physical places he has yet discovered.[5]
His work also takes inspiration from current mainstream ideas of "immigrants" and what it means to be "illegal" in the present day world and his desire to question these ideas.[5]
Silvka, Kevin, “Re | Centering Indigenous arts in art education: Decolonizing identity politics, censorship, and home”, Journal of Cultural Research in Art Education, (Vol. 36 No 3 (2019)[11]
Lindberg, Melissa. "Poet Laureate Joy Harjo Visits the Print & Photographs Reading Room" image. Washington, DC. Library of Congress. (August 30, 2019) Website/Blog[12]
Hearn, David, “At the Nerman: Voices and Visions from the “Path of the Butterfly”, pg. 72 - 75, KC Studio, Kansas City, MO, (May/June Vol. XI, issue 3)[13]
Frese, David. “American Indian Artists Reflect on Identity in New Exhibit”, pg. 26 - 27, KC Studio, Kansas City, MO (November/December 2018 Vol. X, issue 6)[13]
Besaw, Mindy, Hopkins, Candice, Well-Off-Man, Manuela “Art for a New Understanding Native Voices 1950s to Now”, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, pg. 21, 136–137, University of Arkansas Press (2018)[14]
Earenfight, Phillip. “Re-Riding History: From the Southern Plains to the Matanzas Bay” pg. 23, 51, Carlisle, PA, The Trout Gallery, The Art Museum of Dickinson College. (2018)[15]
Brandenburg, John. "Artists Interpret Borders", The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City, OK.[16]
Heath, Jennifer. “Imaginary Maps: Expeditions to Uncover Apocryphal Unsubstantiated and Forbidden Places”, pg. 4–5, Baksun books &art, Boulder, CO. (2018)[17]
Powell, Jami C. "Creating an Osage Future: Art, Resistance, and Self Representation", pg. 53, 64–66, 71–73, 131–132, 258–265, University of North Carolina. (2018)[18]
Ahtone, Heather P. "Cultural Paradigms of Contemporary Indigenous Art: As Found in the Work of Shan Goshorn, Norman Akers, Marie Watt, and Joe Feddersen", pg. 69, 102–143, 233, 238- 239, University of Oklahoma. (2018)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
