Poster House Highlights 100 Years Of Indigenous Poster Design

(MENAFN- USA Art News) A new exhibition,“Designed to Be Red: Native American & Indigenous Poster Works,” is on view at Poster House in New York City through February 21, 2027. Curated by Brian Johnson (Monacan Indian Nation), the show emerged from a lecture he gave at the museum in November 2022, titled“Posters That Sing: Notes on Indigenous Poster Design.”

The exhibition spans over 100 years of visual history, challenging colonialist narratives by demonstrating the consistent role of Indigenous perspectives in design. Native designers have influenced visual culture through protest art, psychedelic posters, and public service announcements. Contemporary artists such as Kent Monkman (Fish River Cree Nation), Jeffrey Gibson (Mississippi Choctaw/Cherokee), and SIYO-WIN (Dakota Sioux/Mexican) are featured, highlighting this ongoing influence.

Johnson also authored an accompanying book,“Designed to Be Red: Native American & Indigenous Graphic Works,” which is available at the museum shop.“Native students and friends ask me, 'Where are our books? What works should drive and inspire my practice?'” Johnson said.“This exhibition is my answer.”

The exhibition includes a stretched animal hide inscribed with the Proclamation for the Indian Occupation of Alcatraz, posters from protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline, and works raising awareness for murdered and missing Indigenous women. It also features examples of Native American life beyond struggle, such as an“exuberant 1990s census campaign” and an“Indigenous tribute to the Marvel cinematic universe.”

“Until recently, we were seen primarily as craft makers and ethnographic objects,” Johnson stated.“This show stands out because Native Americans are still here. We are designing.” He added,“The past tense is a weapon deployed to consign us to museum dioramas.”

The exhibition is divided into five sections:“Indigenous Joy,”“Creative Sovereignty,”“Resistance and Protest,”“It's Complicated,” and“Extractive Marketing.” The“Extractive Marketing” section features problematic mainstream posters, including a still from the 1971“crying Indian” TV advertisement. This section is separate from the main exhibition, with visitors redirected to“Indigenous Joy” afterward.

Among the works on display are:

“Indian Power,” circa 1971, by Designer Once Known, from the Collection of Michael Lellouche “Alcatraz Proved a Point,” circa 1972, by Joseph“Indian Joe” Morris ( 1921–2009, Blackfeet Nation), from the Poster House Permanent Collection “Let Us Put Our Minds Together,” circa 1975, by Akwesasne Notes (Mohawk Nation at Akwesasne), from the Poster House Permanent Collection “Anniversary of the National Museum of the American Indian,” 2009, by Ryan Red Corn (born 1979, Osage Nation), from the Poster House Permanent Collection “For Indians Only/Light Show,” 1967, by Alfred Young Man (born 1948, Cree [Chippewa Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's Reservation]), courtesy of IAIA Archives, Santa Fe, NM “Because Once You Enter My House, It Becomes Our House,” 2021, by Jeffrey Gibson (born 1972, Mississippi Choctaw/Cherokee) and Dana Claxton (born 1959, Hunkpapa Lakota [Wood Mountain Lakota First Nations]), courtesy of the Artist “ᎧᎹᎹ Kamama,” 2022, by Monique Ortman (born 1987, Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma), Private Collection, Turtle Island “Count Yourself In!,” 1986, by Rocky Fiddler (born 1959, Cree [Sandy Lake First Nation]), from the Poster House Permanent Collection “You Are On _____ Land,” 2017, by Warren Montoya (born 1982, Tamaya/Kha'po Owingeh) and Jaclyn Roessel (born 1983, Diné [Navajo]), Private Collection, Turtle Island “We Are Still Here,” 2024, by Jimmy Dean Horn (born 1988, Chickasaw Nation), courtesy of the Artist “Protect the Sacred,” 2024, by Siyowin ( Lauren S. Peters, born 1997, Dakota Sioux/Mexican), Private Collection, Turtle Island “Water is Life,” circa 2016, by Onaman Collective [ Christi Belcourt (born 1966, Métis) and Isaac Murdoch (born 1975, Ojibwe, Serpent River First Nation)], Polymode Foundation Collect, courtesy of the Artist

Source: Hyperallergic

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