Statesman

Issue date: 10/15/08 Section: A&E

Media Credit: Tyler Sweeney Jim VanDruten studies one of Frank Big Bear's drawings for a critical review project in his 2D design class.

The Tweed Museum of Art might seem like a pretty formal place, but head upstairs to a new exhibit featuring the art of Frank Big Bear and it could prove to be pretty psychedelic, spiritual and surreal.

Big Bear, a member of the Ojibwe tribe, was born on the White Earth Reservation in 1953 and now lives in Minneapolis. The exhibit currently on display at the Tweed is the first public showing of his drawings in over a decade.

"He studied briefly with the legendary Ojibwe painter George Morrison at the University of Minnesota, but is considered to be a self-taught artist, relying on his dreams, intuitions and on influences from his own study of art history and literature," according to the exhibit's press release.

The influence of dreams and personal experience is strikingly evident in the drawings currently on display, especially in the more recent works. Scenes of everyday life are portrayed with equal parts of realism and fantasy-bright colors and erratic symbols coexist in the work with true, palpable emotion. The drawings on display range from 1985 to present.

While Big Bear's earlier work was primarily social and political statements, after 1992-the year of his father's death-the drawings acquire a more distinctly introspective element, rife with inner reflections, a search for meaning and symbolism.

The recent works also display more elements from the artist's spirituality and dreams.

Written on a caption for one of the drawings is Big Bear's description of the shift: "For a long time, I might be drawing some scene from history, and [my father's] face would appear. After he died in 1992, that image disappeared. Now when I draw my daughters, it's almost like drawing myself. I think my portraits have a spiritual quality to them, but are also psychological profiles and hybrids of several people, including the artist."

Big Bear's art has been somewhat controversial in the Native American community because it's seen as less stereotypically "traditional" and more forward-thinking, leaving the artwork to resonate more with a younger audience.

"Frank Big Bear's art has achieved cult status among a younger generation of artists, paying homage to traditional Ojibwe culture, a contemporary search for spiritual meaning, and urban culture as well," said the press release.

In what seems to be a reaction to this aspect of his art, listed on a drawing caption in the museum is a statement Big Bear made in 2002. "Many Native Americans say they live in two worlds, but they actually have to live in more than two worlds. If you live in one world, you're pretty much stuck in one place. Right now, I'm living in the cab-driving world, the Indian world, the sober world, the art world. The more worlds you live in the better it is."

Big Bear makes no apologies for whatever world he chooses to occupy at a particular time.

A caption of a picture description quotes him as stating, "I believe that I've paid my dues as a parent, as a taxicab driver, as a native, as an artist, as a survivor and as a human being; that I've earned the right to believe what I want. No one can tell me, 'that is not the native way,' because I've lived through it. I've earned my PHD (piled, higher and deeper) the hard way, not vicariously."

If you are interested in contemporary Native American culture or art in general, check out the exhibit. It will be on display through March 22, 2009. Visit the Tweed's Web site for museum hours and further information on the Frank Big Bear exhibit.

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