Image
Jaune Quick-to-See Smith
Description
Maker
- Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, b. 1940, Native American
Title
Year
Medium
Dimensions
-
Image: 54.6 x 48.2 cm (21 1/2 x 19 inches) (irregular)
Signature / Inscription / Marks
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Inscribed in graphite, recto LL: 34/40; Inscribed in graphite, recto LR: Jaune Smith; Inscribed in graphite, verso LL: JQTS-94-5A
Identification
-
Edition
34/40 Type
Credit
-
Mary B. Jackson Fund
Object Number
-
2014.9.3
About
“Sticky mouth,” a literal translation of the Blackfeet word for bear, is a recurring motif in this print. Bear references appear not only in the central figure but also the human figure with bear ears (at left). These hybrid creatures reflect Jaune Quick-to-See Smith’s traditional Salish beliefs about transformations between humans and bears and their shared characteristics.
The artist underscores duality throughout, acknowledging a contemporary Native American society in which the traditional and the modern are not in contradiction with each other, but co-exist. She juxtaposes symbolic subjects (the coyote at top left) with the mundane (the woman wearing glasses at bottom right), varying drawing styles to suggest ancient petroglyphs, 19th-century Plains Indian ledger art, and contemporary doodles.
Inscribed in graphite, recto LL: 34/40; Inscribed in graphite, recto LR: Jaune Smith; Inscribed in graphite, verso LL: JQTS-94-5A