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| Installation artist Valaria Tatera. |
Valaria Tatera is an artist, lecturer, and activist, as well as a member of the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians. Her work not only explores self-identity, but also acknowledges her indigenous ancestors and creates social awareness for the contemporary issues that indigenous people face. Her art illustrates "the impact of colonialization on indigenous visibility, erasure, and resilience." Her pieces are influenced by the intersection of gender, ethnicity, the environment, and commerce.
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Processed: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2S, 2020.
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In a lot of Valaria's art is the use of repetition and ribbons. The ribbons have cultural, historical, and personal significance to her that she weaves into to her installation work. In an artist interview she did for the Museum of Wisconsin Art, posted to their Youtube page, she describes a piece of hers titled Kill the Indian Save the Man: Legacy of Residential Schools. You can especially see her influences in this piece; the multiplicity of the ribbons and the work highlighting indigenous issues can be seen in the work.
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Kill the Indian Save the Man: Legacy of Residential Schools, 2021.
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What especially struck me about her work and that piece in particular is her use of statistical data. She explains how statistical data can erase the individuals who were impacted and does not create any connection with what the statistics actually represent. Valaria's work takes the data, but uses it in a way that makes it more impactful and really connects with the viewers.
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Justice MMIWG, 2019-2021.
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From The Media is the Massage Marshall McLuhan describes how "societies have always been shaped more by the nature of the media by which men communicate than by the content of the communication" (8). This connects back to Valaria's thoughts on statistical data. It has become a big part of communication and news articles, but the actual content of the communication, or data, can become lost in it all.
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| Rise, 2018. |
I agree ! When she talked about how many ribbons she used, I started to think about why these numbers. Valaria's thoughts on statistical data really matters.
ReplyDeleteMarshall McLuhan said "most people find it difficult to understand purely verbal concepts...in general, we feel more secure when things are visible" ( pg. 117).
ReplyDeleteValaria made statistical data visible and touchable, stimulating senses and triggering associations, therefore, we feel more compelling and impressive. Also, that's why her work's title contains "Visibility".