Being Seen: Power Through Diversity

Online Exhibition | September 20, 2020 

Curator's Statement

We as individuals are more alike than not, yet cultural and community silos keep many people separate and isolated. Today’s technology and infotainment systems celebrate inclusion and at the same time further divide us.

There are racial and cultural divisions in our world that fuel the fear and hatred of others. Instead of promoting xenophobia, Being Seen: Power Through Diversity promotes learning about and celebrating cultural differences, to overcome the barriers that causes us to demonizing others.

Sixty-six works from two collections housed at UA Little Rock make up this virtual exhibition. A concentrated effort has been made to diversify the UA Little Rock Permanent Art Collection by expanding the voices represented to include more Women, Black, Latin X, LGBTQ, Western and South East Asia, and African artists. The J. W. Wiggins Native American Collection is a vast representation of the indigenous artists working in North America.

Artists are addressing systemic racism and institutional and community biases. They acknowledge the pain and suffering of marginalized people. In a time of unrest there is urgency in their messaging, a call to dismantle pervasive racial, gender and identity disparities, inequities, and injustices requiring persistent and immediate actions.

To be seen, to be included, to see a reflection of ones self is powerful and empowering. Meditate on an image. Engage with a composition; investigate the signs and symbols represented. Research an artist and learn about their studio practice. This is when we use technology in our favor.

Brad Cushman, Gallery Director and Curator

Gallery Guide

We have assembled a guide further exploring several of the pieces. There are links to the guide at the relevant pieces below, or you can explore the guide here

Black America

Ariston Jacks

American (Pine Bluff, Arkansas, 1973 -)
LOST GATE (Lineage  of Supreme Triumph) (Generational  Ascension Through Excellence) (2019)
76” X 39”
Edition: 4/5
oil based relief ink, Japanese  paper, from carved mahogany  wood panel
Printer/Publisher:  Big INK (New Hampshire)
UA Little Rock PC 2020.002

Learn more about this piece
in our gallery guide.

David Clemons

American (El Paso, Texas,  1973 -)
Chitlin Service (2010)
dimensions  variable
Sterling silver, mild steel, pewter, hickory,
ceramic  figures,  installation
UA Little Rock PC 2017.005

Artist Website

Delita Martin

American (Conroe, Texas,  1972 -)
Standing in the Night (2013)
69″ x 52 1/8″
Mixed media on paper
Image Courtesy of the Artist
UA Little Rock PC 2014.015

Learn more about this piece
in our gallery guide.

Artist Website

Deborah Roberts

American (Austin, Texas 1962-)
False Impressions (Serie Project XIII) (2006)
14 ½” x 21”
screenprint
Edition: 44/50
Printer/Publisher: Coronado Studios, Austin, Texas UA Little
UA Little Rock PC 2011.004.207

Learn more about this piece
in our gallery guide.

Artist Website

Alfred Conteh

American  (Fort Valley, Georgia, 1975 -)
Will (2017)
40” x 26”
charcoal, acrylic and atomized bronze dust on paper
UA Little Rock PC 2018.019

Artist Website

Alex  Leme

Brazilian (Sao  Paolo,  Brazil, 1978-)
Peeking (2010)
16″ x 20″
digital  pigment  print  
UA Little Rock PC 2013.008

Labor  and  Social  Justice

Joe  Jones

American (1909 – 1963)
The Struggle in the South (1935)
dimensions  variable
Commonwealth  College Mural, Mena, Arkansas
tempera on Masonite
Located at UA Little Rock Downtown Campus

Learn more about this piece
in our gallery guide.

Donald  Van  Horn

American (Lincoln,  Nebraska, 1952 -)
Have and Have Nots, the GaWidens (1990)
14″ x 40″ x 54″
wood,  paint
Gift  of the  Artist
UA Little Rock PC 1992.013

Luis  Jimenez

American (El Paso,  Texas, 1940 – 2006, Hondo, New Mexico)
The Mass of Mankind (1992)
15 3/8″  x 20″
four  color  serigraph
Edition: 20/100
Publisher: Alliance Graphics
Printer: Joe Sances
UA Little Rock PC 1993.048.05

Jaune Quick-To-See-Smith

American (St. Ignatius, Montana,  1940 -)
Ode to Chief Seattle (State II), (1991)
19 ¾” x 27”
lithograph
Edition 28/35
Printed by Michael Sims at Lawrence Lithography Workshop
UA Little Rock Friends of the Arts Special  Acquisition  Fund
UA Little Rock PC 1997.002

Learn more about this piece
in our gallery guide.

Seth Gould

American (Harwich,  Massachusetts, 1986 -)
Chasing Hammer  No. 2 (2014)
22 1/4″  x 21 7/8″
fabricated  steel  and  ash
Commissioned
UA Little Rock PC 2014.014

Artist Website

Ester Hernandez

American (Dinuba,  California, 1944 -)
Sun Raid (2008)
20” x 15”
screenprint
Edition: 18/50
Printer/Publisher: Coronado Studios, Austin, Texas
UA Little Rock PC 2011.004.232

Learn more about this piece
in our gallery guide.

Benny Gool

South Africa
Nelson Madela (Get Your ID Register  to Vote), (cir. 1994-98)
40” x 60”
chromogenic
photograph mounted on aluminum with plexi-glass  fronts
Gift of Jeff Jaffe, Pop International  Galleries,  Inc.
UA Little Rock PC 2017.036

Learn more about this piece
in our gallery guide.

Gender and LGBTQ Identity

Marianela de la Hoz

Mexican (Mexico City, Mexico, 1956 -)
Your Reflection Into Mine (2014)
10” x 12”
egg tempera on board
Image Courtesy of the Artist
UA Little Rock PC 2015.012

Learn more about this piece
in our gallery guide.

Artist Website

Elizabeth Brim

American (Columbus, Georgia, 1951-)
Gothic Pillow (2013)
3 5/8″ x 13 1/4″ x 11 3/4″ irr.
etched, fabricated, inflated steel
UA Little Rock PC 2013.019

Learn more about this piece
in our gallery guide.

Thom Hall

American (Fayetteville, Arkansas, 1948 -)
Sylvia Moskowitz with Pink Breast (2003)
29 1/2″ x 22 1/2″
watercolor crayon, gesso, gouache on paper
UA Little Rock PC 2006.012

Learn more about this piece
in our gallery guide. 

Yasumasa Morimura

Japanese (Ōsaka, Japan, 1951-)
Aimai-No-Bi (Ambiguous Beauty) (1995)
Fan (variable): 11 ½”h x 19 ½”w x 1”d (when open), box: 12 ¾”h x 2 5/8”w x 1 3/8”d
paper and bamboo fan in wooden box
Norton Family Gift, Christmas 1995
UA Little Rock PC 2000.036

Katherine Strause

American (Independence, Missouri, 1959 -)
Corri, (2005) 7 9/16″ x 5 3/8″
gouache on paper 7 9/16″ x 5 3/8″
UA Little Rock Representational Painter in Residence (2003 – 2006)
UA Little Rock PC 2006.002

Watch an episode of Inside Art with Brad Cushman featuring the artist here.

Artist Website

LinDa Saphan

Cambodian (Phnom Penh, Cambodia) (b. 1975)
Second Incognito Series: #30 (2008)
22 ¾” x 20 7/8”
ink on rice paper
Gift of Pierrette Van Cleve
UA Little Rock PC 2018.027

Latin X

Hugo Crosthwaite

Mexican (Tijuana, Mexico, 1971 -)
Tijuanerias #56 (2011)
8 1/2″ x 5 1/2″
graphite, charcoal, black gesso on paper
UA Little Rock PC 2013.014

Artist Website

Einar and Jamex de la Torre

Mexican (Guadalajara, Mexico, 1963 -); Mexican (Guadalajara,
Mexico, 1960 -)
Carolina (2012)
26” x 11” x 11”
Blown glass and mixed media
UA Little Rock PC 2013.026

Artist Website

Delilah Montoya

American (Fort Worth, Texas, 1955 -)
Smile Now, Cry Later (2008)
(Serie Project XV, 2008)
16” x 19”
silkscreen
Edition: 30/46
Publisher/Printer: Coronodo Studios, Austin, Texas
UA Little Rock PC 2011.004.231

More information about this artist here.

Artist Website

Alice Leora Briggs

American (Borger, Texas, 1953 -)
Resulto (2007)
10 7/8″ x 13 7/8″
sgraffito drawing on clayboard
UA Little Rock PC 2013.013

Artist Website

Europe

Anaïs Dassé

French (Bayonne, France, 1988 -)
Kids Are Terrible People Too (2015)
45” x 61”
gesso, charcoal, pencil, oil and collagedia
UA Little Rock PC 2013.013

Artist Website

Southwestern and South East Asia

Shahzia Sikander

Pakistani (Lahore, Pakistan, 1969 -)
Entangled (No Parking Anytime) (2001)
10″ x 7 1/2″
Photogravure and soft ground etching
Edition: 6/25
Publisher: Crown Point Press
Printer: Rachel Fuller, assisted by Dena Schuckit and Case Hudson
Middle Eastern Studies Program Purchase
UA Little Rock PC 2002.026.B

Zina Al-Shukri

Iraqi (Baghdad, Iraq, 1978 -)
The Sweet Heart Never Shuts Up (2012)
29 15/16″ x 21 7/8″
acrylic and oil on paper
UA Little Rock PC 2014.016

Artist Website

Oeur Sokuntevy

Cambodian (1983 -)
Generations 1 (2012)
59” x 39”
acrylic on canvas
Gift of Pierrette  Van Cleve
UA Little Rock PC 2018.037

Artist Website

Phan Thanh Minh

Vietnamese (1976  -)
Crowd of People (2009)
39”  x 39”
oil on canvas
Gift of Pierrette Van Cleve
UA Little Rock PC 2018.059

Liu Yan

Chinese (1965-)
Gentle Enticement (Dreamland Series) (2011)
25 5/8” x 15 3/8”
Chinese ink and color on Japanese cardboard
Gift of Pierrette Van Cleve
UA Little Rock PC 2018.048

Amy Lee Sanford

Cambodian (Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 1972 -)
Full Cirlce: Pot No. 20 (2012)
dimensions variable
clay pot, string
Gift of Pierrette Van Cleve
UA Little Rock PC 2018.025

Artist Webiste

J. W. Wiggins’
Native American Collection

Learn more about the collection in our gallery guide.

Calling the Animals

Luke Anguhadluq

Artic (Baker Lake Inuit) (1895 – 1982)
Calling the Animals Together (1980)
22” x 30”
stencil 35/50
JWW1995.021

More information about this piece here.

Goyce Kakegamic

Canadian Woodlands (Cree)
Deer Antler Low Relief Carving with Paint (2005)
14” x 19” x 6”
moose antler, paint
JWW2007.209

Ahmoo Angeconeb

(Canadian Woodlands) (Ojibwa) (1955 – 2017)
Meskwabek and the Mermen (1997)
11 ⅛” x 71” x ¾”
acrylic on pine board
JWW2000.005

More information about this piece here.

Rick Bartow

Southwest and California (Yurok) (1946 – 2016)
Dark Crow (2000)
15” x 11”
drypoint
Edition: 2/9
JWW2001.045

Roger Aksadjuak

Arctic (Rankin Inlet Inuit) (1972 -)
Bear Transformation to Man Carrying Young (2008)
12” x 13” x 5”
lowfired clay
JWW2008.266

More information about this piece here.

Murv Jacob

Oklahoma (Cherokee) (1945 – 2019)
Jacob Dances with the Ancient Ones (2003)
14 ⅝” x 21”
ink on paper
JWW2003.013

More information about this piece here.

Joan Hill

Oklahoma (Muscogee (Creek), Cherokee) (1930 – 2020)
Offering for the Abundance of the Earth (2005)
32” x 30”
acrylic on canvas
JWW2005.114

Identity

Arthur D. Amiotte

(Northern Plains) (Oglala Lakota) (1942 -) 
The Reunion (1994)
17” x 23”
mixed media collage
JWW1996.033

Norma Howard

(Oklahoma) (Choctaw) (1958 -)
Jump Dance (1996)
11” x 15”
watercolor on paper
JWW1996.022

Ruthe Blalock Jones

(Oklahoma) (Delaware/Shawnee/Peoria) (1939 -)
Shaw Dancers (2004)
24″ X 18″
acrylic on canvas
JWW2004.050

More information about this piece here.

Benjamin Harjo Jr.

(Oklahoma) (Seminole, Shawnee) (1945 -)
A Slice of Imagination (2007)
14” x 20“
acrylic on paper
JWW2007.053

Artist Website

Blake Debassige

(Canadian Woodlands) ( Ojibwa) (1956 -)
The Twins of the Self (1983)
23” x 19”
etching 18/72
JWW1988.17

Ronald Anderson

(Oklahoma) (Choctaw) (1938 -)
You Can See What I Look Like Through the Door, but You’ve Got to Come in to See What I Think Like (2008)
50” x 64”
acrylic on canvas
JWW2008.262

More information about this piece here.

Kay Walkingstick

(Oklahoma) (Cherokee) (1935 -)
So You’re an Indian? (1995)
30” x 43”
lithograph 31/50
JWW2007.056

Artist Website

Silvester Hustito

(Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico)
Weeping Zuni Woman (2017)
40” x 40 “ x 2”
acrylic on canvas
JWW 2018

Keith Braveheart

(Northern Plains) (Oglala Lakota) (1983 -)
Maybe There is a Solution to Racism (Papoose Portrait) (2009)
30” x 22”
acrylic on paper
JWW2009.141
https://www.keithbraveheart.com/

M. Scott George

(Oklahoma) (Osage)
WA-TI-N-KA (2002)
28” x 13 ½”
tempra on matboard
JWWJTM2013.01

Cultural Appropriations

Roy Boney Jr.

(Oklahoma) (Cherokee) (1978 -)
Cherokee Punk Rock (2007)
26” x 20”
ink on paper
JWW2007.260

Douglas Miles

(Southwest and California) (1963 -) (San Carlos Apache)
Apache Warrior Skateboard (2005)
7” x 31”
silkscreen on maple plywood
JWW2005.120

More information about this piece here.

Douglas Miles

(Southwest and California) (San Carlos Apache) (1963 -)
Apache Rain, Douglas Miles and the Revolution (2007)
12 ⅜” x 12 ⅜”
mixed media
JWW2008.003

War and Politics

Cyril Assiniboine

(Contemporary Canada) (Saulteau) (1959 -)
untitled (Warrior in Red) (1982)
22” x 28”
acrylic on canvas
JWW2008.136

Learn more about this piece
in our gallery guide.

Joan Hill

(Oklahoma) (Creek, Cherokee) (1930 – 2020)
Wars and Rumors of War (1973)
40″ X 30″
acrylic on canvas
WW2005.049

More information about this piece here.

Carl Beam

(Oklahoma) (Ojibwa) (1943 -)
VIII (n.d)
15” x 11”
serigraph 71/300
JWW2006.100

Marty Two Bulls Jr.

(Northern Plains) (Oglala Lakota)
WWI Tank & Turtles (2008)
9” x 10”
ink monoprint
JWW2008.15

Artist Website

William Wilson

(Canadian Woodlands) (Ojibwa)
Mikinooko Onini (Snapping Turtle Man) (2007)
17” x 14”
art marker on paper
JWW2008.09

Learn more about this piece
in our gallery guide.

Anita Caldwell Jackson

(Oklahoma) (Echota Cherokee) (1951 – )
Civilization ? (2007)
24” x 18”
acrylic on canvas
JWW2007.157

Robert L. Taylor

(Oklahoma) (Blackfeet, Cherokee)
There is no “Civil” in War (2009)
24” x 10”
acrylic on canvas
JWW2009.090

Jim Yellowhawk

(Northern Plains) (Cheyenne River Lakota)
(1958 -)
Photographing the Delegates (2008)
21” x 12” x 18”
ledger paper; colored pencils; photographs; stereographs; antique stereoscope; leather; wood
JWW2008.232

Artist Website

Dwayne C. Wilcox

(Northern Plains) (Oglala Lakota)
Chief Warren Slay, Brigadier General Brannon, and Me (2001)
13 ⅜” x 7”
acrylic on ledger paper
JWW2002.040

Gelineau Fisher

(Canadian Woodlands) (Cree) (1951 -)
Peace Loon (1984)
9” x 11”
acrylic on paper
JWW1985.06

Functional Objects

Norma Adams

(Northwest) (Haida)
Cedar Bark Basket (1984)
7” x 4”
cedar bark
JWW1985.24

Kelly Church

(Great Lakes) (Grand Traverse Ottawa and Chippewa, Ojibwa)  (1967 -)
Black Ash Woven Turtle Bracelet (2003)
1” x 7”
black ash strips over metal band
JWW2003.061

Molly Murphy

(Northern Plains) (Pine Ridge Oglala Lakota) (1977 -)
Tulip Reticule (2007)
7” x 4” x 4”
beads, wool, crystals, ribbon
JWW2007.024

Artist Website

Nancy Enkey

(Oklahoma) (Cherokee)
Fire Pot (2006)
8” x 11” clay
JWW2007.299

Veronica Gaston

(Cherokee)
Nightfall Reflectors (2007)
13” x 14” clay
JWW2007.300

Sean Grayson

(Cherokee)
Old-style, Cherokee Stamped Bowl (2004)
5” x 2”
clay
JWW2004.025