"Balance"
One of the artists who also had some work in the silent auction last night was Jeffrey Veregge. This is one of his works from his website and I really like his work. I got to meet him last night too and he was a really great guy. About this work he says:
“I tried to think of what balance may mean to Natives. Growing up on my “rez” and what it may mean to my tribe. I thought of water and canoes. I then decided on a surreal approach, had the hair of a Native woman become a wave and a Native Canoer, who represents Native tradition, bringing the Native approach back to the mind.”
He also calls his work “Salish Expressionism®.” I really like what he has to say about it and find myself in agreement with him about his viewpoint on an approach to creating Native artwork.
“I call my style Salish Expressionism®. It is a hybrid of Coastal Salish art and Native themes, mixed with various other artistic influences, mainly: Primitivism, Surrealism and Expressionism. It is a feeling or gesture that has been given weight in order to contain a glimpse of: hope or pain . . . heartache or happiness . . . love or hate. It is communication of emotion.
Picasso once said:
“Every act of creation is first of all an act of destruction.”It is not my desire to tear down the walls of Traditional Native art. It is a rich artistic heritage that I cannot ignore. I intend to use it as a foundation. To help me create a form of art that speaks to all peoples, taking in the world, yet keeping a Native flavor. I believe that by creating this artistic hybrid, I am embracing the future, while honoring the past.”
(Art)ifacts 