Theatres of War
Artist/Maker
Jaune Quick-to-See Smith
(American Indian, b. 1940)
Date2006
MediumColor lithograph with monotype
DimensionsImage/Sheet: 30 1/2 × 22 in. (77.5 × 55.9 cm)
Credit LineRuth C. Roush Contemporary Art Fund
Edition10/15
Object number2012.8
Status
Not on viewMuch of Jaune Quick-To-See-Smith’s art focuses on her Native American identity and the politics of race in the United States. This work, created during the Iraq war, critiques Winston Churchill’s term “theatres of war,” an association of the arts with the violence of combat that Smith deemed inappropriate. At the bottom left is the Lone Ranger’s sidekick Tonto, a fictional character that Smith often employs in her work to indicate her disapproval of a subject. While the four-part circle at the center of the composition can be interpreted as a Native American symbol for the four seasons or the cardinal directions, it also suggests the crosshairs of a rifle. The red garment is a Native American war shirt, a ceremonial piece of clothing that for the artist represents religious philosophy, democratic ideals, and social wisdom. The surrounding phrases were drawn from Broadway songs, but also evoke the sounds of war.
Exhibition History
Body Proxy: Clothing in Contemporary Art
- Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (September 1, 2015 - December 13, 2015 )
A Century of Women in Prints, 1917-2017
- Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (August 8, 2017 - December 8, 2017 )
Collections
- Modern & Contemporary
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late 19th–early 20th century
19th century
late 19th–early 20th century
1905
late 19th–early 20th century
ca. 1890
ca. 1936
20th century
possibly 19th century