David Bradley (Native American artist)

David Bradley
Born David Bradley
1954 (age 61–62)
Nationality Minnesota Chippewa Tribe
Education AFA Institute of the American Indian Arts, BA College of Santa Fe
Known for mixed media, painting, acrylic,

David Bradley (born 1954) is a Minnesota Chippewa artist. He is known for his sociopolitical critique of contemporary Native American art.

Background

Early life and higher education

Born in Minnesota in 1954, many of Bradley's early years were in the Minneapolis metropolitan area until his family was split up and redistributed, having fallen victim to the prevailing view of what constituted an adequate family. In 1970, left Minnesota and began a journey starting in the Southwestern United States and taking him through Central and South America - where he lived for a year with Mayan Indians - before his return to the U.S where he spent time among the Navajo Indians in Arizona.[1] After receiving training at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA), and went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts from the College of Santa Fe in 1980.[2]

Current life

David Bradley currently lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Artistic career

Early work

When I first entered the somewhat glamorous world of professional art, I thought I would steer clear of politics and keep my life as simple and positive as possible. Eventually, I realized that Indians are, by definition, political beings … I saw the continual exploitation of the Indian art community by museums in the Southwest … I witnessed multi-million dollar fraud by pseudo-Indian artists … and so [I] began to speak out on what I saw as widespread corruption in the art world.[3]

Gallery of Work

References

  1. ↑ Bradley, David (1991). “Restless Native.” Plains Art Museum ISBN 0934266328
  2. ↑ Manifestations: New Native Arts Criticism (2011) Museum of Contemporary Native Arts ISBN 978-0-615-48904-9. Page 86.
  3. ↑ Hill, Rick, ed. (1992). "Creativity Is Our Tradition: Three Decades of Contemporary Art at the Institute of American Indian Arts." Institute of American Indian Arts ISBN 1881396045.

Further reading

Verzuh, Valerie K. Indian Country : The Art of David Bradley. Santa Fe : Museum of New Mexico Press, 2014.

External links

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