2022 New Editions: Jeffrey Gibson, Round Dancing
Jeffrey Gibson, Round Dancing, 2022. Click to view.
Over the past decade, Jeffrey Gibson has built an impressive multi-disciplinary practice, becoming an anchor in Indigenous Futurism. Using recognizable Native American materials such as beads, fringe, and jingles in his sculptures and often substituting elk hide drums or stretched deer hide in place of canvas as a support for his paintings and prints, Gibson creates powerful statements that reorient the place and status of Native American art within contemporary culture. His colorful, graphic, and text-inclusive works are laden with multiple layers of both blatant and subtle meaning mined from his personal experiences, in turn also offering a unique representation of broader Indigenous and queer identities.
Jeffrey Gibson came to work in our studio for the first time in January 2020. While working in our studio, he wanted to explore making prints on handmade elk hide drums, and the first edition we completed with him on drums, titled A Time For Change, was released in 2020. Round Dancing is the second edition we have printed with Gibson on drums.
By referencing geometric abstraction, maximalism, and Op Art in his prints, paintings, and sculptures, Gibson decidedly places his work firmly in the canon of Contemporary Art rather than allowing it to be limited solely to the category of Native American Art. However, this statement is not to deny the importance of the Native elements within his work. A crucial reason his work is so powerful lies in the materials he uses. The elk hide drums used in Round Dancing present much more than a richly toned support for pigment; the material is laden with histories, emotions, and narratives tied to Indigenous culture, rituals, and values. Gibson harnesses the abundant meanings of his materials, and in combination with his graphic imagery, the work communicates both individuality and interconnection.
The title of this piece, Round Dancing, references the traditional Native American Round Dance, a social and community-based dance that incorporates singing and drumming. Participants of the dance stand in concentric circles, and several hand drums are beaten throughout the dance in a steady rhythmic beat that is often described as a heartbeat.
Before printing on the elk hide, the drums first had to be sanded down to a smooth surface. Next, they were sealed on both sides with an acrylic matte primer to prevent the hide from stretching as it continued to dry out. A special registration jig, or frame, was built to hold the drums in place during the printing process. Once registered, several different layers of ink were screen printed, building up into the final intricate pattern. Lastly, a layer of acrylic gloss varnish was printed to protect the surface and enhance the vibrancy of the printed colors.
Jeffrey Gibson signing one of the completed drums included in the edition of Round Dancing
