Spela Sluga

Professor Schwartz

Museum of Natural History

I went to the Museum of Natural History in New York City on April 3rd. It has

been a few years since I visited and decided to take a route I had never been on

before. Of course this museum ranges with so many different styles and mediums of

art. A piece that grabbed my attention visually and emotionally is called Gifts for

Trading Land with White People. An artist that they call Jaune Quick-to-See-Smith

made this piece with oil and mixed media on canvas in 1992. Her work addressed

issues in the environment, of racism and Native identity. This beautiful work had an

inscribed image of a canoe taking up most of the canvas, representing Native

American culture and the key to their transportation, interaction and trade. There

were overlaying layers of photographs of Native Americans, newspaper clippings

and paint. Above the canvas, hung a sports memorabilia with hats, shirts, team

logos, shoes along with other objects. These objects bring attention to the overuse of

Native American names for sports team and mascots, as well as hats with logos,

rubber tomahawks and headdresses.

This piece brings awareness to cultural identity and the misuse or overuse of

it today. Although racism is much better in todays society, it is still out there. I

respect artists that portray awareness in their work that most people in society

ignore. Mrs. Smith stepped out of her comfort zone and brought a “wow” factor to

people, especially in 1992. As an artist, this piece has taught me to step outside of

people’s comfort zones, to step outside of the box. To do what everyone else is doing

is average. This specific piece affects Interactive Design because there is design

everywhere by millions of different artists. So what I have decided to do is for one of

my last projects in Interactive Design class is to stand out and find something that

no one else has done before.