One Tract Mind: Baskets
1 media/2022.4.2 small_thumb.jpg 2022-12-08T17:27:55+00:00 Jessica Bocinski a602570e86f7a6936e40ab07e0fddca6eccf4e9b 277 1 Gerald Clarke, One Tract Mind: Baskets, digital photograph printed on canvas, 2009. Purchased with funds from the Ellingson Family. plain 2022-12-08T17:27:55+00:00 Jessica Bocinski a602570e86f7a6936e40ab07e0fddca6eccf4e9bThis page is referenced by:
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One Tract Mind: Baskets by Gerald Clarke
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Gerald Clarke is an artist and an Assistant Professor of Ethnic Studies at UCR from the Cahuilla Band of Mission Indians. Combining various media in his sculptures, paintings, works on paper, videos, performances, and installations, Clarke is inspired by his cultural heritage, expressing traditional ideas in contemporary forms. Clarke works against stereotypes of Native American art and culture, repurposing found objects and creating clever juxtapositions to make profound political statements. Utilizing humor to expose historical and present-day prejudice and injustice, Clarke brings a decolonial perspective to urgent cultural and political issues facing our world.
Gerald Clarke is a member of the Cahuilla band of Indians. He is not only an artist, but a cattle rancher, teacher, and traditional singer. He uses his art to spread awareness about the challenges Native American communities still face. One Tract Mind: Baskets is a commentary on the loss of native homeland. The traditional woven baskets underneath a sea of roofs in Temecula, Riverside County, CA, represent the countless cultural items lost because of land development. The strong graphic tie between the baskets and the roof tiles, though, might point to the persistence and survival of traditional culture. Clarke’s work is never one-dimensional and asks us to consider multiple levels of meaning. He explains, “My ultimate goal as an artist is for my work to have a meaningful interaction with the viewer.”
