INTRO
The juxtaposition of these two distinct American cultural icons, the Native American and the Groucho Marx glasses, highlights the absurdities and contradictions within the American narrative. The Native American figure, Spotted Jack Rabbit, a prominent member of the Crow Nation, (Apsáalooke), from a photo by Frank A. Rinehart,1898 (a symbol of the purity of a great people who lived in harmony with nature, connecting the natural world to the spirit world, a symbol of pre-colonial America and historical conflict,) contrasted with the Groucho Marx glasses (a symbol of American pop culture and burlesque humor).
It touches on issues of hidden histories, masked identities, and the invisibility of Native Americans in mainstream American consciousness. It contains elements of satire and subversion: The image can be seen as a satire on the performance of identity, the artificiality of "authentic" representation, and the way history is often depicted in simplistic, cartoonish and deceptive terms. There’s also a wink at the idea that in the end truth and justice will have the last laugh.
I understand that this imagery could be seen as trivializing Native American history and culture, reducing serious historical narratives to a punchline or caricature, but that is not my intention. I painted these clashing cultural images together as a critique of American history and the dark currents of society’s worst impulses and practices.