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A non-profit dedicated to cultural diversity in photography. |
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| EN FOCO | Photographers | |
 © Rhett Arens No Hunting, Standing Rock Reservation, N. Dakota, 1991 |
Rhett Jalane Arens Born: 1959,St. Paul, MN, USA Residence: Stillwater, MN Heritage: Native American Selected Exhibitions: Hennepin History Museum The Loft Center Gallery The Red Gallery The Perimenter Gallery, Minneapolis, MN Education: B.A. in Business Administration, Metropolitan State Minneapolis College of Art and Design Association of Arts Awards: Blacks Annual Color Award, 1989 Grant, U.S. Corporation Award, 1988 Publications: Nueva Luz, Volume 4#3 Artist’s Statement: “In the time span of four generations, an entire nation has been assimilated, cataloged, displaced and handed the shaded areas on the state map known as Indian Reservations. This ‘created’ boundary has been an abrupt adjustment; both mentally and physically imposed by a larger, more aggressive force that entangles itself in bureaucracy, treaty litigation and cultural misunderstandings. Using a direct documentary approach, it is my hope to illuminate the boundaries that exist in the contemporary Native American landscape. The fencelines in these images speak for what was lost, not gained (which is the traditional Eurocentric viewpoint). In most of the images, the juxtaposition of weathered and discarded man-made elements placed under the open sky become evidence of this failed attempt to impose boundaries on the Midwestern plains and a nation’s cultural heritage. I saw these elements as signposts, leading the eye back through the problems of our historical past: the decline of self-sufficiency farming, the crippling effects of alcoholism and, finally, the meaningless contracts.“ Exerpt from Nueva Luz, Volume 4#3 |
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