Majestic Figures celebrates the gift of 23 contemporary sculptures to the Heard Museum by Charles and Valerie Diker. These contemporary sculptures were made by five master artists: Rhonda Holy Bear, Jamie Okuma and three generations of Growing Thunder family members: Joyce Growing Thunder, Juanita Growing Thunder Fogarty and Jessa Rae Growing Thunder, Ph.D.
The figures made by these artists reference their cultural backgrounds. The artists are not only master creators of the medium, but they are also researchers, historians and knowledge keepers of regalia practice, construction and design. Each work created references a specific moment in history and reflects in intricate detail the designs that were typical for that region and time period. A sculpture could take years to create, but the artists have also spent decades in preparation.
Images from the exhibition
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Joyce Growing Thunder Assiniboine/Sioux, b. 1950 Ben Gray Hawk, about 2001. Hide, cloth, glass beads, porcupine quills, pigment, hair, ermine fur, metal, shells, wood. Collection of Charles and Valerie Diker -
Jamie Okuma (Luiseño /Shoshone-Bannock /Okinawan-Hawaiian), b. 1977, Enzo, Blackfeet Man, 2006. Hide, cloth, glass beads, pigment, thread, ermine fur, talons, feathers, silk ribbon, metal, shells, wood. Collection of Charles and Valerie Diker. Photograph by Craig Smith.
