by Stew Mosberg

Fort Lewis College is noted as a repository of Southwestern and Native American culture. Many programs and events at the college feature indigenous peoples’ art and spiritual teachings. Ojibwe elders say there are seven sacred requirements needed to make up a community: truth, wisdom, honesty, bravery, love, respect and humility. It is a good lesson for all of us, particularly in these troubled times.

 

In keeping with the tradition and as a continuing celebration of the college’s centennial, the art department this week is hosting activist, historian, artist and curator Dylan Miner. The world-famous artist, driven by those same sacred teachings, will share his knowledge with FLC art students at four workshops that will culminate in an exhibit at the college art gallery

Just the facts What: ‘Art Bikes,’ a multi-media exhibit featuring Dylan Miner When: Nov. 4-28. Opening reception Fri. Nov. 4, 4:30-6p.m. Where: Fort Lewis College Art Gallery

Miner, a PhD in art history, has published and lectured extensively, and will soon have two new books to add to his more than 40 journal articles, essays and encyclopedia entries. Miner teaches at Michigan State University, coordinates the Michigan Native Arts Initiative and curates at the MSU Museum.

 

Impressive as these credentials are, a few of his more recent accomplishments also bear mention: he was awarded the Grand Prix at the 28th Biennial of Graphic Arts in Slovenia, and installed a solo exhibition at its 29th Biennial. This year, he will have a total of five solo exhibitions in the Unitedsstates and Canada, and in 2012, he will host a solo exhibition in Norway and install a show at Columbia College Chicago.

 

A year ago, Miner was awarded a fellowship from the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. That enabled him to create a comprehensive project transforming everyday bicycles into symbols of sustainable transportation. The concept provides opportunities for community participation and results in objects of visual delight. Now, in collaboration with more than a dozen FLC art students, Miner will create a series of new art bikes designed to address local history and indigenous vitality, and help establish the potential of art to become a “vehicle” of social revitalization. The work goes well beyond decorating bicycles; their symbolism and subtext, while not radically controversial, are metaphors for indigenous people’s journey in a more industrialized world. As a social commentator, Miner postulates that in a world, “where mass-produced commodities and highly designed products are naturalized, the creation of hand-made objects becomes an overt act of resistance.”

 

Although similar in concept to the “Native Kids Ride Bikes” program, which Professor Miner produced in Michigan, the Fort Lewis project will consist of assembling three bikes over the course of four days in collaboration with students. “I imagine that each bike will represent a historic figure or event in the region, Miner said. “I have some ideas, but will finalize this in collaboration with the students.”

 

Miner’s previous art bike program was titled “Anishnaabensag Biimskowebshkigewag,” which is Ojibwe for “Native Kids Ride Bikes.” However, the title for the FLC show is “Animas Perdidas” (lost souls), the full name of the Animas River. Accordingly, Miner said that another goal of the project is to demonstrate “our struggle to recover the lost souls of history. The show uses bikes as a way to discuss sustainability, as well as investigate local history and (our) prospective future.”

 

The resultant two-wheelers are the focal point of a multi-media exhibition at the FLC Art Gallery from Nov. 4-28. At the opening reception Fri., 4:30- 6 p.m., Miner will give an informal lecture about his work and the project. In addition to the bicycles, the exhibit will include 100 screen-printed pennants created by Miner representing the school’s centennial, plus a 16-minute video about the Michigan bike project. “In the past,” says the artist, “I’ve done extensive wall paintings; although (this time) I envision using felt cutouts against the (FLC) gallery wall.”  The silhouette imagery he created for FLC represents the Durango Silverton Rail Road and the Animas River. As an added incentive to attend the opening, two of the bicycles will be sold though a silent auction. The remaining one will be sold at a later FLC fund-raising function.

 

In addition to the hands-on assistance of students, the art-bike project was made possible through the support of Mountain Bike Specialists, Durango Coca-Cola Bottling Co. and Marchell Fletcher, of Liberty Mutual, all of whom share a passion for bicycles and a commitment to education. Miner’s visit was made possible through the Distinguished Visiting Artists Program, which is supported by the Ballantine Family Fund.