Alan Michelson is the first visual artist to receive The Native Arts and Culture Visual Arts Fellowship. Michelson states. “My understanding of place and history is shaped and conditioned by Haudenosaunee concepts and perspectives. The forms that I invent are often based on Haudenosaunee cultural models like wampum belts, blended with media or materials from the dominant culture such as video or glass. My work is grounded in place and informed by history, and therefore research is an integral part of my practice.” From the NARC website:
His work is elegant, eloquent, and strategic, often referencing issues around environmental advocacy, the complexities of sovereignty, and the often vexed juxtaposition of Native and non-native cultures.
Alan is steeped in the discourse of contemporary Native art and has been invited to exhibit his work at notable institutions including a solo exhibition at NMAI in New York, group shows at NMAI in DC, The Whitney Museum of American Art, the Heard Museum, and internationally in Brazil, the UK, and Canada. He is a recent Eiteljorg Fellow. This year he will be working on three related new works for three upcoming exhibitions: the 2011 Eiteljorg Fellows Exhibition at the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis; the 18th Biennale of Sydney, Australia; and Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York.
http://alanmichelson.com/
http://www.iaia.edu/museum/vision-project/artists/alan-michelson/
http://blog.nmai.si.edu/main/2011/01/art-on-the-river-alan-michelson-hig...
http://hidvl.nyu.edu/video/000506915.html
