Trio of IAIA students explore digital frontiers

“New Day,” by Erick Nakai (Diné). Digital Image, 3-D Graphics, a blending of traditional and digital (Image courtesy of IAIA).

“New Day,” by Erick Nakai (Diné). Digital Image, 3-D Graphics, a blending of traditional and digital (Image courtesy of IAIA).

SANTA FE, N.M.-What will Native American art look like in the year 2015?

Will tomorrow's generation of Native American art leaders master advances in technology by seamlessly integrating their cultural traditions and creative expressions within the digital landscape?

A glimpse into the answers posed by these questions will be on display in the upcoming Traditional Pixelation senior exhibition at the Primitive Edge Gallery on Institute of American Indian Art's (IAIA) campus. This one-week show features stunning works of art by three IAIA seniors who have immersed themselves in studying art's explosive potential within digital media.

They include:

- Ty Headman (Diné/Ponca) who has titled his part of the exhibition A Deeshchii'nii Digital Signature: A Tribal Perspective of New Media. Says the artist, "The digital age of tribal ideation emerges with a new method to conceptualize an ancient oral tradition expressed through new technology. Myth, symbols and rituals are synthesized digitally, promulgating a tribal voice in the 21st century."

- Erick Nakai (Diné) who has titled his part of this exhibition Traditional Native Animation. Of his submitted image "New Day" the artist says, "It's a merging of two forms of storytelling, the traditional and the digital, to illustrate the impact of two worlds colliding."

- Jonathan Nelson (Diné) titled his part of this exhibition Standard Report. He says, "Originality and style are the premise of my work. I use my art to create communication and raise awareness to those issues important in my community. Each piece is some aspect of myself that is materialized in which I try to identify with an idea or an issue."

The exhibitions can be seen now through Friday, April 6, at the Primitive Edge Gallery on the IAIA campus.

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