We’ve been waiting for this to happen and we’re mighty glad it did. Museum of Northern Arizona is hosting an exhibition themed around Native Art inspired by the movie franchise Star Wars. The movies have attracted quite a substantial number of Native artists in recent years and have become a pop-cultural touchstone of sorts. We wrote about this attraction on the blog back in 2017 and have since then seen the interest grow even larger. It is always interesting to see artists interpret the space saga in their particular ways. There is a highly readable article in Forbes which charts the different aspects to Star Wars that might explain the appeal it holds to Native artists. The aspects range from the philosophical and political ideas guiding the heroes of Star Wars to similarities in the landscapes. The desert scenery of Luke Skywalker’s childhood home planet Tatooine will in particular resonate with artists familiar with the nature around New Mexico and Arizona.
The Force Is With Our People at Museum of Northern Arizona is on view trough March 2020 and includes Kiva Gallery favorites Ryan Singer and Randy Kemp.