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Michael Horse – of Yaqui, Mescalero Apache and Zuni
descent — will be demonstrating some of his artistic
techniques and discussing the folk art of ledger painting
from 6:30 to 8 p.m. this Wednesday, February 3, at the Main
Library.
His work is on exhibit at the library through Saturday,
February
20.
Horse, an award-winning artist, jeweler and actor, has shown
his work in fine galleries and museums across the United
States and throughout the world. He is considered an expert
and lectures regularly on ledger painting, the pictorial
history of Native life.
He is also a well-known actor whose credits include "Twin
Peaks," "X-Files," "Walker Texas
Ranger" and "Passenger 57."
Horse lives in the Bay Area. He and his wife own the Gathering
Tribes gallery in Albany. "I'm very excited to
share my ledger art with the Bay Area", says Horse. "It
is a fascinating art form that many people who are knowledgeable
about Native art are not familiar with." Horse is also
a talented jeweler, who uses only the best stones available
and works in both silver and gold. For the ledger art, Horse
uses vintage watercolor and pen and ink on vintage documents
from earlier times. He has been creating ledger paintings
since the late 1970s. He became familiar with the form while
working as a cultural consultant with the Heye Foundation
in New York and the Southwest Museum in Los Angeles. In the
museum, he was shown old ledger paintings and realized that
it was something he could continue to do. "It is our
history from our point of view. We first painted on hide,
then in the 1800s with the introduction of paper, we started
to use this medium", says Horse. Initally, when Native
people were put on reservations they were not allowed to
leave or to have weapons. Prior to that time history was
recorded on hides and via the oral tradition. When the hides
were no longer available the people started to record either
what they saw around them or what life was like before the
reservation. "It is actually a type of internment
art", says Horse.
He is still involved in film and
has most recently been working on a television series pilot
called "Sons of Tuscon" to be on the air some
time this year. Horse serves on the board of the American
Indian Film Institute in San Francisco, which presents the
oldest Native American film festival in the world every November.
Additional Information and photos at:
www.gatheringtribes.com/
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