NAMS - Midterm Artist - Grade: A+ PDF

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Intro to Native American Study's Midterm Artist Paper - Votan Henriquez...

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Votan Henriquez After a week of researching and improving my knowledge about the Native American leaders and artists, I have chosen Votan Henriquez as my favorite. According to Life and Soul Magazine, Votan Henriquez, who is of Mayan and Nahua tribes, is a Los Angeles based muralist, street artist, and designer, well known for his unique perspectives on Native and mainstream U.S. to create empowering artworks. Using his studies of street arts and graffiti skills, Henriquez’s work has strengthened the indigenous community that has been oppressed for so many years and inspired people to seek the truth and take actions. I was captivated by Henriquez’s work, his passion, and his contributions for the Native society. Henriquez expressed his voice on his Facebook biography: “In a world where evidently we see despair, apathy, complacency, and much more careless human behavior, we believe in challenging that state of mind and offering a different perspective. One that will be inclusive of all here now, and not a divisive and alienated view of the world.” His idea is to connect people together no matter where they are from through art to aim for a more equal and united world. I believe everybody in the world should be treated equal, since we are all humans, all feeling sad or happy, painful or pleasant. Instead of spreading hate and division towards one another, we should give love and unite as one. Henriquez has created many artworks, but these five following paintings are my favorites. The first design is called the “You’re on Indian land.” Henriquez wanted to remind people of the contributions of the Native, which were lost a lot through the history books. He believed the best way to educate the next generation about the indigenous is through art.

My second favorite artwork of Henriquez is the painting called “Warrior Wombyn (aka Rezzie the Riveter)." He stressed that: “As indigenous people, we need to be in tune with our heritage and family history. W  hen I speak about myself, I’m speaking as a small part of a greater ancient source. The source of all our relations. Without you, there is no us.” Henriquez declared the significance of history in order not to forget who Native Americans are.

The third painting of the Henriquez’s collection is "The Simpsons" scene to comment on the Dakota Access Pipeline. In the sketch, the main character, Bart, stays after class to write protesting comment on the Dakota Access Pipeline. According to Time, Dakota Access Pipeline is the project of building a pipeline transporting about 570,000 barrels of crude oil daily from North Dakota to Illinois. However, the pipeline would travel underneath the Missouri River, the primary drinking water source for the Standing Rock Sioux, a tribe of around 10,000 with a reservation in the central part of North and South Dakota (Time.) The smallest spill could damage the whole tribe’s water supply. The sketch is to support the protest against this project.

The fourth artwork of Henriquez is the "Amoxtli," meaning “book.” Once again, Henriquez accentuated the importance of learning the history of the Native Americans. He stated: “Traditional knowledge and wisdom has been published via websites, books, workshops and other social media. Our contribution in this transformation of consciousness is in the arts.”

The last Henriquez mural painting of my favorites is the, "Autoimmune Disease."

Votan Henriquez believes in justice that everyone should be treated equally with justice. His artworks express his perspective on respecting and protecting the Native rights and history, inspiring the lives of many individuals. Works Cited: https://www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/votan-henriquez-native-american-artist-nsrgnts https://lifeandsoulmagazine.com/2017/06/10/votan-henriquez-street-artist-educating-pe ople-about-native-history-through-art/ https://www.facebook.com/Votan.art/ http://time.com/4548566/dakota-access-pipeline-standing-rock-sioux/...