Damian Jim (born 1973) is a Diné (
Navajo
The Navajo or Diné are an Indigenous people of the Southwestern United States. Their traditional language is Diné bizaad, a Southern Athabascan language.
The states with the largest Diné populations are Arizona (140,263) and New Mexico (1 ...
) artist. He is known for his design work on traditional woven baskets, in addition to digital art, photography, and work with acrylic, oil, and ink.
Early life and education
Damin Jim was born in 1973 in
Shiprock, New Mexico
Shiprock () is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community on the Navajo Nation, Navajo reservation in San Juan County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 7,718 people in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...
on the
Navajo Nation
The Navajo Nation (), also known as Navajoland, is an Indian reservation of Navajo people in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah. The seat of government is located in ...
.
Jim received training in graphic design from the Al Collins Graphic Design School. He also has a bachelor's degree in Computer Information Systems.
Art career
Jim is well known for his work as a basket design. He began this work by sketching symbols from Navajo oral history
Oral history is the collection and study of historical information from
people, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people who pa ...
, editing the image with a computer, and discussing the design with weavers for their input. His first job was with the Twin Rocks Trading Post in Utah, where his designs were used by leading Navajo weavers and helped sustain Navajo basketry. His designs were also used by rug weavers and jewelers.street art
Street art is visual art created in public locations for public visibility. It has been associated with the terms "independent art", "post-graffiti", "neo-graffiti" and guerrilla art.
Street art has evolved from the early forms of defiant gr ...
aesthetics, incorporating retellings of Indigenous stories, in work with acrylic, oil, and ink on canvas and paper.
He co-founded and managed 1Spot, one of the few Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans (also called American Indians, First Americans, or Indigenous Americans) are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of the United States, particularly of the Contiguous United States, lower 48 states and A ...
-led art galleries in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...
.
Publishing
Damian Jim helped create ''Ziindi: Indigenous Art Zine
A zine ( ; short for ''magazine'' or ''fanzine'') is, as noted on Merriam-Webster’s official website, a magazine that is a “noncommercial often homemade or online publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject ...
'' in 2012.[
]
Awards
* Best Artist of the Year, Flagstaff, AZ (1992)[
* People's Choice, Sedona Fine Arts Festival (1992)][
* First Place, Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum Exhibition (1998)][
* First Place, 2D/Prints and Honorable Mention, 2D/Mixed Medium, Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market (2021)
]
External links
*
Ziindi
indigenous Indigenous art zine
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jim, Damian
1973 births
Artists from Arizona
Living people
Navajo artists
Native American painters