Gerald Clarke (born February 24, 1967) is a

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, installation, and conceptual artist from the Cahuilla Band of Mission Indians. His work often reflects on and questions current issues in Native America and the United States, as well as his personal life.

Background

Early life

Clarke was born in

Hemet, California Hemet is a city in the San Jacinto Valley in Riverside County, California, United States. It covers a total area of , about half of the valley, which it shares with the neighboring city of San Jacinto, California, San Jacinto. The population w ...

in 1967, to Carol and Gerald Clarke Sr.

Higher education

Clarke worked as a welder, and married Stacy Brown. In 1991 he graduated

University of Central Arkansas The University of Central Arkansas (Central Arkansas or UCA) is a public university in Conway, Arkansas, United States. Founded in 1907, the university is one of the oldest in the state. As the state's only normal school at the time, UCA has hist ...

with a Bachelor of Arts in painting and sculpture and a Master of Arts in 1994 from

Stephen F. Austin State University Stephen F. Austin State University (SFASU or SFA) is a public university in Nacogdoches, Texas, in the United States. Named after Stephen F. Austin, one of the founders of Texas, SFA was founded as a teachers college in 1923 and built on part ...

Current life

Clarke creates his own work, teaches art at

Idyllwild Arts Academy Idyllwild Arts Academy is a private school located in Idyllwild, in the San Jacinto Mountains and San Bernardino National Forest, within western Riverside County, California. The school was founded in 1946. It was previously known as Idyllwil ...

, and runs a storage business with wife Stacy. He is a professor at the University of California, Riverside.

Fine art career

Artist statement

''There are aspects of my work that have evolved over the past thirty years of art making, but some aspects have remained the same. I have consistently chosen to not have a singular approach to art making; I choose whatever media, format or action that I believe would best express the idea/emotion/concept I am exploring.'' ''I also recognize my need for meaning. While I have a deep appreciation for the aesthetic object and truly enjoy the physicality and craft of making an art object, my ultimate goal as an artist is for my work to have a meaningful interaction with the viewer.'' ''In hindsight, I recognize how my perspective of the viewer has evolved. Early in my career, I sought to educate the non-native viewer about contemporary Native culture. Over time, I came to two realizations regarding my work and the viewer. First, by focusing my efforts to educate the non-native viewer, I was neglecting my own tribal community. Second, the more personal and honest I am in my work, the more universal it becomes.'' ''I was raised with a traditional understanding of the world and the importance of community. I feel a responsibility to share my perspective and the humanity we all share. I don’t make Native American art. I express my Cahuilla perspective as a 21st Century citizen of the world and the passion, pain, and reverence I feel as a contemporary Cahuilla person.'' -Gerald Clarke, 2023

Traditional influences

A traditional art form of the Cahuilla people,

basketry Basket weaving (also basketry or basket making) is the process of weaving or sewing pliable materials into three-dimensional artifacts, such as baskets, mats, mesh bags or even furniture. Craftspeople and artists specialized in making baskets ...

is not only a community, but a family tradition for Clarke. While his artworks do not utilize the same materials as seen in traditional basket making, he sees his creation process as similar to theirs: "Cahuilla basket makers go out and gather materials, and they put them together to produce something that is both functional and aesthetic. I kind of do my work the same way. I go out and I gather these things. I combine them."

Major works and themes

Clarke's work is often politically minded, reflecting on current and past issues taking place in

Indian Country Indian country is any of the self-governing Native American or American Indian communities throughout the United States. Colloquially, this refers to lands governed by federally recognized tribes and state recognized tribes. The concept of tri ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, the United States as a whole, and within his personal life.

''...through art, I can come to an understanding of myself, my community and the world around me.'' - Gerald Clarke

Contemporary Native America

In 1996 Clarke created ''Artifacts'', a collection of four

shovel A shovel is a tool used for digging, lifting, and moving bulk materials, such as soil, coal, gravel, snow, sand, or ore. Most shovels are hand tools consisting of a broad blade fixed to a medium-length handle. Shovel blades are usually made ...

s with the blades down, meant to be leaned against a wall. The top handles are wrapped in colored ribbons: black, green, red and yellow, colors indicative of the American Indian community. Writing, in black marker, travels around the handle, until the top of the blade. The four shovels represent his father and one for his three aunts, who are represented on their own shovel by a photograph affixed before the blade. A cattle brand is welded into each shovel blade, like those found on Clarke's family ranch. His goal with ''Artifacts'' is to show how one can dig up the past to reveal American Indians in the world today. In 2009 Clarke's solo show "One Tract Mind" looked at the effects of

tract housing Tract housing, sometimes informally known as cookie cutter housing, is a type of housing development in which multiple similar houses are built on a tract (area) of land that is subdivided into smaller lots. Tract housing developments are found ...

on Native communities in Southern California. In this show Clarke experimented heavily in digital art as well as other mixed media forms looking at water rights, the preservation of sacred sites, and the opposition by Native communities to the invasion of

suburbia A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

Road signs

In 2001 Clarke started to create

road sign Traffic signs or road signs are signs erected at the side of or above roads to give instructions or provide information to road users. The earliest signs were simple wooden or stone milestones. Later, signs with directional arms were introduc ...

s to be displayed along roads on the Cahuilla reservation and near his family's ranch entrance. These road signs show words in the

Cahuilla language Cahuilla , or Ivilyuat ( or ), is an endangered Uto-Aztecan language, spoken by the various tribes of the Cahuilla Nation, living in the Coachella Valley, San Gorgonio Pass and San Jacinto Mountains region of southern California.

: *''Nesun e' elquish'' - I am sad *''Nextaxmuqa'' - I am singing *''Kimul Hakushwe'' - The door is open *''Ivawen'' - Be strong The signs, welcomed by the community, eventually disappeared off the side of the road, plucked off by vandals or road side collectors. Clarke sought to remind his own tribal members that they are valuable to this world. When Clarke was rewarded an Eiteljorg Fellowship, from the

Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art is an art museum in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The Eiteljorg houses an extensive collection of visual arts by indigenous peoples of the Americas as well as Western Ame ...

, in 2007 he created three signs relevant to the

Miami people The Miami ( Miami–Illinois: ''Myaamiaki'') are a Native American nation originally speaking the Miami–Illinois language, one of the Algonquian languages. Among the peoples known as the Great Lakes tribes, they occupied territory that is no ...

, connecting with the Miami Nation of Indians in

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. Working with Miami artist and historian Scott Shoemaker the three pieces were installed on the museum grounds where they reside to this day: *''Myaamionki'' - Place of the Miami *''Oonseentia'' - Yellow poplar tree *''Seekaahkwiaanki'' - We held on to the tree limbs

A wider world

Examining not only Native America today, Clarke also looks at the current state of affairs in the United States and beyond. In the video and installation artwork ''Task'' (2002 and 2007) he is shown "ironing out the wrinkles that plague our world" in response to

September 11, 2001 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

, which he describes as his own type of healing ritual, a ritual and experience that caused him to question the future that his own children would face and how the creation of fine art and

freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...

is an intricate part to the healing of the United States through this fragile time.

Native American art and authenticity

The question of authenticity is a frequent discussion in art markets where Native American art is the emphasis. Another connection to his family cattle ranch, Clarke created two works to discuss the topic of authenticity: ''To the Discriminating Collector'' in 2002 and ''Branded'' in 2006. Creating a branding iron that spells out "INDIAN", ''To the Discriminating Collector'' sets aim at collectors that put their stamp of "Indian" on artworks and creators they deem worthy of the term, allowing them to brand books, clothing, films, objects, religion "Indian" with one stamp of the branding iron. He followed up the branding iron with using it, burning the branding into a white sheet of paper. Conceptually the work is simple yet the meaning is meant to question the lack of authenticity that Native American art collectors find in conceptual art by contemporary artists. Many of these collectors seek traditional art forms as a valid form of Native art, while contemporary artists are placed on the back burner in collections and Indian markets. Performance pieces and other conceptual installation works further to examine Indian markets throughout the country. Native Americans, specifically writers and religious figures, have often been sought by non-Native people to provide guidance and wisdom not often found in traditional Western religions. Artworks such as 1998's ''Indian Wisdom and Manifest Destiny'' is an installation piece featuring two

gumball machine A gumball machine is a type of bulk vending machine that dispenses individual gumballs in exchange for money. They were developed around the early twentieth century. History Although vending machines for stick or block-shaped gum were seen as ...

s: ''Manifest Destiny'' which is covered in fabric displaying the

flag of the United States The national flag of the United States, often referred to as the American flag or the U.S. flag, consists of thirteen horizontal Bar (heraldry), stripes, Variation of the field, alternating red and white, with a blue rectangle in the Canton ( ...

and a white cowboy hat and ''Indian Wisdom'' which is covered in fabric reminiscent of Southwestern Indian blankets, and features a picture of Clarke stating "Indian Wisdom" in it. Clarke describes it as his own form of

selling out To "sell out" is to compromise one's integrity, morality, Authenticity (philosophy), authenticity, or Principle#As moral law, principles in exchange for personal gain, such as money or power. In terms of music or art, selling out is associated w ...

and while the gumball machines display containers filled dollar bills, which only cost a mere 25 cents to obtain, the purchaser actually receives a print out with politically minded statements on the back.

Performance A performance is an act or process of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Performance has evolved glo ...

pieces such as ''Extreme Makeover'' and ''Antiques Road Show'' depict Clark questioning Native American stereotypes, the "whitening" of Native peoples by Europeans, and further exploration into authenticity of being a "real Indian."

Diabetes and alcoholism

Diabetes and alcoholism are serious factors of reservation life for many Native communities. Responding to the unhealthy social conditions Clark created ''Continuum Basket'' (2002); a large wall sculpture that shows the spiraling technique traditional in Cahuilla basketry, it is made of

beer Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...

and soda cans.

Museum collections

* Agua Caliente Cultural Museum, Riverside County, California *

, Indianapolis, Indiana *

Heard Museum The Heard Museum is a private, not-for-profit museum in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, dedicated to the advancement of American Indian art. It presents the stories of American Indian people from a first-person perspective, as well as exhibitio ...

, Phoenix, Arizona *

Palm Springs Art Museum The Palm Springs Art Museum (formerly the Palm Springs Desert Museum) is a visual and performing arts institution with several locations in the Coachella Valley, in Riverside County, California, United States, founded in 1938. PSAM has been focu ...

, Palm Springs, California *Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles, CA *Riverside Museum, Riverside, CA *City of Palm Desert, Palm Desert, CA

Awards

*''Eiteljorg Fellowship for Native American Fine Art'', 2007, Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art 2007 *Artist Fellowship, James Phelan Fund of the San Francisco Foundation for California-Born Artists. 2016 *Harpo Foundation Artist Fellowship, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT. 2016 *Mentor Artist Fellowship, Native Arts and Culture Foundation, Vancouver, WA 2020 *Dragonfly Award, Dorothy Ramon Learning Center, Banning, CA

References

Bibliography

*Dubin, Margaret and Sylvia Ross. ''The Dirt Is Red Here: Art and Poetry from Native California''. Heydey Books, 2002. A collection of poems by notable Native writers and images by emerging Native artists. *Owen, Sean. ''Borderlands: Gerald Clarke, Cahuilla Artist Crossing the Line''. 2005. Documentary about Clarke's work and includes the performance pieces ''Antiques Road Show'' and ''Extreme Makeover''. *Editors: Christine Giles, Christine and Evans Frantz, David.
Gerald Clarke: Falling Rock.
' Publisher: Hirmer Verlag and Palm Springs Art Museum 2020. Exhibition Catalog

External links

Preview of ''Borderlands''
a documentary about the Clarke and the Cahuilla community.
Falling Rock Homepage
The Tragically Hilarious Artwork of Gerald Clarke {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Gerald 1967 births Living people 20th-century American sculptors 21st-century American sculptors 21st-century American male artists 20th-century Native American artists 21st-century Native American artists Cahuilla people People from Hemet, California University of Central Arkansas alumni Stephen F. Austin State University alumni Native American installation artists Native American sculptors Native American conceptual artists Sculptors from California East Central University faculty 20th-century American male artists Native American people from Arkansas