Taking on a hybrid format for 2021, the Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market will continue its celebration of Native American arts and cultures with select live events at the museum while the exhibitors will all participate virtually. One of the hallmarks of the fair is the selection of the merchandise artist and featured artwork. This year, multidisciplinary artist Damian Jim (Diné)—who began as a demonstration artist at the fair in the mid-2000s and had his first booth in 2017—will have his figurative painting Corollary on the T-shirts as part of the promotion for the show.
Jim’s artwork has had an evolution of mediums and styles over the years, and it continues to evolve as modern-day technologies change. He started with ink pens and learned to use acrylics, aerosol and oil paints, which he continues to use today for his surrealistic inspired works. Jim also has explored geometric and abstract painting methods and has also incorporated his Diné roots into his artwork. From the early 1990s onward, he became fascinated with digital art, starting with freehand sketching in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator programs. He’s also added digital photography into his work and creates new compositions using the camera angles.
Corollary, acrylic on canvas, 30 x 24"“My creativity flows best when I have an idea and choose the right medium from my arsenal to express that idea,” says Jim. “Creating my art is based on my personal journey in life, and everything that is found in our world continues to heal my mind and soul.”
Corollary, a 30-by-24-inch acrylic on canvas, derives from the artist’s interest in narrative artwork and problem solving an unfinished canvas that was left in his possession. A good friend of the artist’s was moving away and he ended up taking her unfinished canvas thinking he could reuse it at a later point in time. The work he created speaks to the current times and shows that through the dark moments there can be things that uplift us.
“My friend had painted a huge Y chromosome in yellow over the whole canvas, and keeping that in mind I wanted to do a painting while in isolation that could contain the voices and frustrations of everyone during this time,” says Jim. “I created the background, but I didn’t have anything beyond that, until a few more months passed and the anxiety and feelings of helplessness with friends and family passing away led me to more drawing and sketching. This was when Corollary emerged from those dark times. I had a vision of Mother Earth carrying the burden of the living and the dead, and offering compassion and hope.”
Jim says it is an honor for him to be chosen as this year’s merchandise artist. “The pandemic has left us without our usual yearly social events, and despite the need to gather and socialize, a virtual market will allow the artists and collectors a safe avenue to interact without endangering lives,” he says. “I’m glad the organizers chose to keep all our elders safe and still give everyone an avenue to enjoy the artistry of Indigenous people.”
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