Tracing Histories

An exhibition at the Philbrook Museum examines the relationships between contemporary and historic objects of art.

The Philbrook Museum is currently presenting an exhibition that explores the intersections between contemporary artwork by artists across the world alongside historic objects within the museum’s collections. On view through December 30, Trade & Transformation presents works by 13 contemporary artists, important new acquisitions and key loans, as well as historic Native American, African and Asian objects.

Unknown Artist (Otoe), Faw Faw coat, 1900-20, wool, glass beads, velvet, cotton cloth, metal fringe and metal sequins, 22 x 36 x 13½". Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Museum purchase, 1991.23.

The exhibition holds a central theme, that “every object holds a story,” and draws upon the idea that humans have the power to expand and transform their own perspectives through experiencing the stories and histories of objects. “Tracing the stories held within these objects, the exhibition is an opportunity to explore cross-cultural and trans-continental relationships, experiences, intentions and implications,” the Philbrook notes.

Marie Watt (Seneca), Companion Species: Assembly (Auntie), 2020. One panel of the two-part work Companion Species: Assembly (Auntie and Guardian Tree). Reclaimed wool blankets, embroidery floss, thread, cotton twill tape and tin jingles, 95 x 116". Tia Collection, Santa Fe, New Mexico. © Marie Watt. Courtesy of MARC STRAUS, New York. Photo by Kevin McConnell. Courtesy of Marie Watt Studio.

“Our entire material culture has been influenced by trade, extending to the art we see in museums,” says exhibition curator, Kalyn Fay Barnoski, assistant curator of Native Art at the Philbrook Museum. Barnoski cites historical objects like the beaded Otoe Faw Faw coat and the gold silk Japanese screens, housed within the museum’s collection, juxtaposed with contemporary works like Nick Cave’s Soundsuit or Yeesookyung’s Translated Vase. Through the pairing of these works of art, “we can see the effects and interconnected nature of exchange.”

Stephen Standing Bear (Mniconjou Lakota (Sioux)), ca. 1859-1933), The Battle of Little Big Horn (detail), 1892-1900, pencil and ink on muslin, 35 x 174". Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Gift of Mrs. John S. Zink, 1981.35.

Native American objects in the exhibition include Sioux artist Stephen Standing Bear’s massive 35-by-174-inch pen-and-ink piece The Battle of Little Big Horn; Lakota artist Raven Halfmoon’s mixed media sculpture CADDOxCHIC; and another mixed media piece titled Companion Species: Assembly (Auntie) by Marie Watt (Seneca), among others.

Raven Halfmoon (Caddo), CADDOxCHIC, 2019, stoneware, glaze, polyester resin and pigment, 49 x 38 x 23". The John and Susan Horseman Collection. © Raven Halfmoon.

“This original and thought-provoking exhibition highlights the exciting depth and diversity of our permanent collection and its ability to catalyze important community conversations,” says Philbrook CEO/president Scott Stulen. “Trade & Transformation also debuts several new acquisitions and reframes familiar works to make unexpected connections and elevate under-represented voices.”

Trade & Transformation is presented in the Philbrook Museum’s Helmerich Gallery.