Joe Feddersen: Earth, Water, Sky - Hardcover

by Heather Ahtone (Editor), Rachel Allen (Editor)

Presents the diverse work of an Indigenous artist of the Pacific Northwest

Joe Feddersen (b. 1953; Arrow Lakes/Okanagan, Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation) is an American artist whose work is informed by his relationship to place, specifically the Plateau region between the Cascade Range and Rocky Mountains. Much of Feddersen's work is influenced by traditional Plateau-style basketry, which reflects northwestern landscapes, flora, and fauna. He also draws from the cultural landscape of his home: current events, regional histories, tribal legacies, personal narratives, and contemporary dialogues. Spanning printmaking, weaving, glass, and ceramics, Feddersen's work both celebrates his culture and speaks to a Plateau-Native viewpoint of the contemporary world. Accompanying the first major retrospective exhibition of the artist's work, Joe Feddersen: Earth, Water, Sky showcases Feddersen's art and examines his four-decade career as an Indigenous artist working in the Pacific Northwest. Essays by the editors explore an Indigenous perspective on landscape and how Plateau-Native cosmological viewpoints manifest in Feddersen's work. A selection of poetry by authors from the artist's past collaborations as well as a biography highlighting interviews from Feddersen's friends, family, and students are also included.

Author Biography

heather ahtone (Choctaw/Chickasaw Nation) is director of curatorial affairs at the First Americans Museum, Oklahoma City. Rachel Allen (Nez Perce) is an independent curator and PhD candidate at the University of Delaware. Contributors: Victor A. Charlo, Corwin Clairmont, Carly Feddersen, Erin Genia, Alex McCarty, Miles R. Miller, Anya Montiel, William Passmore, Kay WalkingStick, and Ramona Wilson