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Marcus Amerman

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Marcus Amerman
Born1959
Phoenix, Arizona, United States
NationalityChoctaw Nation of Oklahoma
EducationBFA Whitman College, College of Santa Fe (now Santa Fe University of Art and Design), Institute of American Indian Arts, Anthropology Film Center
Known forBeadwork, glass art, painting, fashion design, performance
MovementRealism, Native pop
Websitehttp://www.marcusamerman.com/

Marcus Amerman is a Choctaw bead artist, glass artist, painter, fashion designer, and performance artist, living north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is known for his highly realistic beadwork portraits.

Background

Marcus Amerman was born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1959 but grew up in the Pacific Northwest.[1] He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. He also studied at the College of Santa Fe (now Santa Fe University of Art and Design), the Institute of American Indian Arts, and the Anthropology Film Center.[2]

Artwork

His exploration of so many different genres of art overlaps each other. For instance, Amerman's beadwork is integrated into clothing design. His outfits are featured in his performance art. His paintings and glasswork use a vivid palette that is found in his beadwork. He has even create giant beads out of glass.

Amerman's first foray into realism in beadwork was his 1993 Iron Horse Jacket, a studded leather jacket featuring a highly detailed and modeled image of Brooke Shields in beadwork.[3] Later, he added portrait bracelets to his repertoire. He has portrayed many historical heroes in his beadwork, such as Lloyd Kiva New; as well a pop icons, such as Janet Jackson, and imagery inspired by comic superheroes is a current running throughout his work.

His paintings are expressive and often reflect his Choctaw roots, with Mississippian imagery. His work in glass also includes Mississippian ceramic designs, but more often reflects contemporary designs, such as globes of the earth.

Honors

Amerman's work is in such public collections as the George Gustav Heye Center, the National Museum of the American Indian, the American Museum of Natural History, the Heard Museum, the Portland Art Museum, the Sequoyah National Research Center in Little Rock, Arkansas, and the Museum of Arts and Design.[4] He is the only artist to have his beadwork featured in Playboy magazine.[1]

In 2008, Amerman was a Hauberg Fellow at the Pilchuck Glass School and artist-of-residence there in 2008. He and Tlingit artist Preston Singletary both taught at the school in 2006 as part of Iconoglass.

Personal

Amerman's brother, Roger Amerman, is also an award-winning beadworker, specialized in traditional southeast designs. Their first cousin, Linda Lomahaftewa is renowned for her printmaking and painting, as was her brother and Amerman's cousin, the late Dan Lomahaftewa.

Quote

Traditionally, Indians embraced new materials with which to create and new ideas to express.[5]

Notes

  1. ^ a b Bates, 96
  2. ^ Johnson and Sheridan, 18
  3. ^ Bates, 20
  4. ^ McFadden and Taubman, 240
  5. ^ McFadden and Taubman, 16

References

  • Bates, Sara, curator. Indian Humor. San Francisco: American Indian Contemporary Arts, 1995. ISBN 1-887427-00-7.
  • McFadden, David Revere and Ellen Napiura Taubman. Changing Hands: Art without Reservation 2: Contemporary Native North American Art from the West, Northwest & Pacific. New York: Museum of Arts and Design, 2005. ISBN 1-890385-11-5.


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