Walking into the Western Gallery this quarter, visitors will quickly lock eyes with “My Life as a Suburban Ind’n”, a painting by John Feodorov that offers a glimpse into his childhood in the Los Angeles suburbs, as well as the complexities of being Indigenous in the modern day.
“Memories of a Suburban Ind’n,” which will be shown at the gallery until Dec. 7, features work from Fedorov’s decades-long career and was curated by Faith Brower, the director and curator of collections at Frye Art Museum,
Feodorov, who has been an associate professor of art at Western’s Fairhaven College since 2004, was inspired by his Christian upbringing in the suburbs east of Los Angeles and time spent with his family on the Navajo reservation. These different cultural backgrounds created an internal conflict for him.
“It took me a while to realize that my experience actually is the Native American experience,” Feodorov said. “When I was younger, I didn't feel that I had any credibility in calling myself a Native American artist.”
As he matured, Feodorov created a balance between the two sides of his upbringing. And in that balance, he was able to find inspiration for his work.
“It’s that space between Los Angeles and the reservation. The space between is what influences me,” Feodorov explained. “I think artists need to make work that draws upon personal experience, but also questions that experience.”
This space between is evident throughout the exhibit, as many of the pieces included in “Memories of a Suburban Ind'n” touch on subjects such as religion and its intersection with Native American spirituality.
Sarah Toompas, a visitor at the Western Gallery, was drawn to a group of four paintings, hung together and accompanied by a small note commenting on the paradoxes between religion and violence.
“This one caught my attention because one is about the perspective of the Natives, and the other is the perspective of the white person,” she said. “It's cool that some of these seem more modern and others seem to be about earlier civilization.”
Toompas was especially moved by “It’s Fun To Be Right,” a painting of two naked angels holding someone hostage over a fire.
“It’s shocking to see at first because the images being shown are difficult,” Toompas said. “They caught my attention because there's a really interesting contrast between the violence and obvious religious aspects.”
Feodorov's art is invaluable because it not only shares Indigenous narratives but also places them within the context of the modern world, according to Michael Holloman, an associate professor of art history and coordinator of Native American arts, education and outreach at Washington State University.
“It allows Native people to exist in real-time and to exist artistically in the world that they live in,” Holloman said. “There's this notion from non-Native communities that the work that Native people are working on has to focus on certain traditional areas of means.”
Holloman went on to explain that Feodorov’s art finds a healthy balance between representing challenges Indigenous people experience in the contemporary world, while also acknowledging the traditional aspects of Indigenous culture.
This is a very purposeful effort from Feodorov, who aims to bridge the gap between the very polarizing aspects of his upbringing. Intertwining both the traditional and current elements of Indigenous culture, in addition to drawing from his background in both suburbia and reservation life, Feodorov has been working to create a middle ground for every aspect of himself to exist.
“I had this realization that on either side of myself, there were these polarized opposites,” Feodorov said. “I knew there were these contradictions and I was trying to resolve them. It took me a while to realize this is the contemporary Native experience.”
This is what brought Feodorov to name his exhibition “Memories of a Suburban Ind'n.” In trying to make peace between the two sides of his life, he realized they both influence him just the same.
“I realized how suburbia, despite my dislike, frames my experience and influences my work to this day,” Feodorov said. “Ind’n is how many Native people mispronounce ‘Indian.’ I like to believe this is an intentional act of resistance.”
For anyone wanting to learn more about “Memories of a Suburban Ind'n,” information can be found here. Additionally, more information on Feodorov and his past work can be found on his website.
Aidan Hadley (he/him) is a campus life reporter for The Front this quarter. He is a third-year student at WWU studying news/editorial journalism. Outside of reporting, Aidan enjoys baking, eating good food and finding a new TV show to watch. You can reach him at aidanh.thefront@gmail.com.
