The collection of Kimowan Metchewais [McLain], significant First Nations artist, contains materials related to his artistic practice and his personal life. The materials include not only photographs of his art, completed and in-progress, but also sketchbooks and journal entries that give important context to his major works and artistic practices. The materials range from his early career in the early 1990s as a magazine editor to his solo and group exhibitions to his time as an art professor at various universities and images of his final works in 2011. McLain balanced both Western and Native artistic methods and history in his work, his archive provides valuable insight into the swiftly evolving and often contested world of contemporary Native American art.
Scope and Contents:
The Kimowan Metchewais [McLain] collection spans the majority of
Kimowan's artistic career from 1991 to 2011, beginning with his work as a comic illustrator and ending with one of his final pieces, Raincloud. Series 1: Works contains materials relating to his artistic works, mainly consisting of 4X6 color photographs, slides, and negatives of his completed works. There are also images of the works in progress, sources of inspiration for various pieces, and several items reflecting the various processes he used to create the final work, be it painting, "paper wall," installation, or a mixed media piece. Works of note include: After (1999), Map of Moths (2001), Cold Lake (2004), and Raincloud (2010). Series 2: Polaroids is Kimowan's collection of Polaroid prints. These prints were used as a reference collection by the artist, and reflect all aspects of his life and work: from intimate personal portraits of the artist, friends and family, to color studies, to documentation of nature and everyday items, the series is glimpse into the heart of the collection.
Series 3: Sketchbooks, is an equally revealing look into Kimowan's artistic practice and personal life. Documenting everything from his tobacco research, his thoughts on art history and teaching, designing his website, the creative process of exhibit planning, and numerous sketches in pen, pencil, and charcoal, the sketchbooks are an invaluable resource for understanding both the man and the work he created. Series 4: Personal Materials contains materials related to Kimowan's personal life- his travels around the U.S. and abroad, the works by other artists he felt were important to collect, published material related to his work and also his decisions on where to go to graduate school and where to apply for teaching positions. Series 5: Teaching Materialscontains materials concerning his teaching career- mainly slides of his student's work, and slides he used in his lectures. He taught art classes at both the University of New Mexico and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, on subjects ranging from "Drawing I" to "Native American Art in the 1980s."
The collection contains 4X6 color photographic prints, 35 mm color negatives, 3X5 Polaroid prints, and 35 mm color slides, noted if otherwise. Some titles are bracketed, this reflects a title that has been constructed during processing, titles not bracketed were generally assigned by the creator.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged by subject. Series 1: Works is arranged chronologically within the subseries, excepting the Works, General subseries. Series 2: Polaroids, retains the original order created by the artist. Images are separated by subject and arranged alphabetically. Series 3: Sketchbooks, is arranged chronologically when date is known. Series 4: Personal Materials, is arranged by subject and occasionally by format. Series 5: Teaching Materials contains slides which are arranged chronologically and by subject.
Biographical / Historical:
Kimowan Metchewais [McLain] was a significant figure in the Native art world. He was born in Oxbow, Saskatchewan, October 2, 1963. He used his step-father Bruce's name- McLain, until later in life when he began to go by his mother Ada's maiden name - Metchewais. He spent his childhood and early adulthood on the Cold Lake First Nations reserve in Alberta. He began his artistic career working as an illustrator and later editor at Windspeaker Native Newspaper from 1983 to 1989. From 1992 to 1996 he attended the University of Alberta in Edmonton, receiving his Bachelors of Fine Arts. It was during this time, in 1993, at age 29, that he was diagnosed with oligodendroglioma, a rare form of brain tumor. The surgery to remove the tumor and following radiation left McLain with a permanent bald spot on the back of his head would feature in his art in later years. He was told that life expectancy for this condition was 11-12 years. Despite his illness, in 1995 Kimowan received the Ellen Battel Stoekel Fellowship to spend the summer at Yale University and in 1996 he received a National Award from the Canadian Native Arts Foundation. He continued on to complete his Master of Fine Arts at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, from 1996 to 1999. It was there he met life-long friend Larry McNeil. Kimowan then made the move to Chapel Hill, North Carolina where he began teaching in the Art Department at the University of North Carolina, and continuing to exhibit his own work in both solo exhibitions and group exhibitions.
In Chapel Hill he lived in the neighborhood of Carrboro, a small, relaxed community attached to the larger college town. At this time, Kimowan developed an interest in "hooping" – hula-hooping as a spiritual activity--founding a collective and developing many close friendships through the hobby. He also began making trips home to Cold Lake and documenting the people and places there. In 2005, following symptoms of his tumor returning, McLain underwent a relatively complication-free surgery that allowed him to return directly to work, including participation in the well-received Loom exhibition. In 2007 Kimowan underwent surgery once again but due to complications from the surgery, Kimowan was left partially paralyzed. For a year, Kimowan worked diligently at rehabilitation, even developing his own rehab program he called "Kimochi," and was eventually able to return both to work and hooping. During his time at the hospital he met his eventual fiancée, Antje Thiessen.
Following his return to work, Kimowan continued to evolve his artistic practice – producing what some called his magnum opus - Cold Lake in 2004 and the evocative self-portrait Raincloud in 2010. Both pieces are examples of the space Kimowan gracefully navigated, between Native and Western sensibilities and artistic practices in his work. In 2011 his symptoms returned for a final time and he returned to his mother's home in St. Paul, Alberta, with Thiessen, for palliative care. He passed away on July 29, 2011. A retrospective of his work Horizon: Kimowan Metchewais (McLain) was shown that fall at the John and June Allcott Gallery, University of North Carolina.
Separated Materials:
The National Museum of the American Indian has 185 of Kimowan Metchewais [McLain]'s works in their Modern and Contemporary Arts collection. These pieces have catalog numbers 26/9426 - 26/9610. To view these pieces, an Object Collections Research Request must be made two months in advance, using the form found at http://www.nmai.si.edu/explore/collections/accessing/. Kimowan Metchewais [McLain] also has an artist file held by the Vine Deloria Jr. Library, containing material relevant to this collection. It can be accessed by contacting the library by phone: (301) 238-1376 or email: AskALibrarian@si.edu.
Provenance:
Bequest of Kimowan Metchewais [McLain] in 2015.
Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Thursday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiphotos@si.edu. For personal or classroom use, users are invited users to download, print, photocopy, and distribute the images that are available online without prior written permission, provided that the files are not changed, the Smithsonian Institution copyright notice (where applicable) is included, and the source of the image is identified as the National Museum of the American Indian.
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Kimowan Metchewais [McLain] Collection, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Photographs in this collection were shot mostly by Native photographers for the 1998 book, Spirit Capture: Photographs from the National Museum of the American Indian.
Scope and Contents:
Photographs in this collection were shot mostly by Native photographers for the 1998 book, Spirit Capture: Photographs from the National Museum of the American Indian. Photographers include Larry McNeil [Tlingit/Nisga'a (Niska)], Larry Gus [Hopi Pueblo/Diné (Navajo)], Dorothy Grandbois (Turtle Mountain Chippewa), Katherine Fogden (Mohawk), and Janine Sarna Jones.
The photographs depict a variety of contemporary scenes in various Native communities.
Arrangement:
Photographs arranged in folders by photographer.
Biographical / Historical:
Spirit Capture: Photographs from the National Museum of the American Indian was published in 1998 by NMAI and Smithsonian Institution Press. A corresponding exhibition of the same name ran from July 2001-2002 in New York City.
Spirit Capture brings together more than 200 images from the museum's collections with essays from Native and non-Native historians, anthropologists, and curators. Several Native photographers were commissioned to produce images for this publication and exhibition.
Related Materials:
Other photographs that were shot by NMAI photographers Katherine Fogden and Janine Sarna Jones for the Spirit Capture project are included in collection NMAI.AC.996, binders 135 and 136.
Provenance:
Photographs from Larry McNeil, Larry Gus, and Dorothy Grandbois were purchased by NMAI in 1996 for the Spirit Capture project. Photographs by Katherine Fogden and Janine Sarna Jones were created as part of their work as employed photographers at NMAI.
Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archives Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiphotos@si.edu. For personal or classroom use, users are invited to download, print, photocopy, and distribute the images that are available online without prior written permission, provided that the files are not modified in any way, the Smithsonian Institution copyright notice (where applicable) is included, and the source of the image is identified as the National Museum of the American Indian. For more information please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use and NMAI Archive Center's Digital Image request website.
Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Spirit Capture photograph collection, image #, NMAI.AC.384; National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.
This series contains 5 color slides, 4 color transparencies, and 6 photographic prints shot by photographer Larry McNeil (Tlingit) circa 1984. The photographs were shot in Alaska and depict a variety of scenes including fishing, gathering saltwater grass, and portraits. The photographs were collected for the 1998 book, Spirit Capture: Photographs from the National Museum of the American Indian.
Biographical / Historical:
Biography from Spirit Capture publication in 1998:
Larry McNeil (Tlingit) is a studio and editorial photographer who has taught photography at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and is president of the Native Indian/Inuit Photographers' Association. His photography has appeared in numerous exhibitions and publications.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archives Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiphotos@si.edu. For personal or classroom use, users are invited to download, print, photocopy, and distribute the images that are available online without prior written permission, provided that the files are not modified in any way, the Smithsonian Institution copyright notice (where applicable) is included, and the source of the image is identified as the National Museum of the American Indian. For more information please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use and NMAI Archive Center's Digital Image request website.
Collection Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Spirit Capture photograph collection, image #, NMAI.AC.384; National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.
This series contains 3 color transparencies, 1 color slide, and 3 photographic prints shot by photographer Larry Gus [Hopi Pueblo/Diné (Navajo)] in November 1996. The photographs depict the Taos Slot Room in Toas Pueblo, NM and the Cities of Gold Casino in Pojoaque Pueblo, NM. The photographs were made for the 1998 book, Spirit Capture: Photographs from the National Museum of the American Indian.
Biographical / Historical:
Biography from Spirit Capture publication in 1998:
Larry Gus (Navajo) is a freelance editorial and studio photographer based in Los Angeles. His work, which is highly respected among Native editors, has appeared in numerous Native publications and also mainstream newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archives Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiphotos@si.edu. For personal or classroom use, users are invited to download, print, photocopy, and distribute the images that are available online without prior written permission, provided that the files are not modified in any way, the Smithsonian Institution copyright notice (where applicable) is included, and the source of the image is identified as the National Museum of the American Indian. For more information please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use and NMAI Archive Center's Digital Image request website.
Collection Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Spirit Capture photograph collection, image #, NMAI.AC.384; National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.
This series contains 7 color slides and 6 photographic prints shot by Dorothy Grandbois (Chippewa/Ojibwa) in 1996. The photographs depict students from the Sherman Indian High School in Riverside, California. The photographs were made for the 1998 book, Spirit Capture: Photographs from the National Museum of the American Indian.
Biographical / Historical:
Biography from Spirit Capture publication in 1998:
Dorothy Grandbois (Turtle Mountain Chippewa) is an award-winning photographer and alumna of Institute of American Indian Arts. At the age of five, she was sent away from home and attended both Catholic and government boarding schools, experiences that still influence her photographic work.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archives Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiphotos@si.edu. For personal or classroom use, users are invited to download, print, photocopy, and distribute the images that are available online without prior written permission, provided that the files are not modified in any way, the Smithsonian Institution copyright notice (where applicable) is included, and the source of the image is identified as the National Museum of the American Indian. For more information please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use and NMAI Archive Center's Digital Image request website.
Collection Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Spirit Capture photograph collection, image #, NMAI.AC.384; National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.
This series contains 11 photographs shot by Katherine Fogden (Mohawk) circa 1996. The photographs depict portraits of people from the Akwesasne (St. Regis Mohawk Reserve), a Mohawk community located near the borders of New York, Quebec, and Ontario.
The photographs were made for the 1998 book, Spirit Capture: Photographs from the National Museum of the American Indian.
Biographical / Historical:
Biography edited from Spirit Capture:
Katherine Fogden (Mohawk) is a photographer in at the National Museum of the American Indian. She has previously worked as an assistant curator and gallery manager at the American Indian Community House Art Gallery, and has shown her photographic work in numerous exhibitions.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archives Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiphotos@si.edu. For personal or classroom use, users are invited to download, print, photocopy, and distribute the images that are available online without prior written permission, provided that the files are not modified in any way, the Smithsonian Institution copyright notice (where applicable) is included, and the source of the image is identified as the National Museum of the American Indian. For more information please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use and NMAI Archive Center's Digital Image request website.
Collection Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Spirit Capture photograph collection, image #, NMAI.AC.384; National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.
This series contains 3 photographic prints that were shot by Janine Sarna Jones in 1996 and depicts portraits of Henry Seaweed who is the grandson of Southern Kwakiutl carver Chief Willie Seaweed (see photo P19648); Nema and Erin Magovern (Osage), the great-great-granddaughter and great-great-great granddaughter of Henry Red Eagle (see photo N27177); and a portrait of Nelson Henry (Choctaw), grandnephew of Albert Henry (see N02676).
The photographs were made for the 1998 book, Spirit Capture: Photographs from the National Museum of the American Indian.
Biographical / Historical:
Biography edited from Spirit Capture publication in 1998:
Janine Sarna Jones was a photo archive specialist in the Photo Archive of the National Museum of the American Indian.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archives Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiphotos@si.edu. For personal or classroom use, users are invited to download, print, photocopy, and distribute the images that are available online without prior written permission, provided that the files are not modified in any way, the Smithsonian Institution copyright notice (where applicable) is included, and the source of the image is identified as the National Museum of the American Indian. For more information please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use and NMAI Archive Center's Digital Image request website.
Collection Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Spirit Capture photograph collection, image #, NMAI.AC.384; National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.
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