Sean Chandler | The One Defined To Be No One

Indian Inactivism

Oil, paint stick, and pencil on canvas

47 x 48 inches

2017

Collection of G.B. Carson

Sean Chandler (Aaniiih)

The one defined to be No One

“Gathering up myself is probably the toughest task to begin the process of creating some kind of artwork. Not out of laziness, but to know that I am about to express some feeling or experience that I’ve kept inside, in order to hide from others. Gathering up in this sense has to do with collecting my sorrows, happiness, frustration, hope, and emptiness in order to arrange or control them all for understanding.

This expression or work takes me and the piece where we’re supposed to go. I think of my father’s art teaching and lessons from Aaniiih philosophy of being in control of my own destiny to be prosperous and generous. I also think of my mother’s lectures given to me as I entered kindergarten, on being an Indigenous person in the contemporary world, specifically about being a ‘free’ Indian, whatever that means. I’m sure she was referring to the freedom to be whatever I wanted under someone else’s definition of myself. With that foundation, I try to communicate my own little life experiences and how they relate to the overall impact of a piece.

Ironically, very often parts that seemed to be the best expressions turn out to be better by covering them up. Maybe that is due in part to me, covering myself, layer by layer. More likely, however, it’s a line formed by my own contemporary experiences in mainstream society connected to the years endured by ancestral experiences of dehumanization, racism, and cultural genocide. Chaotic and unanswered as a painting may seem, it confirms the disorder and grim questions created by complicated relationships between two worldviews—Indigenous and non-Indigenous. Maybe it’s peace that is sought out for balance.”

—sean chandler

Biography

Sean Chandler’s visual practice cannot be understood in isolation. Trained as a painter at MSU Bozeman, and embedded in an artistic family, he has made art throughout his life. He placed his promising artistic practice on hold to pursue an MA in Native Studies at MSU Bozeman and an EdD in educational leadership at UM while employed as Director of American Indian Studies at Aaniiih Nakoda College on the Ft. Belknap Reservation. A scholar at heart, he has consistently devoted himself to language revitalization and American Indian studies. Chandler was recently appointed President of Aaniiih Nakoda College. All this while raising two creative daughters after the unexpected death of his wife in 2017. When asked about balancing his myriad responsibilities, Chandler reflects, “Painting is the easy part. It’s what I have to do to feel good.”

He has received awards and exhibited at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona, and the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis, Indiana, with work collected by the Museum of Natural History in Paris and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts Museum, Minnesota. Since 2014 when he returned to art making, his artwork has become increasingly complex and intricate—rich, many-layered visual expressions that reflect his life experiences and the Aaniiih culture.

“The true genius and significance of these epic paintings lie in the fact that in a courageous, herculean effort, Sean has breathed new life into the culture of the White Clay People. These paintings are overflowing with ancient symbols and petroglyphs, bold patterns, imagined landscapes, humorous graffiti drawings, and mysterious figures that combine historical events and contemporary narratives, simultaneously honoring the ancient tales and presenting a fresh, digital-age version. The energetic force and urgency of this work cannot be denied. It is an explosive outpouring of Sean’s dreams and the deferred dreams of his ancestors extinguished by displacement, disease, and outright slaughter. He is a great storyteller following a long tradition of storytelling.”

—jay schmidt, Artist

ACKNOWLDEGEMENTS

This exhibition is sponsored by the Montana Art Gallery Directors Association (MAGDA), a statewide service organization for non-profit museums and galleries, and supported in part by grants from the Montana Arts Council, a state agency funded by the State of Montana; coal severance taxes paid based upon coal mined in Montana and deposited in Montana's Cultural and Aesthetic Projects Trust Fund; and the National Endowment for the Arts.