Chords to Other Chords (Relative)
In August of 2023, Portland-based artist Marie Watt (Seneca) constructed a neon sculpture for Converge 45’s biennial exhibition at The Center for Native Arts & Cultures.
Chords to Other Chords Relative (2023-08-16) by Kevin McConnellNative Arts and Cultures Foundation - Center for Native Arts and Cultures
Chords to Other Chords (Relative) 2023
“This project is an affirmation of the land and the Indigenous people who are ephemeral monuments to this territory,” says Marie.
Blazing like the Sunrise
According to Marie, the neon text is meant to “blaze like a sunrise.”
Billboard (2023-09-13) by Robert FranklinNative Arts and Cultures Foundation - Center for Native Arts and Cultures
August 2023 Installation begins
Seneca Artist Marie Watt begins constructing her large neon sculpture Chords to Other Chords (Relative) at The Center for Native Arts & Cultures (The Center).
Marie Watt installing Chords to Other Chords (Relative) The installation is a large-scale sculpture with the words “Turtle Island And” spelled out in neon, with the letters mounted on a plywood structure that has been pasted with posters, stickers, flyers, newspaper articles and other print pieces collected from the Native community.
Wide Shot of Install (2023-08-16) by Robert FranklinNative Arts and Cultures Foundation - Center for Native Arts and Cultures
Art inspired by art
The title is from the 23rd United States Poet Laureate Joy Harjo's poem Bird, which reads "We are chords/to other chords to other chords, if we’re lucky, to melody."
Opening Night 2 (2023-09-13) by Robert FranklinNative Arts and Cultures Foundation - Center for Native Arts and Cultures
Opening reception
On August 25, 2023 Native Arts & Cultures Foundation (NACF) partnered with Converge 45 for the opening reception of Marie Watt’s Chords to Other Chords (Relative).
Over 250 people gathered at The Center to view the billboard-sized work.
Seeing ourselves in public places
“This project is an affirmation of the land and the Indigenous people who are ephemeral monuments to this territory,” says Marie.
Silhouettes (2023-09-13) by Robert FranklinNative Arts and Cultures Foundation - Center for Native Arts and Cultures
Call and response
Conversations are intended to call back in time to our ancestors and also forward to future generations, based on the belief that our present moment is inextricably tethered to the communities of past and future.
Blazing like the sunrise (2023-09-13) by Robert FranklinNative Arts and Cultures Foundation - Center for Native Arts and Cultures
SHIFT – Transformative Change and Indigenous Arts Award
For her SHIFT Project Marie is partnered with the Forge Project to create a series of three site-responsive neon sculptures that aim to amplify stories and conversations about land, stewardship, and place.
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