Cade Gallery’s Fall Exhibition Spotlights Tom Farris: alterNative

Superman, Batman, Star Wars, skateboards, a slot machine, and a child’s pedal car titled ‘My First War Pony’ might seem like odd tools for talking about Native history. Tom Farris uses them to do exactly that, filtering each reference through an Indigenous lens. His solo exhibition, ‘Tom Farris: alterNative,’ is on view at the Cade Gallery from Sept. 15 through Oct. 22.

The show includes work from across Farris’s decades-long career, including digital prints, paintings, sculpture, View-Masters and found-object pieces. His themes have stayed consistent over time. Farris, a member of the Cherokee Nation and the Otoe-Missouria tribe, draws equally from mainstream and Indigenous pop culture to challenge how Native cultures and identities are reduced to stereotypes and to address tribal sovereignty, food sovereignty, and Native history. His pieces also explore resilience, survivance, and the ongoing effects of settler colonialism.

Cherokee syllabary, the writing system developed to preserve the Cherokee language, appears often in his work. In one brightly colored print, Superman wears his usual costume, but his short hair is now long, and the “S” on his chest is the Cherokee character for “S.” A painting of the Batman logo includes the Cherokee word for Batman. Another piece, “When the Sith Hits the Fan,” borrows from Star Wars.

Another source is ledger art, named for the lined ledger paper artists drew on. The form was popular in the 19th century, during the period of mass removals, and allowed many Native people to record their history in their own way. In “Instant Ledger Art-o-Matic,” a 1930s View-Master projector displays his images on a small sheet of ledger paper.

One piece, modeled on Roy Lichtenstein’s comic panels, shows a blonde woman with a thought bubble reading “I’m Part Cherokee, but Can’t Prove It.” The image is painted on the pages of a first-edition copy of the Dawes Rolls. Under the Dawes Act, the U.S. president could divide reservation land into allotments for the Five Civilized Tribes. The rolls recorded people approved for allotments as well as those rejected. Farris’s figure refers to people who said they were part Cherokee but were left off the rolls and denied land because they could not prove it.

“Culture Over Commodity,” a recent work, looks at food sovereignty and the health effects of mass-produced food introduced to Native people. Farris converted a slot machine so its reels show pre-contact foods such as fish, bison, deer, and the “three sisters” of corn, beans, and squash. Landing a jackpot is unlikely. A losing spin is far more common and comes up heart disease, diabetes, or obesity. The jackpot pays out in heirloom corn, which sits in the tray at the base of the machine, rather than money.

Farris often uses humor. “Missing Link” is a white satin sash reading “Cherokee Princess 1878.” The Cherokee had no princesses, so the sash could never have belonged to one. The piece pokes fun at a stereotype many people still believe.

Farris also works on Native representation outside his studio as a director of IndigiPopX. This Indigenous pop culture event brings together Native creators working in comics, gaming, film, visual art, and other fields. Through the event, he has helped support conversations about Native participation in contemporary pop culture and Native creators’ ability to decide how they are represented in it.

“alterNative” sets two kinds of representation side by side. One comes from a consumer culture that has often taken from Native people and culture with little to no reciprocity. The other comes from an Indigenous artist with the imagination and courage to reclaim what was taken to change the narrative. “alterNative” asks viewers to look twice at already familiar images and think about who has the power to decide what Native representation looks like, what stories it tells, and who gets to tell them.

The gallery will host a Visiting Artist Workshop on Wednesday, Oct. 21, from 1 to 3 p.m. in CADE 310. A closing reception with remarks from Farris follows on Thursday, Oct. 22, from 4 to 6 p.m.