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Photo: Elizabeth Mann
Talking Tintype, Swil Kanim, Violinist, Citizen of the Lummi Nation, from the series Critical Indigenous Photographic Exchange: dᶻidᶻəlalič
Photo: Elizabeth Mann

Talking Tintype, Swil Kanim, Violinist, Citizen of the Lummi Nation, from the series Critical Indigenous Photographic Exchange: dᶻidᶻəlalič

Date2017, printed 2019
Maker Will Wilson Native American, Diné, born 1969
Label TextUsing the 19th-century tintype process, Diné photographer Will Wilson invites the sitter to share authority in the production of portrait images. With his Critical Indigenous Photographic Exchange (CIPX) project, Wilson captures reservation-based and urban Natives who have created inclusive communities in our cities. Wilson gifts his tintypes—some of which “come to life” using a special app—to his sitters and retains the digital copies for large-scale prints. Wilson staged CIPX in Seattle (dᶻidᶻəlalič), documenting individuals as they see and refer to themselves. Here, legendary violinist and performance artist Richard Marshall (Swil Kanim) plays his own moving composition of “Ten Little Indians,” reminding us that this seemingly benign children’s song is about the genocide of Native People.
Object number2019.26.1
ProvenanceThe artist; purchased by Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 2019
Photo CreditPhoto: Elizabeth Mann
Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Double Exposure: Edward S. Curtis, Marianne Nicolson, Tracy Rector, Will Wilson, June 4 - Sept. 9, 2018. Text by Barbara Brotherton, et al. No cat. no., p. 25, reproduced fig. 11. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, American Art: The Stories We Carry, Oct. 20, 2022 - ongoing.Published ReferencesPierce, Jerald. "How Seattle Art Museum is working to make its American art galleries more inclusive." The Seattle Times, October 25, 2022: reproduced, https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/visual-arts/how-seattle-art-museum-is-working-to-make-its-american-art-galleries-more-inclusive. [A version of this article appeared in print on October 30 with the headline: "Re-imagining American art: Seattle Art Museum offers a more expansive, inclusive look at U.S. art" (not reproduced).]
Credit LineAncient and Native American Art Acquisition Fund
Dimensions56 1/4 x 44 1/4 in. (142.9 x 112.4 cm) video: 2 min, 51 sec.
MediumArchival pigment print from wet plate collodion scan, black and white video with sound