“ Sixkiller's "Cancer Sticks" is an artful provocation defused by humor.”
— Alex Frick @ Lifestyle Olympic Peninsula
LINK to full Article (pages 14-17)
Karen Sixkiller wins Percival Plinth sculpture contest with Ember 2
By Lorilyn Lirio
The public has spoken, and the people have chosen a winner. The Olympia Arts Commission voted to recommend Karen Sixkiller's Ember 2 as the 2024 People's Choice Award winner.
The recommendation will be forwarded to the Olympia City Council on Sept. 10 for consideration and approval.
At the Arts Commission meeting on Thursday, Aug. 8, Stephanie Johnson, the city's Arts Program manager, presented the recommendation as determined by public vote for the 2024 Percival Plinth Project, which featured 17 sculpture entries from regional artists.
The Percival Plinth Project is an annual loan exhibition of up to 18 sculptures on Percival Landing, where pieces are borrowed from artists. Each sculptor receives a $1,000 honorarium, and the People's Choice Award winner receives $10,000 for the sculpture, which the city purchases.
The People's Choice Award winner emerges via public voting, which ran from July 1 through 30 through Engage Olympia.
Johnson said there were 661 votes cast this year, which was a significant increase from the previous year's 212.
The vote was very close, with only a 0.5% spread between the top two sculptures. The winner – Sixkiller's Ember 2 - received 16.5% of the votes, while the runner-up – Jennifer Strassel's The Dungie - received 16.0% of the votes.
Sixkiller's winning artwork, Ember 2, depicts a bronze spider emerging from a steel web. The central figure carries a red crystal sphere, symbolizing the legendary fire she brought to the mainland in Cherokee traditional stories.
Johnson shared some comments praising the thought-provoking spider art representing the First Peoples.
Johnson mentioned that some people came all the way from Zurich, Switzerland to visit the U.S. specifically for the Percival Plinth Project and to participate in the voting process. "They came to Olympia to add to the travels and to see the work and participate in the program. It's an opportunity for Olympia to be engaged in a wider community," she remarked.
Artist in Action: Fire Bearer
For Sixkiller, the outdoor piece exemplifies empowerment. “Everyone thought the spider was too little and weak, but it’s the underdogs who can work and move in ways that change the world.” The Washington state resident, who also goes by the name k6, says her goal is “to surprise people, get them asking questions and [to] share cultural understanding.”
University of Illinois Alumni Magazine.
By Leslie Goldman. Winter 2022
FIRE BEARER Cherokee artist Karen Sixkiller reimagines Native legends A CHEROKEE LEGEND tells of ancient animals praying for warmth to survive the winter on their island. Unetlanvhi (“the Creator”) answered by striking a tree with lightning, setting it on fire. After several bigger, stronger and faster animals failed to capture the first sparks, a water spider stepped up to catch the fire in a pot she made for it and bring it back to the other animals. That tiny but mighty arachnid inspired Karen Sixkiller, MA ’12 LAS, to create “Ember,” a sculpted bronze spider peering down from a seven-foot-high web, a red crystal sphere resting in a bronze pot on her back, representing the fire she captured. For Sixkiller, the outdoor piece exemplifies empowerment. “Everyone thought the spider was too little and weak, but it’s the underdogs who can work and move in ways that change the world,” she says. Plus, she says, “I like that she’s a chick.” Her works strive to represent the underrepresented. “Who Controls the Board?”, a handcrafted porcelain chess set, drives home the intersection of modern-day school shootings and the ongoing discovery of Indian boarding school burial sites. Sociopolitical commentary also is infused into “Cancer Sticks,” her skull-emblazoned beaded cigarettes, as well as “Echo Chamber,” a beaded-suede smartphone case featuring a mouth full of fake teeth and cultured pearls screaming, “False wisdom” on one side and a pooping Twitter bird on the other. The Washington state resident, who also goes by the name k6, says her goal is “to surprise people, get them asking questions and [to] share cultural understanding.” She adds, “For so many people, Native Americans are in the past. We’re from the John Wayne Western era. But we’re still alive and evolving, just like everyone else, and we have perspectives on modern issues informed by our cultures.” —LESLIE GOLDMAN
Peninsula News
July 16, 2022 “New Sixkiller Seen on the Peninsula”
A new Sixkiller seen on Peninsula
Cherokee artist’s sculpture on view at Port Angeles Fine Arts Center
Andrew Jackson as Hitler:
Published in the Peninsula Daily News: Written 11-4-2014
Jackson vs. Hitler
I used the article and Sheila's daughter's website to teach my senior seminar on Nazi Germany today. The task was to compare the 1904-9 genocide of Germany against the Herero and Namibia to the Holocaust.
They compared that to the parallels between German atrocities to the Trail of Tears and inevitably contemporary American policies that kill thousands came up as well.
It all feeds into the current academic debate over the Holocaust namely intentionalism v. structuralism/functionalism. Here's the wiki primer:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functionalism_versus_intentionalism
Shiela's daughter, Karen Sixkiller, whether she knows the jargon or not, is clearly the current MVP for team structuralism with her powerful piece called 'Hindsight is 20-20.' It opened a lot of eyes and got the fire going, The kids had a frank and useful discussion that spilled over at the end of the period into lunch.
I'm looking forward to more tomorrow - and perhaps a future where my students will recognize this stuff happening again and will have the fortitude to oppose it.
Thanks to Karen, Sheila, and you for making me and by extension my students aware of it.
Danke to you both!
I used the article and Sheila's daughter's website to teach my senior seminar on Nazi Germany today. The task was to compare the 1904-9 genocide of Germany against the Herero and Namibia to the Holocaust.
They compared that to the parallels between German atrocities to the Trail of Tears and inevitably contemporary American policies that kill thousands came up as well.
It all feeds into the current academic debate over the Holocaust namely intentionalism v. structuralism/functionalism. Here's the wiki primer:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functionalism_versus_intentionalism
Shiela's daughter, Karen Sixkiller, whether she knows the jargon or not, is clearly the current MVP for team structuralism with her powerful piece called 'Hindsight is 20-20.' It opened a lot of eyes and got the fire going, The kids had a frank and useful discussion that spilled over at the end of the period into lunch.
I'm looking forward to more tomorrow - and perhaps a future where my students will recognize this stuff happening again and will have the fortitude to oppose it.
Thanks to Karen, Sheila, and you for making me and by extension my students aware of it.
Danke to you both!