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Canoe (Drawing in Willow)
Truman Lowe (Native American, Ho-Chunk (Winnebago), 1944–2019)
Native American, Ho-Chunk (Winnebago)
2009
Medium/Technique
Peeled willow sticks and bark
Dimensions
Overall: 76.2 × 252.1 × 6.4 cm (30 × 99 1/4 × 2 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
John Wheelock Elliot and John Morse Elliot Fund and Harriet Otis Cruft Fund
Accession Number2022.1802
NOT ON VIEW
ClassificationsSculpture
Truman Lowe (Ho-Chunk, 1944-2019), an important artist, art professor, and the first curator of contemporary art at the National Museum of the American Indian. Lowe's work, Canoe (Drawing in Willow) (2009) displays the sculptural and installation work for which he is most known.
Ho-Chunk territory in the state of Wisconsin is marked by the meeting of rivers and the canoe is a powerful symbol for Lowe as a form that had been relatively unchanged since colonization and could fulfil its purpose while being beautiful and symbolic of both women and men in its shape and purpose. This particular piece demonstrates Lowe’s thoughtfulness in his sculptural work, as it is both a “drawing in willow” using willow pieces to cast shadows that form a line drawing on the wall behind it, and a recognizable canoe shape.
Ho-Chunk territory in the state of Wisconsin is marked by the meeting of rivers and the canoe is a powerful symbol for Lowe as a form that had been relatively unchanged since colonization and could fulfil its purpose while being beautiful and symbolic of both women and men in its shape and purpose. This particular piece demonstrates Lowe’s thoughtfulness in his sculptural work, as it is both a “drawing in willow” using willow pieces to cast shadows that form a line drawing on the wall behind it, and a recognizable canoe shape.
DescriptionHanging sculpture made of small branches
Provenance2019, by inheritance from the artist to his widow, Nancy K. Lowe, Middleton, WI; 2022, Sold by Nancy K. Lowe to the MFA. (Accession date: October 12, 2022)
Copyright© 2022 Truman T. Lowe Estate