National Museum of the American Indian George Gustav Heye Center
T.C. Cannon: At the Edge of America
April 6, 2019 – September 16, 2019
One of the most influential, innovative, and talented Native American artists of the 20th-century, T.C. Cannon embodied the activism, cultural transition and creative expression that defined America in the 1960s and 1970s. Cannon’s work—as an artist, poet, and aspiring musician—is deeply personal yet undeniably political, reflecting his cultural heritage, experience as a Vietnam War veteran, and the turbulent social and political period during which he worked. Cannon preferred bold color combinations, mash-ups between Native and non-Native elements and never shied away from the complexity and nuance of identity politics. Cannon interrogated American history and popular culture through his Native lens, and exercised a rigorous mastery of Western art historical tropes while creating an entirely fresh visual vocabulary. T.C. Cannon: At the Edge of America celebrates Cannon’s creative range and artistic legacy through numerous paintings and works on paper, as well as his poetry and music. T.C. Cannon: At the Edge of America is organized by the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts. The exhibition was made possible in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Ellen and Steve Hoffman provided generous support.
T. C. Cannon (1946–1978, Caddo/Kiowa), Two Guns Arikara, 1974–77. Acrylic and oil on canvas. Anne Aberbach and Family, Paradise Valley, Arizona. © 2018 Estate of T. C. Cannon. Photo by Thosh Collins.
