The Tests of Time: An Examination of Contemporary Indigenous Artwork on Display in Southern Museums

Author

Gwendolyn R. Pfrenger, University of MississippiFollow

Date of Award

Spring 5-10-2025

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Department

Art and Art History

First Advisor

Kariann Fuqua

Second Advisor

Kris Belden-Adams

Third Advisor

April Holm

Relational Format

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

This paper examines current practices in three Southern museums of varying sizes and missions as they relate to the curation and display of Indigenous art. Specifically, the paper aims to investigate the place of contemporary Native art in art and anthropology museums: How does display vary across the two disciplines? What is its role, now that cultural institutions are becoming more progressive and making a stronger push toward representing artists from minority groups? This is a fairly new area of study, especially for art history, so much of what is discussed here is drawn from art historians, anthropologists, and museum professionals who have written on the issue from a broader standpoint. It is largely agreed that historic Indigenous artists have been left anonymous for a long time, that they have been idealized as extinct myths or completely erased from current history, but that museums of the twenty-first century are making a concerted effort to represent more living artists whose work is in direct conversation with the world around them and their experiences as individuals. This thesis argues that some Southern museums are making progressive changes to their exhibits by interpreting contemporary Indigenous art from multiple angles, showcasing the plurality of the artists’ identities and interests while also informing visitors about cultural practices and artistic techniques. This creates a more interdisciplinary and individually focused method of display. An especially significant choice by curators in these three museums is to display and discuss aspects of artists’ identities and interests beyond indigeneity: Queerness, science, and comic books all exist within these artists’ expressions of themselves.

These practices are important because they bridge relationships across cultures, thus increasing potential for communication and finding common ground while also showing the value of unique experiences. Such relationships can help undo the damage dealt by museum exhibits of the past. What I have found by visiting these museums and reading books, scholarly articles, and related news sources is that all three museums have common practices: linking contemporary art with traditional art and practices, communicating with the artists and cultures whose work they are displaying, educating visitors, and emphasizing the importance of keeping conversations about Native peoples in the present, not the past. The first case study stands as a point of comparison: An anthropology museum that has not taken as many steps away from outdated display methods as it should. The second and third case studies, however, generally place art and artist at the center of their interpretations to build their message about Indigenous cultures: Their object labels focus on specifics in order for viewers to develop a more nuanced understanding of these cultures and the individuals within them.

These findings provide insight into what is happening on a national level, focusing in on these regional museums as test pieces for what could potentially be a larger series of studies.

Recommended Citation

Pfrenger, Gwendolyn R., "The Tests of Time: An Examination of Contemporary Indigenous Artwork on Display in Southern Museums" (2025). Honors Theses. 3295.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/3295

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.