#damcreative

Gregg Deal is a man of many talents and interests. He is a contemporary artist whose work tackles charged subjects like identity, cultural appropriation, and stereotypes-- to name only a few. He does not limit himself to a particular medium, but instead chooses the medium which will best communicate his point. 

These photos, for example, capture Deal during a performance art piece called “Ethnographic Zoo” in which he dons a headdress and chestplate and sits outside the Denver Art Museum. These items along with others represent stereotypical views about contemporary, indigenous identity. The irony is that these pieces (and others) were all made in China. This all too prolific image is not real now, nor has it ever been. It’s a social construct that Deal’s work strives to dismantle from the inside out. 

Come meet Deal at the DAM today at 1pm to hear about his practice and work first hand at “Insider Moment.”  If you can’t make it today, then come to our Untitled: Final Friday event on January 29th from 6-10pm to see his new performance piece “White Indian.” 

Check out his responses to our DAMCreative questions below to learn more about him and his residency at the DAM.

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What will you be doing at the Denver Art Museum?

I will be doing a three part performance piece called White Indian. Each segment will pertain to the way Western Culture interacts with Indigenous culture, as well as how we are perceived because of it, but also how we perceive ourselves. It will be mostly spoken word, meant to be funny, sad and serious all at once. The first segment will be about White Indians, because we all know white folks make the best Indians. Kevin Costner, Daniel Day Lewis and Johnny Depp to name a few. The second piece is about Indigenous people and pop-culture. The final piece is the most important that is about the way (as a result of the previous two), Indigenous people are essentially raised by western culture. In this final piece, I will be receiving a live tattoo in around a performance piece about blood quantum. The issue alone is a pretty incredible one as it is literally used to quantify Indigenous people both socially and federally, thus creating ramifications that have lasted for generations. 

How would you describe your work?

I’m a contemporary artist working in a variety of mediums. I am an Indigenous person, and many might label me as an Indian Artist. Being Indians isn’t a niche, but simply what I am. My voice in my work is decidedly Indigenous, to be sure, but I am a contemporary artist that is Indigenous. Much of my work deals with identity, decolonization, appropriation, historical context and stereotype. 

What inspires you?

Honestly, everything does. I spend a lot of time listening to music, watching movies, reading books. Me being a parent helps keep things interesting too. I am moved by critical thought and new ideas within old ones. That sounds way more boring that it is. Everything is moving, to be honest. Always thinking, always looking, always searching. I love old stuff, especially old Indian Americana, but I love new ways of looking at things too and reinventing concepts for today. As an artist that wields indigeneity, it all becomes pretty powerful. 

What is your favorite spot in Denver?

You know, I just moved here, so my time in Denver proper has been somewhat limited. I’ve been hard at work at the DAM, so in many ways it has been my home away from home. I do love Denver University, but college campuses are always filled with such a great spirit among students. I do love the downtown area and the surrounding area of the DAM. Cities always inspire me. 

What is your favorite artwork or collection in the Denver Art Museum?

Denver based Photographer Bill Adams doesn’t shy away from a challenge. Adams meticulously crafts each photograph, building layers upon layers of photographs in a meta mind explosion that can take years to complete. A consummate craftsman and a photographic wizard, Bill’s images are made completely in-camera, without relying on Photoshop & digital composite techniques. Theatrical in nature and filled with excitement, Adam’s self portraits are a spectacle to be seen. To learn more about Bill’s process and extensive portfolio, visit his website.

What will you be doing at the Denver Art Museum?

For the Untitled event “Flip Side,” on October 30th, I’ll be talking about a photograph that I created, which is inspired by a painting attributed to Antonio (sometimes Antonis) Mor, entitled Portrait of a Man as Saint Sebastian, from 1554-60. I created a turntable so that I can photograph a scene from multiple angles, which allows the viewer to see both the front and back of a painting that a Renaissance or Baroque artist is creating.

How would you describe your work?

Most of my work is dramatically different from the piece I’ll be discussing at “Untitled.” Usually I make large, humorous color photographs of elaborately staged scenes in which I play numerous different characters. I typically work on these complex sets for several years, and make successive versions of the same image. Most of the characters are actually photographs mounted on cardboard, and placed within a physical set. The set is then photographed with a 4x5” or 8x10” view camera, enlarged optically, and developed in a chromogenic processor.

Many of the scenes depict film sets, premieres, and other spectacles. The shifting identifications and points of view revolve around issues of voyeurism, perspective, and power. Some of these illusory characters are staging their own simulations, which mimic my own. In Dead Eye, for example, the film’s killer’s point-of-view shot mirrors the point of view of the victim, through whose “dead” eye we are looking.

What is your favorite spot in the Denver area?

We live very close to Crown Hill Park in Lakewood, and we love to walk, bike, or scoot around the lake with our kids.

What is your favorite artwork or collection in the Denver Art Museum?