Paris, June Fourth, Fifth, & Sixth, Two Thousand & Six features 77 black and white photographs that Vancouver artist Dana Claxton made during a short, three-day visit to Paris, France. Initially conceived as a document of “Indians” as a prevalent cultural trope within the Parisian cityscape, Claxton’s photographic journey subsequently grew into a larger and more diverse portrait of the city’s urban life, a journey now compiled into this provocative publication. Claxton – who is of Hunkpapa Lakota ancestry – has been investigating the impact of colonialism on Aboriginal cultures throughout North America, and her innovative works readdressing the concerns and realities of contemporary Aboriginal peoples are recognized for their bold aesthetics and political punch. Her work is a powerful meditation on how representations and stereotypes of First Nations have been constructed and commodified, both historically and throughout contemporary popular culture.
Dana Claxton (b.1959, Yorkton, Saskatchewan) has been an influential teacher at Emily Carr University, University of Regina, Simon Fraser University and is now a faculty member at the University of British Columbia. Claxton is participating in the landmark exhibition The Plains Indians: Artists of Earth and Sky, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC (2015). She has participated in the exhibition Beat Nation, a survey of contemporary Aboriginal art, which travelled from the Vancouver Art Gallery, (2012) to The Power Plant, Toronto, (2012), and Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, (2013). Other presentations include the 17th Biennale of Sydney, 2010; the Biennale of Montréal, 2007, Magnetic North at the Walker Art Centre, Minneapolis, 2000, and Walking with the Ancients at MoMA, New York, 1994. Claxton was awarded the prestigious VIVA Award from the Doris and Jack Shadbolt Foundation in 2001. Her work is included in the public collections of the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Vancouver Art Gallery and Winnipeg Art Gallery. She is the recipient of the 10th Annual 2020 Scotiabank Photography Award.
Hardcover
108 pages
Designed by Derek Barnett
Printed by Die Keure, Belgium
Edition of 500
2014