When will the Red Leader Overshadow Images of the 19th Century Noble Savage in Hollywood Films that Some Think are Sympathetic to American Indians

Gail Tremblay, When will the Red Leader Overshadow Images of the 19th Century Noble Savage in Hollywood Films that Some Think are Sympathetic to American Indians, 2018, 35mm film from "Windwalker" (1981), red and white film leader, silver braid, 15 12 in. × 14 in. × 14 in. (39.4 × 35.6 × 35.6 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by Ms. Brenda Erickson in honor of the James Renwick Alliance, 2021.11, © 2018, Gail E. Tremblay

Artwork Details

Title
When will the Red Leader Overshadow Images of the 19th Century Noble Savage in Hollywood Films that Some Think are Sympathetic to American Indians
Date
2018
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
15 12 in. × 14 in. × 14 in. (39.4 × 35.6 × 35.6 cm)
Copyright
© 2018, Gail E. Tremblay
Credit Line
Museum purchase made possible by Ms. Brenda Erickson in honor of the James Renwick Alliance
Mediums
Mediums Description
35mm film from "Windwalker" (1981), red and white film leader, silver braid
Classifications
Subjects
  • Indian
  • Abstract
Object Number
2021.11

Artwork Description

This basket is filled with meaning, from the title to the color choice and type of stitch. It incorporates 35mm film from the 1981 western Windwalker, in which one Native American tribe is portrayed as noble and the other as villainous. The red film leader and the reference to “Red Leader” in the basket’s title symbolize the derogatory term used to describe Native Americans. Gail Tremblay twists the film into a prickly porcupine stitch. Often using movies and documentaries with Native characters and storylines, the artist notes, “I enjoyed the notion of recycling film and gaining control over a medium that had historically been used by Hollywood and documentary filmmakers to stereotype American Indians.”


This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World, 2022

Works by this artist (1 item)

Christine Sun Kim, One Week of Lullabies for Roux, 2018, seven tracks, sound, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2020.79.1, © 2018 Christine Sun Kim. Courtesy of the artist and François Ghebaly, Los Angeles
One Week of Lullabies for Roux
Date2018
seven tracks, sound
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

Joseph Hardin, Untitled (figure at Table, View of Legs), ca. 1978, colored pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1997.124.111
Untitled (figure at Table, View of Legs)
Dateca. 1978
colored pencil on paper
Not on view
William Zorach, (Untitled--Child's Head), 1925, pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift from the collection of the Zorach children, 1976.145.8
(Untitled – Child’s Head)
Date1925
pencil on paper
Not on view
Michael Clark, Classic Series, 1970, pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Fendrick, 1980.131.3
Classic Series
Date1970
pencil on paper
Not on view
Study for the Pushover
Date1981
pencil on paper
Not on view