Nature

Nature

2015
Artist
Cannupa Hanska Luger, Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, American, Lakota, 1979
Born: North Dakota
Work Locations: Santa Fe, NM
Culture
Mandan | Hidatsa | Arikara | Lakota
Object
sculpture
Medium
Clay, steel, and wool
Accession Number
2016.31A-G
Credit Line
Gift from Vicki and Kent Logan to the Collection of the Denver Art Museum

Cannupa Hanska Luger (Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, Lakota and European), Nature, 2015. Clay, steel, and wool; 103 x 48 x 40 in. Denver Art Museum: Gift from Vicki and Kent Logan, 2016.31A-D. © Cannupa Hanska Luger 

Dimensions
height: 103 in, 261.6200 cm; width: 48 in, 121.9200 cm; length: 40 in, 101.6000 cm
Department
Native Arts
Collection
Indigenous Arts of North America

As a person with rich cultural heritage - Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, Lakota, Austrian, and Norwegian - Cannupa Hanska Luger’s large ceramic work focus on tackling themes of identity in the 21st century. On “Nature,” the artist said, “I wanted her to be above us all. She’s like the giving tree. No matter how much you take and take and take, she’s just going to keep going. She’s going to outlast you. She’s built out of three essential pillars: steel, clay, and textiles. Her hair is made of unspun wool like a predecessor. She has a masculine posturing pulled from a muay thai defensive stance, with feminine aspects as well, just to blur the idea of sexuality with mother nature. The aspect of her being steel and transparent is a process which allows us to recognize that she is a part of everything. You can see through her, but you’re not actually seeing through her. You’re just seeing that she is a part of everything. She’s open and protected. Animal and human. Not existing in any certain time or place other than right now.” (Cannupa Hanska Luger’s website, accessed March 7, 2016; http://www.cannupahanska.com/nature-nurture-2015/qhfpusigzo7uit5fv40jprb4cmach5) 

Cannupa Hanska Luger was born in North Dakota, on the Standing Rock Reservation. A graduate of the Institute of American Indian Arts, in 2011, with a BFA in studio ceramics.

Known Provenance
Made by the artist, 2015; (Blue Rain Gallery), Santa Fe, NM, 2015; Purchased by Vicki and Kent Logan, 2015; Gifted to the Denver Art Museum, 2016.
Exhibition History
  • “Each/ Other: Marie Watt and Cannupa Hanska Luger” — Denver Art Museum, 5/23/2021 – 8/22/2020