Jim Denomie (Ojibwa, Lac Courte Oreilles Band), Eminent Domain: A Brief History of America, 2011. Oil paint on canvas; 84 x 144 in. Denver Art Museum: Native Arts acquisition funds, 2013.67. © Jim Denomie
 

height: 84 in, 213.3600 cm; width: 144 in, 365.7600 cm

Native Arts

Indigenous Arts of North America

In this monumentally scaled painting the artist examines well-known events in American history using his bold narrative and often cartoon-like style.

Look closely at this map of the United States to see more than one hundred images depicting such events as:
- Osama Bin Laden as King Kong scaling the Twin Towers
- Christopher Columbus arriving in three UPS trucks
- Mt. Rushmore with pop culture icons
- Abraham Lincoln observing the assassination of John F. Kennedy
- The bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City
- Civil War battles
- Tonto and the Lone Ranger

Each event is depicted in roughly the geographic location in which it occurred with Denomie's characteristic biting wit as he presents a conflicted national history. 

Created by the artist, 2011; (Bockley Gallery) Minneapolis, MN, before 2013; Purchased by the Denver Art Museum, 2013.

• “Counting Coup”—Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, Santa Fe, NM, 8/19/2011 - 12/31/2011