Jimmie Durham | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Durham in 2012 | |
| Born | Jimmie Bob Durham[1] (1940-07-10)July 10, 1940 Houston, Texas, US |
| Died | November 17, 2021(2021-11-17) (aged 81) |
| Education | École des Beaux-Arts, Switzerland |
| Known for | Sculpture, poetry,installation art |
| Style | Postmodernism |
Jimmie Bob Durham (July 10, 1940 – November 17, 2021) was an Americansculptor,essayist andpoet. He was active in the United States in thecivil rights movements of African Americans and Native Americans in the 1960s and 1970s, serving on the central council of theAmerican Indian Movement (AIM). He returned to working at art while living in New York City. His work has been extensively exhibited. Durham also received the Günther-Peill-Preis (2003),[2] the Foundation for Contemporary Arts Robert Rauschenberg Award (2017),[3] and the58th Venice Biennale's Golden Lion for lifetime achievement (2019).[4]
He long claimed to beCherokee but that claim has been denied by tribal representatives: "Durham is neither enrolled nor eligible for citizenship in any of the three federally-recognized and historical Cherokee Tribes: theEastern Band of Cherokee Indians, theUnited Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians of Oklahoma, and theCherokee Nation."[5] He had "no known ties to any Cherokee community".[6]
Jimmie Durham was born on July 10, 1940,[7] inHouston,[8]Harris County, Texas,[1] although he claimed he was born inNevada County, Arkansas,[9] orWashington,Hempstead County, Arkansas.[10] His parents were Jerry Loren Durham and Ethel Pauline Simmons Durham,[1] both born inArkansas and buried inTexas.
In the 1960s Durham became active in theater, performance and literature related to thecivil rights movement in the 1960s.[11] In 1965 he moved toAustin, where he worked at theUniversity of Texas at Austin and started exhibiting his work. His first solo exhibition in Austin was in 1965.[10] In 1969 Durham moved toGeneva, Switzerland, where he studied at L'École des Beaux-Arts[citation needed].[10][11]
In 1973, Durham returned to the United States and became involved with theAmerican Indian Movement (AIM).[11] From 1973 until 1980 he worked as a political organizer with AIM, becoming a member of the movement's Central Council and representing himself as Native American. Usually he claimed to be Cherokee[6] and wrote on behalf of the organization.[12]
In 1974, he attendedInternational Indian Treaty Council (IITC) conference at theStanding Rock Indian Reservation.[13] He later became chief administrator of the IITC[13][14][15] and worked toward theUnited Nations granting the IITC status as a "Category IInongovernmental organization observer and consultant under theEconomic and Social Council."[14] Durham befriendedWinona LaDuke (White Earth Ojibwe) and encouraged her activism.[16]Paul Chaat Smith (Comanche) and Durham resigned from the IITC and AIM in 1979 over disagreements about AIM's support of Cuba and other Soviet allies.[17]
After moving toNew York City, Durham focused his attention to visual art. He created sculptures that challenged conventional representations of North American Indians. He exhibited and published essays frequently. From 1981 to 1983 he directed theFoundation for the Community of Artists in New York.[10] In 1983West End Press publishedColumbus Day, a book of his poems. His poetry was included inHarper's Anthology of 20th Century Native American Poetry (1988).[18]
In 1987, Durham moved toCuernavaca, Mexico.[11] During his time in Mexico, Durham exhibited widely, including at theWhitney Biennial,documenta IX,Institute of Contemporary Arts,London;Exit Art, theMuseum of Modern Art, Antwerp; and thePalais des Beaux-Arts,Brussels. He also published a number of essays in periodicals, includingArt Forum,Art Journal (CAA), andThird Text. In 1993, a collection of his essays,A Certain Lack of Coherence, was published by Kala Press.[citation needed]
After several years in Mexico, Durham moved to Europe in 1994, initially relocating toBerlin and thenNaples. Thereafter, he focused primarily on the relationship between architecture, monumentality, and national narratives. His anti-architectural sculptures, performances, and videos seek to liberate architecture's privileged material, stone, from its metaphorical associations with monumentality, stability and permanence. His exhibitions in Europe have included venues such as theKunstverein in Hamburg [de],FRAC inReims,Haus Wittgenstein inVienna,Kunstverein München, and theVenice Biennale, among many others. He participated inA Grain of Dust A Drop of Water: The 5thGwangju Biennale in 2004. In 2005 Durham co-curated with Richard William HillThe American West, an attack on cowboy and Indian mythology, atCompton Verney, United Kingdom. In 2006 he also had various works displayed at theSerralves Foundation, inPorto,Portugal. In 2009, a permanent public art piece by Durham,Serpentine rouge, was installed inIndre, France, along theLoire River. In 2010 Durham presented hisRocks Encouraged in thePortikus exhibition hall inFrankfurt am Main,Germany.[19] In 2016 he was awarded theGoslarer Kaiserring.[20]
In 1995Phaidon Press publishedJimmie Durham, a comprehensive survey of his art, with contributions byLaura Mulvey, Dirk Snauwaert, and Mark Alice Durant.[citation needed]
In 2003, a retrospective of his work, titledFrom the West Pacific to the East Atlantic, was shown at MAC inMarseille, France, and atGEM inThe Hague, The Netherlands.[citation needed]
In 2009, Durham had a retrospective titledPierre Rejetées... atMusée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris inParis, France.[citation needed]
In 2012, another retrospective,A Matter of Life and Death and Singing, curated by Bart De Baere and Anders Kreuger, was shown atMuHKA inAntwerp, Belgium.[citation needed]
In 2017 the retrospectiveJimmie Durham: At the Center of the World, curated byAnne Ellegood, opened at theHammer Museum inLos Angeles and traveled to theWalker Art Center inMinneapolis, theWhitney Museum of American Art inNew York City, andRemai Modern inSaskatoon.[1] The retrospective reignited debate about Durham's claims of Cherokee ancestry.[21]
Durham claimed to be quarter-blood Cherokee and to have grown up in a Cherokee-speaking community.[1] He was raised in Texas,Louisiana, andOklahoma, as his father traveled looking for work.[9] According to Cherokee lawyer, justice and law professorSteve Russell, Durham was among the "professional posers" who masquerade as Cherokee andNative American for the purposes of career advancement. Durham is described as having "made a career of beingCherokee with no known ties to any Cherokee community, although he has claimed to be WolfClan and to have been raised with Cherokee as a first language."[6]
In June 2017, ten Cherokee tribal representatives, artists, and scholars published an open letter about Durham, titled, "Dear Unsuspecting Public, Jimmie Durham Is a Trickster - Jimmie Durham's indigenous identity has always been a fabrication and remains one":[5]
Durham is neither enrolled nor eligible for citizenship in any of the three federally-recognized and historical Cherokee Tribes: theEastern Band of Cherokee Indians, theUnited Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians of Oklahoma, and theCherokee Nation. These false claims are harmful as they misrepresent Native people, undermine tribal sovereignty, and trivialize the important work by legitimate Native artists and cultural leaders.[5]
They went on to state that by claiming to exhibit his work as a Cherokee person, Durham is in violation of theIndian Arts and Crafts Act.[5]
Some institutions hosted events to discuss these issues, such as theWalker Art Center inMinneapolis[22] and theWhitney Museum of American Art in New York City.[23]
Durham died on November 17, 2021, in Berlin, Germany, at the age of 81.[24]
Durham is neither enrolled nor eligible for citizenship in any of the three federally-recognized and historical Cherokee Tribes: theEastern Band of Cherokee Indians, theUnited Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians of Oklahoma, and theCherokee Nation.
Jimmie Durham, A Certain Lack of Coherence: Writings on Art and Cultural Politics, edited by Jean Fisher, published by Kala Press / Third Text, London, 1993, ISBN 0 947753 03 6 (hardback), ISBN 0 947753 04 4 (paperback)
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