Transcending traditional notions of Native American art
Whether in a somber National Portrait Gallery performance or in her wry takes on Native humor, Anna Tsouhlarakis follows her heart
Anna Tsouhlarakis was a self-described 鈥渕ath and science nerd鈥 in high school, even representing the United States at the International Science and Engineering Fair in her senior year. But while studying at Dartmouth College, she took classes that interested her, particularly studio art and Native American Studies.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 where my heart was, and still is,鈥 Tsouhlarakis said. Math and science nerds might not be expected to love art, but following her heart鈥攁nd contravening stereotypes鈥攚as a wise choice.
In recent years, Tsouhlarakis鈥 art has appeared as a solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver (MCA) and New York City鈥檚 Independent Art Fair, and it has appeared in Switzerland, Greece, Canada and in dozens of other U.S. venues. In 2023, she performed and exhibited her work in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.
Just as she broadened the notion of what might interest a budding scientist, she now transcends stereotypes of what constitutes Native American art. Tsouhlarakis, now an assistant professor of art and art history at CU 糖心Vlog破解版, works in sculpture, installation, video and performance and is of Navajo, Creek and Greek descent.
At the National Portrait Gallery, her work drew on those strengths and backgrounds. There, she performed 鈥淧ortrait of an Indigenous Womxn [Removed],鈥 which commemorated murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls.
![Performance of Anna Tsouhlarakis鈥檚 鈥淧ortrait of an Indigenous Womxn [Removed]鈥 (2023) at the National Portrait Gallery](/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2025-02/NationalPortraitGallery_3.png?itok=dQZzc0H7)
Performance of Anna Tsouhlarakis鈥檚 鈥淧ortrait of an Indigenous Womxn [Removed]鈥 (2023) at the National Portrait Gallery
In 2018, the Urban Indian Health Institute released an extensive study on missing and murdered Indigenous women. As of 2016, there were 5,712 reports of missing American Indian and Alaska Native women, but only 116 were logged into the Department of Justice database, the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.
鈥淚t was shocking to anybody that heard about this, and specifically to Native communities,鈥 Tsouhlarakis said. In a gallery full of images of U.S. presidents and cultural icons, she focused her attention on those who are, to society, largely unseen.
鈥淚 knew there was nobody more important that I could highlight in terms of their story,鈥 Tsouhlarakis observed. Her work featured missing-person posters of Indigenous women. In a video recording of one performance, she carries a sculpture topped with a poster seeking information about Kaysera Stops Pretty Places, who was murdered in 2019 in Montana.
Tsouhlarakis notes that most of her art is not activist, but rather expands upon long-held expectations of Native American art. Her father is a Navajo silversmith, and she grew up going with him to art markets, shows and galleries.
鈥淭here was this expectation of Native art to always be beautiful, and for the aesthetic to be very perfect and for it to be very serious,鈥 she observed, adding that she rebelled against those expectations.
鈥淚 want to make things that question that expectation of Native American art, and for me, humor does that as well.鈥 That humor was evident in her 2023 exhibition titled 鈥淚ndigenous Absurdities,鈥 at MCA Denver.
Tsouhlarakis, mother to three young children, described a key moment in which Native humor seemed an obvious way to frame Native art. While at a powwow in Montana, she overheard two Crow women conversing.
鈥淥ne said, 鈥榊ou never come by to see me,鈥 and the other responded that she didn鈥檛 know where she lived,鈥 Tsouhlarakis told a New York writer. 鈥淭hen, one said that the other didn鈥檛 ever call them, and she said: 鈥榃ell, you don鈥檛 even have a phone.鈥 Then they just burst out laughing鈥攍ike almost falling off the bench.鈥
Such everyday observations underlie textual work like 鈥淗ER FRYBREAD ISN鈥橳 THAT GOOD鈥 and 鈥淗ER BRAIDS ARE ALWAYS TOO LOOSE鈥. Humor, Tsouhlarakis noted, is a good coping mechanism in times of hardship, which Native communities know very well.
Tsouhlarakis鈥 art has been recognized and supported by a host of organizations. This year, she won a Corrina Mehiel Fellowship from S.O.U.R.C.E. Studio and a Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship, and she鈥檚 also been recognized with more than two dozen other awards and fellowships. She also has artist residencies in New Hampshire and Maine this year.
Principal
Anna Tsouhlarakis
Funding
Corrina Mehiel Fellowship from S.O.U.R.C.E. Studio; Creative Capital Foundation; Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship
Collaboration + support
Independent Art Fair, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art Denver; National Portrait Gallery
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Artist transcends traditional notions of Native American art