White Savior Complex, Julie Buffalohead, 2019, Minneapolis Institute of Art: Art of Africa and the Americas
a: black ground two raccoons, one stands on his hind legs and holds to small doll figures and one lies on its back wearing jewelry and holding a pair of dead birds that have a tag with "Good Intentions" hanging on them; applique along bottom in copper, white and magenta pink b: black ground; female figure lying on her back wearing a red dress with a grey coyote standing on top of her with a bird on a string dangling from its mouth; applique along bottom in copper, white and magenta pink A woman in a burgundy dress lies on her back, with an attentive coyote standing on top of her. This paper cut-out woman is placed upon jet black paper with a ribbonwork design adorning the bottom. Ribbonwork, created with imported silk ribbons from Europe and stitched onto wool, is a unique art form created by women in Osage, Ponca, and other communities across the North American prairie. To the left, a string connects the woman to two fat raccoons. One is comfortably lounging on his back; he wears a bear-claw necklace and holds ribbonwork in his paw. The other raccoon stands upright, grasping stick figures of the Lone Ranger, a hero of TV and movie westerns, and a well-groomed white woman holding a cell phone and clasping a fancy purse.
Size: 52 × 124 1/2 in. (264.16 × 316.23 cm) 52 × 60 in. (132.08 × 152.4 cm) (object part, a) 52 × 64 1/2 in. (132.08 × 163.83 cm) (object part, b)
Medium: Acrylic, graphite, and collage on Lokta paper
