Lectures, exhibit feature Native American artist

HOCK E AYE VI Edgar Heap of Birds, a Cheyenne-Arapaho artist who has exhibited and lectured around the world, will present two talks at Kenyon next week in conjunction with an exhibition in the Olin Gallery.

Heap of Birds will discuss his work, including the recent collaborative project "Eagles Speak", on Thursday, September 9, at 7:30 p.m., in Higley Auditorium. Earlier in the day, in a Common Hour presentation at 11:10 a.m. in Olin Auditorium, Heap of Birds will be joined by his University of Oklahoma colleague, Associate Professor of English Robert Warrior, to discuss the artist's sculpture Wheel.

The Olin Gallery exhibit, featuring "Eagles Speak", will run from Thursday, August 26, through Saturday, September 25.

Heap of Birds, who teaches in the departments of both art and Native American studies at the University of Oklahoma, creates work that draws attention to living native culture and the impact of history on the contemporary relationship between native and mainstream societies. Some of his works use public forms such as billboards to examine racist language.

"Eagles Speak" incorporates the work of Heap of Birds as well as work by artists Thembinkosi Goniwe of South Africa, Narragansett/Wampanoag Cynthia Ross-Meeks, and Tall Oak, a Mashantucket/Pequot/Wampanoag. The title refers to the Cheyenne view of the eagle's role as a messenger and leader. Wheel, a large outdoor sculpture that was commissioned by the Denver Art Museum, deals with the natural and political history of the region including Colorado. It was inspired by the traditional medicine wheel found in the Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming.

A graduate of the University of Kansas, Heap of Birds holds an M.F.A. degree from Temple University. He has exhibited his work in Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, and South Africa, as well as in American cities including New York, San Francisco, and Santa Fe. Visiting lectureships have taken him to countries in Africa, Asia, and Europe.

Sponsors of this event include Kenyon's Faculty Lectureships Committee, the departments of art, English, and history, the Robert P. Hubbard Professorship in Poetry, and the Office of Multicultural Affairs. The lecture and exhibit are free and open to the public.