Interior Luminosity and Native American Art

Right click to download mp3  Right click to download m4b AudioBook  Duration: 32 minutes  Originally published: April 2003

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Critics have long regarded Sara Bates as one of the most significant of contemporary Native American artists. A Wolf-Clan Cherokee, Sara is renowned for her "Honoring Circles," spontaneously created mandala-like artworks often reaching 12 feet or more in diameter, exquisitely rendered on the ground with natural materials such as shells, pine cones, feathers, and rocks. (See above for one example.)

But what makes Bates' work so significant is not merely its "Cherokeeness," but its "humanness." As one of her brochures puts it, "Many artists draw from history to tell a story of their particular reality as an American Indian or a woman or an artist within the milieu of art history. They go to great pains to describe what sets them apart from other individuals [ethnocentric identity]. Bates has chosen instead to use the history and philosophy of her heritage as an American Indian and, more particularly, a member of the Cherokee Nation, to talk about how similar we are and to describe our interconnectedness...."

The dialogue opens with Sara discussing why and how she was able to "buck the trend of ethnocentric over-celebration" and find—in addition to ethnic roots—a universal spiritual luminosity or Light. It is this worldcentric Light, says Bates, that points to the way beyond limited, partial, and fragmented identity politics. Ironically, it is an over-emphasis on ethnocentric identity that obscures the Light for so many. Sara moves to a discussion of Native American spirituality and, in particular, its numerous distortions and romanticizations. Nowhere have Indians been more exploited than in the "noble savage" myths that are rampant today, and, sadly, "Our tribe—all of the tribes—have people exploiting their own culture." She particularly mentions the "road men"—those Indians who, "the farther they get away from the reservation, the holier they become," offering the white man what the white man wants to hear.

What cannot be exploited, however, is the Light. "It is the most profound thing I know, what I have devoted my life and my art to."

Sara has been plagued with some physical health issues, which she and Ken briefly discuss. But what shines through the physical frailty is an unwavering spiritual knowing and luminous presence. As Ken says, Sara is an inspiration to all of us.....

Text by Colin Bigelow