Bless All Those Who Walk Here, Chris Pappan

Artwork Overview

Chris Pappan, Bless All Those Who Walk Here
Chris Pappan, Bless All Those Who Walk Here
Chris Pappan
Bless All Those Who Walk Here
2010
Chris Pappan
Cultural affiliations: Osage, Kaw, Cheyenne River Lakota Sioux
born 1971
Bless All Those Who Walk Here, 2010
Where object was made: United States
Material/technique: acrylic; Vans shoes
Dimensions:
Object Height/Width/Length (Height x Width x Length): 9 x 11 x 31 cm each
Object Height/Width/Length (Height x Width x Length): 3 9/16 x 4 5/16 x 12 3/16 in
Credit line: Museum purchase: Peter T. Bohan Art Acquisition Fund
Accession number: 2012.0011.a,b
Not on display
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Images

Label texts

Native Fashion
Through his artwork, Chris Pappan comments on mainstream culture’s distorted view of American Indians and depicts Natives living authentically in the present and future. This pair of Vans shoes reflects his love of skateboarding while honoring his ancestors and culture with portraits of prominent chiefs from the Kaw and Osage Nations. On the heels is a prayer written in the Kaw language.
Roots and Journeys: Encountering Global Arts and Cultures
Many objects now revered for their aesthetic properties once served practical purposes in everyday life. The delicate beadwork and linear painted designs on these moccasins belie a storied history of use and repair; their original rawhide soles were replaced with panels from a repurposed parfleche, or carrying pouch. Contemporary American Indian artists extend the tradition of adorning everyday attire, albeit in reformulated ways. Chris Pappan, for instance, critiques archetypal representations of Native Americans by juxtaposing symbols of modernity, like Vans© sneakers, with painted portraits using what he calls a “low brow pop surrealist” style.
Roots and Journeys: Encountering Global Arts and Cultures
Many objects now revered for their aesthetic properties once served practical purposes in everyday life. The delicate beadwork and linear painted designs on these moccasins belie a storied history of use and repair; their original rawhide soles were replaced with panels from a repurposed parfleche, or carrying pouch. Contemporary American Indian artists extend the tradition of adorning everyday attire, albeit in reformulated ways. Chris Pappan, for instance, critiques archetypal representations of Native Americans by juxtaposing symbols of modernity, like Vans© sneakers, with painted portraits using what he calls a “low brow pop surrealist” style.
Exhibition Label: "Roots and Journeys: Encountering Global Arts and Cultures," Jun-2013, Cassandra Mesick Many objects now revered for their aesthetic properties once served practical purposes in everyday life. The delicate beadwork and linear painted designs on these moccasins belie a storied history of use and repair; their original rawhide soles were replaced with panels from a repurposed parfleche, or carrying pouch. Contemporary American Indian artists extend the tradition of adorning everyday attire, albeit in reformulated ways. Chris Pappan, for instance, critiques archetypal representations of Native Americans by juxtaposing symbols of modernity, like Vans© sneakers, with painted portraits using what he calls a “low brow pop surrealist” style.

Exhibitions

Native Fashion
, curator
Brosseau Center for Learning: Chisholm Trail Middle School
2019
Drawing on Tradition: Kanza Artist Chris Pappan
D. Justin Richland, curator
Alaka Wali, curator
2016–2019
Global and Indigenous Art
Cassandra Mesick, curator
2014–2015
Heartland Reverberations
Nancy Mahaney, curator
2011–2012
Roots and Journeys: Encountering Global Arts and Cultures
Nancy Mahaney, curator
Cassandra Mesick, curator
Celka Straughn, curator
2011–2014

Citations

Kanost, Elizabeth, ed., ed. Spencer Museum of Art Annual Report, Fiscal Years 2016 & 2017. Lawrence, Kansas: Spencer Museum of Art, The University of Kansas, 2018.