as small as a world and as large as alone, terresauvage: Shelley Niro The Iroquois is a...

9:29pm June 8, 2013

terresauvage:

Shelley Niro
The Iroquois is a Highly Developed Matriarchal Society, 1992; Mohawks in Beehives series
From Larry Abbott

Another hand-colored photograph in this series is “The Iroquois Is a Highly Developed Matriarchal Society.” The triptych reveals the photographer’s smiling mother in her kitchen beneath a hair dryer. On the surface it is a playful image of the simple dailiness of living. Her mother is caught au naturel, unposed. The shots are framed on black mat, into which are inscribed Iroquoian beadwork symbols. This triptych in particular stands deliberately at odds with Edward Curtis’ and others’ depiction of “the Native,” which generally portrayed the Indian unnaturally, a reflection of the photographers’ needs and preconceptions.
Beyond this, though, the photograph raises questions about certain aspects of contemporary Iroquois life. On one hand, Niro has written that the photograph “is a play on anthropological notions. It is one of those sentences that I have heard all my life. I wanted to make fun of the acceptance of what other people say about the society that I come from.”
However, she goes on to write:
“Since I come from a reserve where domestic violence is high, I wanted to ask, “If we are a matriarchal society why does all this violence happen? Why doesn’t anyone put a stop to it and really make our society a matriarchal society?”

Shelley Niro

The Iroquois is a Highly Developed Matriarchal Society, 1992; Mohawks in Beehives series

From Larry Abbott

Another hand-colored photograph in this series is “The Iroquois Is a Highly Developed Matriarchal Society.” The triptych reveals the photographer’s smiling mother in her kitchen beneath a hair dryer. On the surface it is a playful image of the simple dailiness of living. Her mother is caught au naturel, unposed. The shots are framed on black mat, into which are inscribed Iroquoian beadwork symbols. This triptych in particular stands deliberately at odds with Edward Curtis’ and others’ depiction of “the Native,” which generally portrayed the Indian unnaturally, a reflection of the photographers’ needs and preconceptions.

Beyond this, though, the photograph raises questions about certain aspects of contemporary Iroquois life. On one hand, Niro has written that the photograph “is a play on anthropological notions. It is one of those sentences that I have heard all my life. I wanted to make fun of the acceptance of what other people say about the society that I come from.”

However, she goes on to write:

“Since I come from a reserve where domestic violence is high, I wanted to ask, “If we are a matriarchal society why does all this violence happen? Why doesn’t anyone put a stop to it and really make our society a matriarchal society?”