SHE MUST BE A MATRIARCH, 2023. Detail. Fiberglass horse, paint, adhesive, resin, plaster, plastic, wood, foam, metal, IKEA remnants, leather, prophylactics, found objects. Photo courtesy of the artist.

SHE MUST BE A MATRIARCH, 2023. Installation view. Fiberglass horse, paint, adhesive, resin, plaster, plastic, wood, foam, metal, IKEA remnants, leather, prophylactics, found objects. Photo courtesy of the artist.
From left to right: 1. HER BRAIDS ARE ALWAYS TOO LOOSE, 2023. Mixed media on wood panel. 2. SHE THINKS SHE’S TOO GOOD, 2023. Keg, books, foam, wood, tobacco lids, mesh, metal, resin, adhesive, chattering teeth, leather, plaster, IKEA remnants, wood, paint, plastic, found objects. 3. HER FRYBREAD ISN’T THAT GOOD, 2023 Mixed media on wood panel. Photos by Wes Magyar.
SHE COULD BE DEER WOMAN, 2023. Plaster, paint, resin, adhesive, leather, screws, IKEA remnants, artificial sinew, wood, metla, faux elk antlers, basketball rim, saw blade, vampire teeth.Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Wes Magyar.

Legend V by Anna Tsouhlarakis.

The Native Guide Project by Anna Tsouhlarakis.

Incomplete Drawings Of Decolonization – 12 – Make It Right by Anna Tsouhlarakis.

Film still of Let’s Dance by Anna Tsouhlarakis.

Edges of the Ephemeral by Anna Tsouhlarakis. Photo: Julien McRoberts.

Indigenous Absurdities

Anna Tsouhlarakis is interested in challenging and stretching the boundaries of aesthetic and conceptual expectations to reclaim Native identity through video, performance, photography, and installation.

Artist Bio

“Indian humor” is a colloquial name for Native American jokes dealing with specific tribes, families, and, once in a while, a certain person. In Indigenous Absurdities, Anna Tsouhlarakis investigates the layering within a comical story or joke, and how the anecdote reflects the identity of an individual or group of people. Tsouhlarakis collects Indigenous jokes and stories and deconstructs them as part of an investigation in reforming an understanding of Native American identity and expression. The project combines multi-channel video, collage, and Native American oral traditions in an installation context to present moments of hilarity that highlight the complexity of Native individuals.

Indigenous Absurdities premiered at MCA Denver on June 14, 2023 through September 10, 2023.

Discipline
Installation, Social Practice
Award Year
2021
Status

Completed

Themes

2021 Artist Retreat Presentation

From the Journal

Catch Anna Tsouhlarakis’ Indigenous Absurdities at MCA Denver until September 10, 2023.

July 19, 2023
Events

Anna Tsouhlarakis: Indigenous Absurdities

June 14 — September 10, 2023

MCA Denver
Denver, Colorado

A Native American woman is standing in an art studio wearing a navy blue bandana, a grey shirt, and pearl earrings. Behind her is an abstract sculpture made out of IKEA remnants.

Anna Tsouhlarakis

Boulder, CO

Anna Tsouhlarakis is interested in challenging and stretching the boundaries of aesthetic and conceptual expectations to reclaim and rewrite Native definitions of making through video, performance, sculpture, photography, and installation. Using Indigenous epistemologies and pedagogies as starting points, Tsouhlarakis’s work reframes the discourse around the construction of Native American identity. Tsouhlarakis is a 2021 Creative Capital Awardee and has received grants and fellowships from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the Harpo Foundation, and the Native Arts & Culture Foundation, among others. She has participated in residencies including Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Yaddo, and was the Andrew W. Mellon Artist-in-Residence at Colorado College. Tsouhlarakis is of Greek descent and an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation.

From the Journal
Events