Image: Wendy Red Star and Stanford Students, American Progress, 2022
Artist Wendy Red Star will deliver the Anderson Collection’s annual Burt and Deedee McMurtry Lecture, and engage in conversation with Karen Biestman, associate dean and director of the Native American Cultural Center and the dean for community engagement and diversity at Stanford. The lecture and conversation will focus on Red Star’s experience as an Apsáalooke (Crow) artist and her exhibition at the Anderson Collection.
Wendy Red Star: American Progress on view at the Anderson Collection Apr. 6 to Aug. 28 presents newly created artwork that addresses the racism, displacement, and culture that expanded our country into the Western United States. Installed throughout the first floor of the museum, Red Star explores the ideas of Westward Expansion and Manifest Destiny through the lens of John Gast’s 1872 painting, American Progress. Gast’s painting exemplifies the justification of American settlers driving Indigenous communities off their land during the 19th century. Through the varied lenses of historical research, Stanford student collaborations, large-scale installations, and images of sovereignty, Red Star asks us to grapple with the layered complexity of American history.
In addition to her director and dean roles, Karen Biestman teaches at Stanford’s Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in the areas of federal Indian law, nation building, American Indian religious freedom, and peacemaking. The common thread in her professional roles is the unwavering commitment to promoting academic excellence and institutional support for Native students and creating intellectual forums for thoughtful discourse around critical issues impacting Native communities, their lands, cultures, and sovereignty.
This event will take place at Bing Concert Hall, 327 Lasuen St, Stanford, CA 94305. Registration details forthcoming.
In collaboration with Stanford Live.
