South Dakota Arts Council

South Dakota Arts Council

Pierre, SD

The SDAC is a state government grantmaking agency supported by the State of South Dakota, through the Dept. of Tourism, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Message
For Them by Tani Gordon
For Them by Tani Gordon
For Them by Tani Gordon Image: “The work represents the strength of a Lakota Woman. Indigenous women are a foundation for our Lakota culture and heritage. We are considered sacred and incredibly important, but there’s a quiet struggle to be heard in this world we share. She is full of color and life, but she represents hardships and how we have to get up and try again. She has an owl sitting on her left shoulder representing the darker side of her life, but there’s another bird on her right shoulder looking away; this represents how she will continue on. The stars in her lungs represent the star knowledge of our Lakota people and how it gives her life to breathe and keep going by being connected to them ... My art is a prayer.”
  • Tani Gordon
  • For Them, 2018
  • Acrylic on canvas, copper from the State Capitol Dome
  • Framed: 24 x 18 in (60.96 x 45.72 cm)

Artist: Tani Gordon x

 

Tani Gordon creates both pen and ink drawings, acrylic paintings, and jewelry. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Sinte Gleska University in Mission, SD, in the Rosebud Indian Reservation, where she was born and raised and is an enrolled member. Her work is on display at Racing Magpie in Rapid City, SD; Red Cloud Heritage Center; and at Crazy Horse Memorial.

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