Dad
Artist
Hulleah J. Tsinhnahjinnie
(American, Tuskegee-Navajo, born 1954)
Date2003 (printed 2013)
Mediumplatinum lambda print
DimensionsImage: 33 15/16 × 27 in. (86.2 × 68.6 cm)
Mat: 40 × 30 1/8 in. (101.6 × 76.5 cm)
Mat: 40 × 30 1/8 in. (101.6 × 76.5 cm)
ClassificationsPhotograph
Credit LineMuseum purchase with funds from the Clinton King Purchase Award, 2014
Object number2014.3.1
DescriptionMan at center of composition is wearing U.S. Army uniform including cap and warm boots, standing on a small patch of ground. Background area is white and at his left and right are black-and-white line drawings: at left is a man wearing a large hat and astride a burro or horse; at right is a round structure with smoke coming out of the top. At the left and right of his feet are curved forms with triangles.eMuseum Notes
This portrait of the artist’s father was made using an old photograph of him in military uniform as a starting point. By adding excerpts from his own artwork, she adds the role of artist to his identity of soldier and father. His pictures tell us more, the smoking Hogan a symbol of his Navajo heritage, and the mule rider a reminder of his time at the Fort Apache boarding school. A string of little arrow tips look almost like laurel branches at his feet, echoing his artistic style but also honoring him.
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