Dr. Danya Epstein, Assistant Professor of Art History
On Friday, March 28th, Hopi-Tewa artist Duane Koyawena came to my class, ARH 361: Modern and Contemporary Native American Art. I first met Duane in 2019 at the Hopi Heritage Festival at the Museum of Northern Arizona, where there was a lot of buzz about his painting that took 2nd place in show. Six years later, I was thrilled to connect with Duane again as a guest speaker in my upper-level art history class.
Duane is a self-taught artist based in Flagstaff who draws inspiration from his Hopi culture. Though he worked in healthcare for many years, he has successfully transitioned to working full time as a professional artist. His projects are exciting and varied, including collaborations with Nike, exterior mural paintings for businesses in Flagstaff, like his mural for Chocolita Chocolate Cafe, as well as interior murals for hotels and museums, including Taawaki Inn in Clarkdale and the Verde Valley Archaeological Center in Camp Verde. His designs grace prosthetic limbs available at Flagstaff-based Next Step Prosthetics, part of the the company’s initiative to reach out to more Native American patients. Duane shared some of the struggles and successes of his journey, including discussing the difficulty of painting on vaulted ceilings and the challenge of completing bespoke murals in 22 hotel rooms in a month. Duane has a large following on social media and his art and apparel is beloved by Native and non-Native celebrities and laypeople alike!
About the presentation, Bennett Warner, a junior majoring in visual communications, wrote, “Duane’s visit was one of the coolest things I’ve experienced at NAU. It was so cool getting to listen to him speak about his life and his journey as an artist.” Art education senior Lydall Yazzie commented, “Duane’s visit was great. A look at what is out there, as far as where some artists are headed these days.” Duane has also worked as a curator, organizing the traveling exhibit Pivot, on contemporary Native skate deck art.
Duane’s recent curatorial project The Return of the Force is an Indigenous Futurism show at the Tempe Center for the Arts. The Return of the Force develops from Museum of Northern Arizona’s 2019 blockbuster exhibition The Force is With Our People, on the influence the Star Wars series has had on contemporary Native artists. For that show, Duane notably exhibited his Hopi R2, engineered with Joe Mastroianni. He exhibited Hopi R2 at Lucas Film Museum and to the staff at Skywalker Ranch, the campus of George Lucas. The Return of the Force is on view until May 18th. For more information, see https://www.tempecenterforthearts.com/gallery/gallery-at-tca