ABSTRACT
The show was a group exhibition that included seven artists from different Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) tribal nations. Display practices are fundamentally connected to the many different systems of knowledge that exist within a cross-cultural artworld. Personal connections between generations and a sense of obligation were central themes in many of the artworks. The current historical period marks a resurgence of interest in tradition among the younger Haudenosaunee generation at a time when some elders can still pass on their knowledge in the form of artistic practices and meanings. Like all artists working in China during the Mao era, Zhang had learned a form of self-censorship that evolved with the changes in political policy. There is considerable enthusiasm for voices from different cultures to be included within institutions of international contemporary art, but less effort is made to understand the complex social systems of artistic knowledge from which that art emerges.
