From the Artist - Heidi Brandow:
Objectification is the process by which people assign meaning to things, people, places, activities and the like. Thus, objects become part of cultural constructions which inform and guide people’s behavior. “(Material) culture” is a project that extends beyond the boundaries of this room as the artist explores human relationships to objects. The chair, as depicted throughout the space, serves as a visual instrument in further understanding the constructs of how object and objectification exist and perhaps infuse characteristics that both enhance and detract from culture and society as a whole.
About Heidi K. Brandow:
Heidi K. Brandow (Native Hawaiian/Diné) is a painter whose work commonly portrays personalities found in poetry and personal reflections. Hailing from a long line of Native Hawaiian singers, musicians and dancers on her mother’s side and Diné storytellers and medicine people on her father’s side, she finds that her pursuit of an artistic career comes naturally. Heidi’s illustrations and paintings are commonly filled with whimsical characters and monsters that are often combined with words of poetry or stories of personal reflection. Through her artistic practice, Heidi has actively explored issues of immigration, cultural identity and sustainability through her work. All the while, Heidi is diligently involved in examining and personally redefining commonly accepted notions of “Native American Art.” Some exhibitions and lectures she has participated in include the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA), Ekaterinburg Museum of Russia, the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, Patina Gallery, and was also featured in the book, “Art in Our Lives: Native Women Artists in Dialogue” which was published by the School of Advanced Research. The proud mother of two young boys, Heidi K. Brandow is a graduate of the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) and has studied design at the historic Istanbul Technical University and briefly at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.