"Urban Indian Hunting Ground Game"
by Tony Abeyta
Metal ,vintage buffalo hide, vintage darts, and dartboard, synthetic human hair dyed with chemical pigmentation.
Throughout history, the identity of the Native American has been synonymous with hunting, their relationship to animals, and the rituals of survival that have ensured that we provide for our families and communities. I wanted to create a work that addressed the concept of the modern diet and how this ritual of hunting has changed for many of us. Urban Indians living within the concrete meccas no longer can hunt in the traditional sense. With rules and hunting regulations we must acquire a permit, hunt on specified reserves and pay for the right to do so. The modern native generally finds his food in grocery stores, cafeterias and fast food restaurants, often processed with genetic modifications and served with french fries. This "Game" is an idealized urban reminder that where the hunting ritual is demoted to a simple indoor dart game. One where we can throw darts at a modified wall mounted literal text reading... BUFFALO…. one of the most recognized animals that has been the historical "Target" of survival for centuries. The dart finials are feathered with strands of synthetic human hair which marks our identity in a packaged and synthetically processed world. The hunter becomes our cultural hero and the mythic warrior who once provided sustenance for a community. Ultimately this is a game we inevitably lose….. even if we pin the tail on the buffalo. |