This exhibition at Blue Djinn gallery is the
result of several years of Doc Snyderís
journey into Native American history,
culture and design. His visit to the Pine
Ridge Reservation in South Dakota in 2007
became the inspiration for this exhibition.
The westward expansion of the United States
in the 1800ís had a dramatic, negative
impact on the Native American Indians which
was severe and continues today.
The exhibition uses a variety of mediums to
represent both the past and present Indian
Bad Medicine Wheel,
includes all of the proofs from a ten-color
edition allowing the audience to see Docís
creative screen printing process during each
stage. There are also several serigraphs,
sculptures and other works based on Native
American Indian designs.
A scale model diorama of the westward
expansion features a train complete with
intricate scenery, buffalos and figures.
Present day life on the reservation is
depicted by a crude dwelling made of
corrugated metal surrounded by empty beer
A slide show choreographed to songs from
Chris Whitleyís recording Living With The
Law illustrates the desperate
environment of reservation life with images
of poor living conditions coupled with
statistics about unemployment and
Docís intention for this exhibition is to
create awareness about the state of these
Americans living in poverty and to help
provide a solution. The best solution is
education. The high school dropout rate at
Pine Ridge is the highest in the country and
few go on to college. A portion of the
proceeds from the artwork sold at the show
will go to the Oglala Lakota College and the
Red Cloud Indian School at the Pine Ridge
Reservation, South Dakota. These
institutions are severely underfunded and
understaffed. If you donít purchase artwork,
please donate to these institutions.
Click here to view some of the works in the
Click here to view the opening photos.