JUST WORDS

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This project pays tribute to the Native Americans (American Indians). The namesake, "Just Words", is a play on the "White man's" broken promises, and the words seen as a part of the art reflect Tom R. Chambers' emotional states or reactions to the mistreatment and near annihilation of the indigenous population by his ancestors. He hopes to begin to find closure for his haunted existence with this attempt as a political statement through the Arts.

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The images of the Native Americans are from the Edward Curtis Collection at the Library of Congress, which are now a part of the public domain. Of his own photographs Curtis said, "Rather than being designed for mere embellishment, they are illustrations of the Indian character or of some vital phase of existence." Chambers hopes that Curtis also had similar emotional states as he got caught up in The North American Indian Project to depict "all features of Indian life and environment - the young and the old, with their habitations, industries, ceremonies, games, and everyday customs."

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Chambers considers "The North American Indian Project" heavy irony - the last nails driven into the coffin of a culture that was pushed aside and in some cases done away with. In his opinion, it was an attempt by the "White man" - involving prominent figures at the time such as J. Pierpont Morgan (Curtis's financier), Frederick Webb Hodge (one of the period's leading authorities on Native Americans), and even President Theodore Roosevelt (wrote a foreword in which he praised Curtis' powers of observation) - to gloss over the demise of the great overlords of the North American continent, and showcase the remnants of a broken society.

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The exhibition prints are up to 30"X20".

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Poster:

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