{"id":127,"date":"2018-03-19T10:23:56","date_gmt":"2018-03-19T10:23:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/bts\/?p=127"},"modified":"2018-03-19T10:23:56","modified_gmt":"2018-03-19T10:23:56","slug":"clyde-the-big-red-indian-travels-beyond-the-spectacle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/bts\/2018\/03\/19\/clyde-the-big-red-indian-travels-beyond-the-spectacle\/","title":{"rendered":"Clyde the Big Red Indian travels Beyond the Spectacle"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul class=\"kent-social-links\"><li><a href='http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/bts\/2018\/03\/19\/clyde-the-big-red-indian-travels-beyond-the-spectacle\/&amp;t=Clyde the Big Red Indian travels Beyond the Spectacle' target='_blank'><i class='ksocial-facebook' title='Share via Facebook'><\/i><\/a><\/li><li><a href='http:\/\/twitter.com\/home?status=Clyde the Big Red Indian travels Beyond the Spectacle%20https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/bts\/2018\/03\/19\/clyde-the-big-red-indian-travels-beyond-the-spectacle\/' target='_blank'><i class='ksocial-twitter' title='Share via Twitter'><\/i><\/a><\/li><li><a href='https:\/\/plus.google.com\/share?url=https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/bts\/2018\/03\/19\/clyde-the-big-red-indian-travels-beyond-the-spectacle\/' target='_blank'><i class='ksocial-google-plus' title='Share via Google Plus'><\/i><\/a><\/li><li><a href='http:\/\/linkedin.com\/shareArticle?mini=true&amp;url=https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/bts\/2018\/03\/19\/clyde-the-big-red-indian-travels-beyond-the-spectacle\/&amp;title=Clyde the Big Red Indian travels Beyond the Spectacle' target='_blank'><i class='ksocial-linkedin' title='Share via Linked In'><\/i><\/a><\/li><li><a href='mailto:content=https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/bts\/2018\/03\/19\/clyde-the-big-red-indian-travels-beyond-the-spectacle\/&amp;title=Clyde the Big Red Indian travels Beyond the Spectacle' target='_blank'><i class='ksocial-email' title='Share via Email'><\/i><\/a><\/li><\/ul><p class=\"lead\">Stacy Pratt<br \/>\nWeb editor, First American Art Magazine<\/p>\n<p>This article originally appeared on the blog of <em>First American Art Magazine<\/em> &#8211; <a href=\"http:\/\/firstamericanartmagazine.com\/clyde-the-big-red-indian-travels-beyond-the-spectacle\/\">here<\/a>.<br \/>\nAll credit goes to the original author, Stacy Pratt, who has generously allowed us to repost.<\/p>\n<p>__________________________<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s hard not to talk about Clyde the Big Red Indian as if he is an actual person. I thought it was just me, but everyone I talk to eventually starts speaking of Clyde as if he has his own identity. That\u2019s the impact of a strong visual image.<\/p>\n<p>The headdress-wearing, literally red, literally plastic Indian toy is the main figure in a series of prints by Mvskoke (Creek) artist Bobby Martin. Recently, the Clyde prints have been chosen as the signature artwork for &#8216;Beyond the Spectacle:\u00a0Native North American Presence in Britain&#8217;<em>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8216;<\/em>Beyond the Spectacle&#8217;<em>\u00a0<\/em>is\u00a0a multidisciplinary research project that explores the impact and challenges stereotypes of Indigenous people in England. Principal investigator David Stirrup, professor of Native American Studies at the University of Kent, said the researchers first met Martin when he was among several Native artists who exhibited and participated in a print action at a previous research project\u2019s conference. (Other artists included Tony Tiger, Gina Adams, Marwin Begaye, Jacob Meders, Roy Boney Jr., Jackson 2bears, and Janet Rogers as 2Ro Media.) Stirrup said Clyde immediately caught the attention of the researchers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe happened to know of Bobby\u2019s work with Clyde and saw a piece that featured Clyde, Godzilla-like, up to his thighs in Venice\u2019s Grand Canal on his Facebook page,\u201d says Stirrup. \u201cAs soon as we saw it we realised that it spoke to a number of the themes our current research project is interested in: Native presence in the UK (and Europe), the gap between the \u2018spectacle\u2019 and the reality of Native representations in the UK, public misconceptions and stereotypes, and of course questions of decoloniality. We asked Bobby whether he had considered doing any London-based prints, as the question of what it means to be exploring these issues at what is often called the Heart of Empire are clearly potent. His answer was that he\u2019d literally just started on the image that he has kindly allowed us to use. We\u2019re thrilled to be working with Bobby, and hope that other collaborations both with him and other artists will be possible during the course of the project.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Shortly after Clyde was chosen, Martin contributed\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/bts\/2018\/02\/14\/clyde-the-big-red-indian\/\">a post to the &#8216;Beyond the Spectacle&#8217; blog<\/a>\u00a0that details his process of creating the Clyde prints which feature our hero in a setting meticulously based on engravings from an English travelogue from the 18th century.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cClyde\u2019s origins are pretty murky,\u201d says Martin. \u201cI first (re)discovered him at my mom\u2019s house in a bedroom strewn with old toys: G. I. Joes, Barbies, various other vintage kid stuff. I\u2019m sure he was a childhood toy of mine and my brother\u2019s, although my memories are almost entirely G. I. Joe, I don\u2019t really remember playing cowboys and Indians at all. Apparently, he stowed his way into my studio at some point, but I don\u2019t know exactly how or when. He eventually came to live on a shelf in my studio at Punkin Hollow in Tahlequah[, Oklahoma], then later held court atop my etching press in my new space in West Siloam Springs[, Arkansas]. The name Clyde is a recent addition when I got back from London last summer with an idea to promote him to a starring role in a new artwork adventure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cClyde was a natural choice for a name,\u201d explains Martin. \u201cMy paternal grandfather was Raymond Clyde Martin, who was a school superintendent at Onapa, a tiny Creek town between Checotah and Eufaula. I inherited \u2018Clyde\u2019 from him as my middle name. I loved my Papa (Clyde) dearly, but growing up I was none too happy with a middle name like \u2018Clyde.\u2019 I\u2019ve eventually come to terms with the name, though. I feel like naming my art alter-ego \u2018Clyde\u2019 is in someway finding peace with a part of my identity that I\u2019ve always been a bit ashamed of.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When I first showed the original Clyde piece at the Santa Fe Indian Market, out of the several hundred visitors who stopped by my booth, several were from the UK,\u201d Martin writes via email. \u201cIt seemed they were the ones who were the most entertained by the humor and irony (although it did sell to an American couple). Maybe it\u2019s because Americans are so numb to the \u2018casual racism\u2019 of Native stereotyping, compared to other parts of the world, that they just don\u2019t get it the same? I mean, I found Clyde amongst the toys that I played with growing up! I\u2019ve always struggled with what it means to be \u2018Indian.\u2019 Although ultimately I am extremely proud of my Mvskoke heritage, the identity issue is something I\u2019ve wrestled with my whole life. The idea of Native identity, especially I think in Oklahoma, is fraught with inconsistencies and controversy, from both within and without. I\u2019m not sure yet what Clyde has to say about that, but when he becomes available for an interview you\u2019ll be the first to know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin recognizes that Clyde is part of a long legacy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know I\u2019m not breaking any new ground with Clyde, as there have been plenty of other artists, Native and non-Native, who have used visual stereotypes as devices to point out the dehumanizing aspects of lumping peoples together as the \u2018other,\u2019 \u201d Martin says. \u201cBut for me, it\u2019s become much more personal with Clyde. I think he\u2019s still finding his (my) voice, and I appreciate the stage Clyde has been given to speak. We\u2019ll have to wait and see what opinions he shares in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>You can follow Clyde on Martin\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/bobbycartist\/?hl=en\">Instagram<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bobby.martin.750\">Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0or\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.bobbycmartin.com\/\">website<\/a>. In June, &#8216;Beyond the Spectacle&#8217;<em>\u00a0<\/em>is hosting\u00a0a gallery show at Rainmaker Gallery in Bristol, England, alongside <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/bts\/2018\/03\/15\/indigenous-art-in-britain\/\">a symposium<\/a>, as part of a month-long artist residency, and Martin\u2019s print\u00a0<em>Clyde at Tower Bridge<\/em>\u00a0will be featured, along with a few other Clyde prints. For more on &#8216;Beyond the Spectacle&#8217;<em>,<\/em>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/bts\/\">follow the project\u2019s blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul class=\"kent-social-links\"><li><a href='http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/bts\/2018\/03\/19\/clyde-the-big-red-indian-travels-beyond-the-spectacle\/&amp;t=Clyde the Big Red Indian travels Beyond the Spectacle' target='_blank'><i class='ksocial-facebook' title='Share via Facebook'><\/i><\/a><\/li><li><a href='http:\/\/twitter.com\/home?status=Clyde the Big Red Indian travels Beyond the Spectacle%20https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/bts\/2018\/03\/19\/clyde-the-big-red-indian-travels-beyond-the-spectacle\/' target='_blank'><i class='ksocial-twitter' title='Share via Twitter'><\/i><\/a><\/li><li><a href='https:\/\/plus.google.com\/share?url=https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/bts\/2018\/03\/19\/clyde-the-big-red-indian-travels-beyond-the-spectacle\/' target='_blank'><i class='ksocial-google-plus' title='Share via Google Plus'><\/i><\/a><\/li><li><a href='http:\/\/linkedin.com\/shareArticle?mini=true&amp;url=https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/bts\/2018\/03\/19\/clyde-the-big-red-indian-travels-beyond-the-spectacle\/&amp;title=Clyde the Big Red Indian travels Beyond the Spectacle' target='_blank'><i class='ksocial-linkedin' title='Share via Linked In'><\/i><\/a><\/li><li><a href='mailto:content=https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/bts\/2018\/03\/19\/clyde-the-big-red-indian-travels-beyond-the-spectacle\/&amp;title=Clyde the Big Red Indian travels Beyond the Spectacle' target='_blank'><i class='ksocial-email' title='Share via Email'><\/i><\/a><\/li><\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Stacy Pratt Web editor, First American Art Magazine This article originally appeared on the blog of First American Art Magazine &#8211; here. All credit goes &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/bts\/2018\/03\/19\/clyde-the-big-red-indian-travels-beyond-the-spectacle\/\">Read&nbsp;more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53579,"featured_media":98,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/bts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/bts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/bts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/bts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53579"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/bts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/bts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":130,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/bts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127\/revisions\/130"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/bts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/bts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/bts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/bts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}