The Unexploited Identity is a portrait of my dad, Raymond Holtsoi. In it, he is wearing a headpiece I created using a “Wild West”-themed toy set. The toy set consists of stereotypical “cowboy and Indian” characters commonly seen in film, TV shows, fashion and art.
Joseph Roy (J. R.) Willis is known for his landscape and Indigenous-themed paintings. The Indigenous people featured in Kit Carson at Cañon de Chelly are supposed to be Diné, but are not well-represented or well-researched based on their apparel.
In my painting the “Wild West” toys are melted and disfigured. This choice symbolizes how Indigenous people, Indigenous culture, and the Indigenous experience are exploited and used for gain and profit. My dad’s portrait is dominant within the painting. He’s the truth, he’s familiar, he’s relatable, he’s universal, he’s who I know and identify with. It is dangerous when Indigenous people, Indigenous culture, and the Indigenous experience are used for production, inclusion, mascots, costumes, etc. because we are no longer seen as human beings. Today it is no longer a discussion of cultural appropriation, but racial social justice.
Clint Holtsoi (they/them) is Diné and a visual artist. Their work is influenced by their identity, experience, culture, family bonds, imagination, curiosity, and exploration.
Joseph Roy (J. R.) Willis
Untitled (Kit Carson at Cañon de Chelly)
1935-1936
Oil on panel
72” W x 36” H
Commissioned by the Gallup schools through the Public Works of Art Project.
Clint Holtsoi
The Unexploited Identity
2018
Oil on canvas
18″ W x 23 ¾” H
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Gallup and McKinley County are situated on the ancestral and current homelands of the Diné and Ashiwi peoples.
Gallup’s New Deal art collection consists of over 120 objects created, purchased, or donated from 1933 to 1942 through New Deal federal art programs administered by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to support artists during the Great Depression.
The Gallup New Deal Art Virtual Museum features three types of exhibits, combining traditional and non-traditional approaches to illuminate academic, creative, and individual understandings.
Gallup’s New Deal art collection includes works by a demographically, professionally, and stylistically diverse group of named and unnamed artists.
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