Wade Patton, Lone
Wade Patton
1966-
Oglala Lakota
Date
2018
Medium Specific
Acrylic, micron ink, #13 czech beaded applique on ledger paper
Classification
Mixed Media
Dimensions
Framed: 41 x 33 in. (104. 1 x 83.8 cm)
Accession Number
2018.25.25.367
Credit
Membership Fund acquisition
Memo / Artist Statement
This piece was a work in process that I started during an Artist Residency at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe in early 2018. I laid the groundwork with the ledger paper, acrylic whitewash, started the triangle work and beadwork while in Santa Fe; and completed the piece in my studio at Racing Magpie in Rapid City, South Dakota.
The buffalo was the means of survival for my ancestors, and the male buffalo prided himself in solitude. My spare use of color in the beadwork resonates with the lone power of the buffalo. The triangle is a symbol my tribe uses to signify the tipi (single triangle), tips of the triangles touching (reflection of the earth and stars), bases of the triangles touching (a feather) and the sides of the triangles next to one another (buffalo tracks) - representing them in a more contemporary manner. The clouds are something that have always reminded me of South Dakota and looking up at them as a kid laying in the tall grasses of the reservation. As far as the circles that make up the clouds - everything comes full circle. A phrase that is important to me both as an artist and personally because I moved back home to continue my art. -- Wade Patton, 2018, rev. 2025
The buffalo was the means of survival for my ancestors, and the male buffalo prided himself in solitude. My spare use of color in the beadwork resonates with the lone power of the buffalo. The triangle is a symbol my tribe uses to signify the tipi (single triangle), tips of the triangles touching (reflection of the earth and stars), bases of the triangles touching (a feather) and the sides of the triangles next to one another (buffalo tracks) - representing them in a more contemporary manner. The clouds are something that have always reminded me of South Dakota and looking up at them as a kid laying in the tall grasses of the reservation. As far as the circles that make up the clouds - everything comes full circle. A phrase that is important to me both as an artist and personally because I moved back home to continue my art. -- Wade Patton, 2018, rev. 2025
Biography
An enrolled member of the Oglala Lakota Tribe, Wade Patton grew up on the Pine Ridge Reservation surrounded by a rich culture of music and art. After obtaining a BA in art from Black Hills State University in Spearfish, South Dakota, and having his first solo exhibition at the Sioux Indian Museum in Rapid City, South Dakota, he moved away to explore other artistic endeavors. It took leaving South Dakota for Patton to find a voice in his recent body of work. Living on the East Coast, he began expressing what he missed - the beautiful splendor of the Black Hills, the landscape and skies of South Dakota - and started to draw the landscapes and clouds as a reminder of home.
https://wadepatton.com
https://wadepatton.com
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