From the Artist
Drawing courses from inside my head, down my arm, to my hand....
The marks become little dictators. They demand my attention and, sometimes, even my blood as fingers crack and bleed.
Still I believe in the power of drawing as medicine.
In my life I have used this medicine to overcome many obstacles--alcohol, drugs, cigarettes...
I draw because I have no choice: it is my blessing, it is my curse.
—Excerpted from https://froelickgallery.com/usr/library/documents/main/26/2001_bartow_drawing_as.pdf, accessed 6-2-2021
Rick Bartow is inspired by the physicality of drawing, such as the contact of pastel and pencil on paper, erasures that reveal the image, and gestural movements of the hand and arm. Crow Dance, 1988, edition of 100, combines male and crow features that represent the guiding spiritual force of his Yurok ancestors. In Native American mythology and African American folklore, the crow image is a compelling allegorical figure. The transformation of wings into hands represents power in this context. Crow Dance is one of five Bartow prints completed between 1988 and 1989 at Brandywine. He finished two more offset prints in 1997. Bartow creates expressionistic images that speak of transformation, evoke a spiritual presence, and allow for self-reflection.
— Adapted from "Fresh, Human and Personal: Signature of Brandywine Workshop," Three Decades of American Printmaking: The Brandywine Workshop Collection (Manchester, VT: Hudson Hills Press, 2004)
Rick Bartow was a Native American sculptor, painter, and printmaker born in Newport, OR. He was a member of the Mad River Band of Wiyot Indians, a small tribe indigenous to Humboldt County, CA. Bartow earned a BA in art education from Western Oreg...
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