Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, a contemporary artist born in Montana, on the Flathead Reservation of the confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes, explores subject matter that in one way or another refers to or relates to her heritage and the issues that make up both the history and the contemporary lives of American Indians:

Our tribe has a long history – at least 10,000 years in Montana where we’re noted for our trading abilities. In my own family, my great-great-grandmother, great-grandmother, grandmother and my father were all involved in trading. My father, a horse trader, was raised by these women, and I was raised by my father. As I paint, travel, go between two worlds and carry messages, I believe I am an extension of this age-old process.¹

Smith’s ancestry includes Salish, Metis, Cree, Shoshone-Bannoch, and European roots. In the spirit of her life as a conveyor of messages, Smith has been active "as a mediator between Native cultures and the arts establishment through her work as a lecturer, curator, and mentor for young artists."² Smith overcame many obstacles to finish her education, taking over 22 years to earn a degree in art education from Framingham State College, and a Master’s degree in Fine Arts from the University of New Mexico. (Ironically, while at Framingham State she was discouraged from becoming an artist not because of her race but because of her gender! She was told that she should focus on being a teacher, because women did not become artists.) Smith’s mastery of European and American artistic styles, relating especially to folk art, Paul Klee and the Abstract Expressionists, allows her to bridge the gap between two worlds and convey meaningful messages in a language common to both.

The Painting

My art, my life experience and my tribal ties are totally enmeshed. I go from one community with messages to the other, and I try to teach and enlighten people. My paintings and my drawings are part of the conduit. They are my voice. They are the most direct of all the messages that I’ve carried between the two communities. My paintings are about real life, and they’re about my travels between the two communities.³

The Red Mean: Self-Portrait was created in 1992, along with seven other works to which Smith gave the collective title "The Quincentenary Non-Celebration." The artist’s response to the national celebrations of the 500th anniversary of Columbus’s discovery of America was one voice in an outcry of protest among many Native groups (and their supporters) who disputed the Eurocentric view of the history of Columbus and "rejected the idea that his arrival on this continent was a cause for commemoration."⁴ The Red Mean directly and inextricably binds the spirit of the artist with the culture of her people and defies yet transforms the political issues surrounding Native Americans and tribal rights.

Central in the painting, which is presented as a diptych (a painting consisting of two panels), is a sharp black outline of a human figure in two positions, arms and legs outstretched; the outline was drawn by the artist’s husband around Smith’s own body. The figure calls to mind the chalk outlines used in homicide investigations. A large red circle enclosing an "X" placed over the body is reminiscent of the universal symbol of negation, while the figure and the circle together recall a form similar to Leonardo DaVinci’s drawing Vitruvian Man, illustrating the Roman architect Vitruvius’s formula for ideal human proportions. The female figure of the artist, stretched out beyond the circle, appears to fall outside this Western ideal. According to Smith, the "X" within the circle also represents a Native American medicine wheel, and the spokes, the four cardinal directions. Both the circle with its "X" and the outline of the figure are drawn in a style suggesting pictographs or hide paintings made by Native Americans from western plains and mountains. Quick-to-See-Smith now becomes aligned with this powerful symbol of her culture.

Pages and cut-outs from the Char-Koosta News , the artist’s tribal newspaper, cover the canvas and indicate topics and issues of importance to Smith’s community, such as tribal dances, family issues, AIDS, alcoholism, casino gambling, poverty, the environment, references to Coyote (the trickster god in Native American mythology), and so on. The clippings are often strategically placed to relate to their specific locations on or around the figure. For example, "Bush administration asserts power to declare tribes extinct" is placed near the womb in contradiction to this assertion, and "Kicking Horse" is located near the foot. "Treaty conference focuses on cooperation" replaces the features of Smith’s face at eye level. "The text fragment, with its reference to mutual understanding and the sight-related verb ‘focuses’ (a play both on the eyes for which it substitutes and on the artist’s name), can be seen as a statement of purpose or even as the artist’s personal credo."⁵

Over the background of collaged newspapers Smith has applied black, red, and beige paint in large loose patches and long drips reminiscent of the Abstract Expressionist painting style. In this style of painting, with which Smith was familiar, the gestures of the brush strokes and the handling of the paint are used to communicate emotional content. The long drips in Smith’s painting have sometimes been seen as "tears", marks of anguish or blood. The color red stands out in physical intensity and also takes on symbolic meaning, as in the clipping "Better Red", affixed to the red field in the "Made in the USA" bumper sticker across the figure’s chest. "As in the title of the painting, the color red is asserted not only as a racial identifier but as a way of life. Quick-to-See Smith consciously follows the ‘Red Road’ by carrying on family and tribal traditions: seen in this context ‘Better Red’ is a statement of ethnic pride and the ‘Red Mean’ replaces the ‘Golden Mean’ as a standard of measure."⁶

The number 7137, also across the figure’s chest, is perhaps the most controversial symbol of this self portrait. To some, it may be vaguely reminiscent of an identification number of some sort such as a prisoner’s number in a criminal mugshot, or perhaps a number for a prisoner of war. "This is the artist’s registration number, assigned to her at birth, which not only records her identity as an enrolled member of her tribe but ‘qualifies’ her as a Native American artist under the 1990 Indian Arts and Crafts law enacted by the U.S. Congress. The legislation. . . was originally intended to protect the market for art and artifacts produced by Native Americans against forgeries made by non-native fabricators, but a number of artists. . . who were not enrolled or registered members of a tribal group were placed in the anomalous position of risking a large fine or jail term for producing and selling their work because they lacked the required proof of their ethnic identity."⁷

Smith’s use of newspapers, drips of paint, and a painted "stick" figure also gives a graffiti-like feel to the composition. This ‘rebellious’ style combined with text (also an important component of graffiti) highlights the problems and concerns of her tribe but also demonstrates a certain defiance towards the establishment and sense of pride in her own identity as a member of her tribe.

• This painting is a multi-layered, complex integration of Euro-American influences and Native American culture. As you discuss each aspect of the painting, it is helpful to keep in mind a general "road map" of accumulating an understanding of Euro-American references in the painting, Native American references, and the interaction between these references and what they symbolize about Smith’s relationship to these two cultures.
  
• You might show students one or two Abstract Expressionist paintings beforehand and point out the characteristic way of handling paint. Then go to the self-portrait and point out the similarities in handling of paint.

• What constitutes a portrait or in this case, a self-portrait? Before discussing the details of The Red Mean ask whether or not the students would classify this as a self-portrait. It might be helpful to have viewed a number of early portraits in the collection so the children have some frame-of-reference for this discussion. Mention photography as a major medium for portraits today--snapshots from vacations, school photos, and so forth.  Next focus on the figure—what is present? what is missing? how does this compare with a more conventional self-portrait?

• The circle and x: bring out different ways of viewing these symbols—Euro-American associations such as the cancellation mark, chalk marks around a homicide victim, the Leonardo da Vinci drawing (show reproduction); and Native American associations (medicine wheel, the four directions)

• The newspapers: point out that collage and newspapers are frequent in contemporary art but here she is using her own tribal reservation newspaper; what do the headlines tell you about her community?

• The artist identifies herself as a "messenger" between two worlds (bridging two worlds). Summarize what we have seen so far of two different worlds and how they interact.

(For older students) Briefly explain the principle behind the "Golden Mean."  The artist was aware of this "ideal" as she began her portrait--here, she has created her own ideal, the "Red Mean."  How is it the same or different?