Summary Of Roxanne Swentzell's 'The Therapist'

In every artist’s work, there is a deeply rooted message— with the occasional less fundamental message— pertaining to what the artist is attempting to communicate. As a Native American female artist, Roxanne Swentzell has taken multiple mediums in sculpting and has utilized her abilities to create images reflecting issues pertaining to: being a native, a woman, flawed human being, and the list goes on. Roxanne Swentzell is notable on the contemporary art “map,” distinctly, in her pieces “The Therapist,” “Bridging Two Worlds,” and “The Next Generation” when considering their themes and how they reflect her personally and her tribe in contemporary and Native American senses. Coming from a strong tribal history with a thriving cultural identity,

Her theme, based on humor, is reflective of the idea that sometimes people in conflict should be listening to one another and looking at their issues in order to obtain, or realize, a solution. In pueblo culture, clowns are seen as figures symbolizing balance in the community, who communicate messages to the people about personal flaws that have arisen to conflict or just have other personal issues. In the piece, making use of the clown as a balancing device, the clown is encouraging a common ground between the other two subjects while the audience is given the opportunity to understand the struggle for this harmony people strive for. This being one of the many humorous pieces in her body of work represents a majority of pieces she has contributed to the art world. Swentzell shows much of her feelings and words with humor in her art as a way of pointing out flaws in the human race, modern culture, and even in herself. The second clay piece, manifesting her body of work is “Bridging Two Worlds,” in which, she displays an individual whose skin color is one half white and another half brown. The fingers and toes cross over together as two different individuals are connecting, yet are the extensions of the one individual she has built. In her explanation of the piece,

In her discussion about the piece, Swentzell states it is a thought about how each generation strives to accompany its successor generation to obtain its values and utilize them to do greater things in the world or community. Native American cultures have stressed the idea of passing on the traditional values and rituals to their offspring who are meant to obtain those same values even in the modern world. Using this theme circumvents being aware of Native Americans as a surviving culture in a world that nearly eradicated the entire race is a strong message implying generations become stronger as they