Lisa Fifield Artist Statement and Biography

Artist Statement/Bio

Lisa Anne Fifield

Throughout the years I have been asked many questions regarding my artwork and the process involved in both the conception and execution thereof. More times than not, there always seems to be three questions that are always asked. Each time they are asked, I find it another opportunity to articulate why I do things in a particular way and what inspired me to put brush to paper for that given painting. In the interest of answering those questions I offer this Artist Statement and brief Biography to help any who may be curious about Who I am and what I am all about.

1. When did you first become interested in Native American Art? I was born in Milwaukee but was raised in Seattle Washington and San Jose California. My family would often go on day trips into very remote and quaint places off the beaten track. We visited all the Spanish Missions, scenic mountains, orchards, rural towns and historical points of interest of the early sixties. A kind of osmosis occurred, by way of myself seeing and taking in all of these places. It somehow imprinted on my mind and fed a part of myself which thirsted for unique settings and interesting topography. I was like a video camera taping any and all of what I saw for future use. Sure enough, I find today that the most important time for me was driving in the car with my family to these very remote rural towns. My father always had an eye for photography and his interest in these out of the way places had an effect of "framing" my future subjects and the like. It was as much a classroom although at the time it was just family fun.

Another key point which turned out to be a wathershed moment happened when I was in the third grade at elementary shool. The class I was in was shown a documentary about an Inuit whale hunt. The film went into detail and showed that all of the people cooperate all working together for a single purpose. The movie was in color and I remember how the bright red blood covered the snow as the people pulled this whale out of the ocean to be rendered. I was particularly impressed how every inch of the whale was used and there was no waste. I was not at all horrified by this scene of slaughter as you might expect a young child to be. Rather, I was almost at ease realizing that this whale kill was most important to the Inuit and key to their survival. This film was the beginning of my interest in Native Americans.

2. Where do you get your inspiration? I have always been very interested in names. Going back again to those trips in the Pacific Northwest, the names of places on road maps were always a point of great intrigue for me. I noticed the gas station roadmaps were layered like a quilt, removing the top layers of the infrastructure i.e, interstates, and freeways and getting further into the minute detail of the map I could see that beneath these layers were very rich textures full of colorful and interesting names. I always had a great affinity for quirky, eclectic, and beautiful Indian names. One would never even see this detail unless they were to travel to them and also have the aid of the map to point out those names. It is initially, the name for, instance, "Sleepy Eye" which causes my artistic antennae to suddenly shoot up in full attention. Like radar, I zero in and become completely enamored with that particular name to the point where I begin to research and study. I will say that nine times out of ten the name turns out to be either a tribe or location of an Indian battle. As in the example of the word, "Sleepy Eye", a war chief. Only then does the story unfold. Then after this careful research period, I put pencil to paper and imagine the story playing out right out in front of me. It is not long after I have a working sketch of this story in picture form. I find that most of my paintings are done in this fashion.

3. What do you attribute to your success? Looking back there never would be a Lisa Fifield Watercolors without the encouragement of my art instructor at Atelier School of Art in Wayzata Minnesota. He made mention that I should contact a Native American art gallery. The suggestion prompted me to contact the First People’s Art Gallery at the Wyman Building in Minneapolis. After speaking to them I submitted my portfolio. They looked my work over and responded that they would be very interested in setting up a show featuring my work. There was an instant response and soon I was being contacted to show in equally prestigious galleries such as the Weismann Museum at the University of Minnesota and the Smithsonian in Washington D.C.

I remember my first show in Manhattan in New York city in the Soho area. The curator who was getting familiarized with my work and asking me some preliminary questions, asked me about my tribe. She said "So where is your tribe from" , "Oklahoma or something"? Matching her brusk New York attitude I had a sudden flash of call it historical clarity which I am certain came from somewhere deep within my genetic memory. I looked at her and said matter of factly, "No, Not Oklahoma" "My tribe comes from right where you are standing"...."Manhattan" Yes, My tribe is the one who was tricked out of our land with that famous box of bobbles and beads worth only twenty four dollars. What I am saying in a roundabout way is that people buy my art and come to my shows because my work touches them on an emotional level. I sincerely believe that my work speaks to the time before the white men arrived, a time when quite possibly the people of the earth did actually communicate with the animals, a time when nature’s cycles were not the source of scorn but embraced year in and year out from generation to generation. I think people can sense that instinctively when they see my paintings. I suppose it is a bit of the reverse mode of how I work. They start by first being engrossed with the picture story and then ask what the name of the painting is. I start with the name and become engrossed in the story leading to the production of the painting.

The final take on all this is that only a scratch has been made in revealing all the stories that have been passed down from generation to generation. There are so many stories left untold. So I will continue to read my maps, listen to the old stories, and keep my antennae finely attuned to that time when I hear a name that gets the process going all over again.

Lisa Fifield 5805 S. County 101, Suite 314, Minnetonka MN 55345 Phone (952) 949-3516