American Indian Artist: R.C. Gorman

There is no such thing as contemporary Indian painting. There are contemporary Indian painters, but I hope they have no special characteristics to identify them as such. I think that Indian painting shall have made a contribution to American culture on the day when I can walk into a bookstore and pick up a book titled American Painters and find the Indians are included. So much for Audubon and Andy Warhol!

Master of two mediums - drawing and painting

Navajo Indian artist R. C. Gorman enjoys being the center of controversy, as much as he enjoys being a Navajo. Many critics call him brilliant, the star of the Navajo Nation, a genius. Others call him arrogant, brash, flamboyant, and aloof. Most agree that his talent is universally outstanding! His free-flowing style is as uninhibited as a mountain stream and his color sense is as vivid as reflections in a pristine pool.

Few people ever have a chance to know the real R. C. Gorman. He admits, himself, that there may not be one person, but rather many complex personalities that fit together to compose the whole man. He is as modern as a bionic man, jetting off to Paris, New York or San Francisco for one-man shows and receptions; and yet he is as steeped in the ancient ways and traditions of his people as the cave painting and petroglyphs that remain motionless and timeless amid the ruins of the Anasazi in the land of the Navajo.

Gorman was born near Canyon De Chelly, at Chinle, July 26, 1932. His father, Carl Nelson Gorman, was a respected artist in his own right, and perhaps the first Navajo artist to break away from the traditional style of expression. Adella Katherine Brown, his mother, gave the responsibility of caring for Rudolph Carl to his great-grandmother, shortly after he was born. She, perhaps more than anyone else, exerted great influence on his life.

It was his great-grandmother who indoctrinated young Gorman with stories of his rich ancestral heritage. He was the descendant of great sandpainters, weavers, and silversmiths and the great Navajo leader Manuelito. His paternal grandparents translated many hymns into the Navajo language at the Presbyterian Mission at Chinle.

R. C. Gorman began drawing about the same time he could hold a stick in his hand and could trace circles in the sand of the floor of the hogan. His favorite childhood subjects were cars, Mickey Mouse, and (to the horror of his family) naked women.

His memories of education, after he left the one-room schoolhouse at Chinle, include being cold and hungry and lonely when he was sent to board at St. Michael's Junior High School near Fort Defiance. The strict discipline of the Mission school, after the relative freedom of his childhood was unbear-able for Gorman and to his great relief, he was soon expelled.

During World War II, he and his mother were shipped by cattle car to work at the Navajo Ordnance Depot at Flagstaff.

After the war Gorman continued his education at the Presbyterian High School at Ganado. Fortunately, his art instructor, Jenny Louis Lind, recognized his individual talent and encouraged him to "experiment and draw things that I enjoyed drawing... things that felt good to me and natural." It marked the turning point in his life. His attitude in school changed completely and by the time he graduated, in 1950, he was near the top of his class scholastically and in deportment.

His opportunity to see the outside world came in 1951 when he joined the navy. He moved comfortably in the world of the Anglos, and to his surprise "felt a real sense of belonging."

His tour of duty in the navy enabled him to attend Guam Territorial College in the Mariana Islands and whetted his appetite for more knowledge. As a civilian, in 1955, he enrolled as an English major at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, and took a few courses from art instructor Ellery Gibson. Gibson was so impressed with the young Navajo, that he commissioned him to illustrate a magazine article he had written. It gave Gorman a feeling of recognition that he would savor.

The first scholarship ever given by the Navajo tribe for study outside of the United States, was awarded to R. C. Gorman in 1958. He was accepted at the College of Mexico at Mexico City where he was exposed to the works of Orozco, Rivera, Siqueiros, and Tamayo. The impact of their work upon his thinking was monumental and changed the direction of his art. "That is when I abandoned my 'Indian way' of painting." It was during this period that he was introduced into the medium of lithography, which has become such an important facet of his work.

"Most paintings go into private collections or musuems. The exposure an artist receives when he is able to create a lithograph is important to me!"

After he completed his studies in Mexico City he moved to San Francisco where in addition to being an artist, he supplemented his meager income by joining the Model's Guild and became a popular male model.

"I must work from a live model. I draw energy from them. The model sets the mood. If she is grumpy, it shows. If she's spontaneous and alive, my work is also. I choose models who have full bodies, something you can put your two arms around. Their feet are important to me, too. I like big, fat feet! Navajo people need good feet in order to survive. It's part of our heritage."

Since the hungry days in San Francisco, Gorman has had more than twenty one-man shows, many two-man shows, and has exhibited in over thirty group shows. His paintings have been displayed and praised from the West Coast to the East, in Mexico City to New Delhi, India.

In the fall of 1973, he was the only living artist to be included in New York City in the show Masterworks of the Museum of the American Indian, held at the Metropolitan Museum. Two of his drawings were selected for the cover of the show's catalog. In 1975 Gorman was honored by being the first artist chosen for a series of one-man exhibitions of contemporary Indian artists, held at the Museum of the American Indian, and drew a record attendance.

Attempts to categorize his work have failed. He says, "I listen to no one... yet everyone. My work is nothing more than work and more work. I experiment. I read. I live! These are