Different Worlds

Caitlin Carrington

ART 160

October 2, 2010

They Are Different

In their depictions of the Treaty Signing at Medicine Creek Lodge, both John Taylor and Howling Wolf recreate the scene in very different ways. While John Taylor created a more representational art work and tried to capture a more realistic quality, Howling Wolf created an abstract art work that captured the basic essence of what was happening. Both artists display groups of people coming together to sign the treaty, but each has a very unique way recreating the treaty signing. John Taylor's work is influenced by Western culture and he does not display any women attending the signing. This type of ethnocentric device, or imposing a certain cultures ideals, is shown through the lack of women in the art; in the 1860's, when this work was created, women were, if at all, seen as second class citizens and would not have been seen as an important part of the treaty signing showing Taylor's decision to leave them out. Also, Taylor's work also draws the viewers attention into the center of the work as an artist would be taught to do in Western Culture. He does not show anything beyond the grove where the signing is happening and all of the Native Americans in his work seem to look very similar with no real identifying marks. In Howling Wolf's work, however, nearly the entire landscape is displayed, showing tipis, the grove, and a creek or brook that flows near by. Each individual tribe is identified with specific colors and markings and there are women in Wolf's work; many women in fact. This shows that Native Americans saw their women as equal and that they had just as much right to be in an art work as a man. Wolf's work also differs from Taylor's work in that Taylor obviously had formal training in how to create art and was bound by those rules displaying much detail. This shows that he sought to create a work that was more appealing to his peers and culture rather than displaying the whole truth. Wolf work on the other hand seems to not have any formal training, is very simplistic, and captured the event as specifically as he could recall it. These two artists came from two very different culture backgrounds and it is very clearly shown through their work.