T.C. Cannon’s art is anything but subtle. His works are filled with vibrant colors, bold brushstrokes, and striking imagery that demand attention. His art often explores the tension between traditional Native American culture and symbols of Western society. It reflects not just the social upheaval of the 1960s and 1970s, but also the internal conflicts Cannon faced as he grappled with his identity. For some fortunate viewers, Cannon merges his paintings with poetry and music, creating a multisensory experience that fills the surrounding space. These fearless departures from the conventions of Native American art played a crucial role in reshaping the way Native art—and Native America—were perceived.
Despite his profound impact, Cannon’s legacy remained largely underappreciated outside the art world for many years. From April 6 through September 16, 2019, the National Museum of the American Indian in New York hosted T.C. Cannon: At the Edge of America, a retrospective that showcases the depth and complexity of Cannon’s work. First shown in 2018 at the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem, Massachusetts, the exhibition traveled to the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Cannon’s home state. It includes 69 visual works, spanning paintings, drawings, lithographs, and wood etchings, as well as poems, songs, and personal items such as letters, notes, military medals, and even his vintage Martin guitar.
After high school, Cannon attended the newly established Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. At this institution, young Native artists were encouraged to push beyond the traditional depictions of wildlife and scenes of daily life. This first generation of graduates sparked a revolution in Native American art, inspiring countless artists who would follow. “It was a revolution,” says Kramer.
In 1966, Cannon continued his studies at the San Francisco Art Institute, but his path took a sharp turn when he enlisted in the U.S. Army, eventually serving in the Vietnam War as a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne Division. Though he received military honors, including two Bronze Stars for his service during the Tet Offensive, his experiences left deep scars, which were reflected in his art. In one self-portrait from 1975, Cannon depicted himself in part of his army uniform, with his arm draped over a skeleton as an atomic bomb exploded in the background—a recurring motif in his work. His sister Yi recalled how his return from Vietnam marked a profound change: “He was quieter, more serious. He threw himself into his art.” Cannon’s work often explored the duality of his experience as a Native American soldier in the Vietnam War. In Soldiers (1970), the painting reflects his inner conflict, with one half of the image embodying a Native warrior, while the other depicts a colonial soldier.
By 1972, Cannon’s career began to soar. He was featured alongside Fritz Scholder in Two American Painters at the National Collection of Fine Arts (now the Smithsonian American Art Museum), and Jean Aberbach of the Aberbach Gallery in New York purchased nearly all of Cannon’s works. Yet, despite his success, Cannon felt a sense of foreboding about his future.
Cannon created over 80 works of art before his life was tragically cut short in a car accident on May 8, 1978, at just 31 years old; but Cannon’s artistic voice continues to resonate.
Cannon’s passion for music was inseparable from his creative process. Whether writing poetry or songs, he was deeply in love with the English language. His music, particularly the folk and rock songs of Bob Dylan, played a crucial role in shaping his art. “Music was his muse,” says Michael Lord, Cannon’s guitar teacher. His studio was often filled with the sounds of Dylan and other musicians, inspiring Cannon’s paintings and drawings.
In It’s Alright Ma, I’m Only Sighing (1966), Cannon depicted Dylan with golden hair rather than brown, surrounded by words that referenced Dylan’s music and persona. The painting captures the deep influence that Dylan, along with other musicians of the era, had on Cannon’s creative worldview.
Pivotal Works
Cannon’s Mama and Papa Have the Going Home Shiprock Blues (1966) is widely regarded as one of the defining works of his career. This bold painting shows a Navajo (Diné) couple in traditional dress, but sporting sunglasses, capturing the intersection of Native and contemporary American culture in a way that was revolutionary at the time. Cannon even wrote a song to accompany the painting, blending his love for music with his visual artistry.
Many of Cannon’s works juxtapose Native American and Western imagery, reflecting a defiant statement: “We are still here.” In Washington Landscape with Peace Medal Indian (1976), the figure of a diplomat adorned with a peace medal symbolizes the contradictions of U.S. policies that aimed to both “honor” Native peoples while separating them from the power structures that controlled their fate.
Cannon’s insatiable curiosity extended beyond art. He was a dedicated reader and deeply interested in Native history and spirituality. His monumental work, Epochs in Plains History: Mother Earth, Father Sun, the Children Themselves (1977), completed a year before his death, represents a spiritual and cultural journey through the religious and social epochs of Southern Plains Indigenous peoples, capping his career as a true Renaissance man.
Through his groundbreaking art, T.C. Cannon transformed the landscape of Native American art, forever changing how Native people and their stories were represented in the broader American art world. His voice, though silenced too soon, continues to resonate today.
His work is considered by many to the be the turning point for Native American positivity and popularized a prideful outlook on Indigenous peoples in contemporary art.
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