Edgar Heap of Birds (of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Nation) began the Neuf series in 1981. These unconventional landscapes incorporate brightly colored hues and abstract shapes. Heap of Birds has said that his seemingly unnatural compositions are meant to mimic the landscape of the wooded canyons around his mother’s home on Oklahoma reservation land. Jagged-edged swaths of color move diagonally as a unified whole. Their movement evokes that of leaves, birds, or clouds. Neuf is a Cheyenne term that references the ritual and cosmological significance of the number four. The Neuf series therefore tethers Cheyenne spirituality to the reservation land that Heap of Bird’s community was relocated to, raising complex issues regarding homeland and Indigenous sovereignty over landscapes.
Hock E Aye Vi Edgar Heap of Birds
79 x 105 in. (200.7 x 266.7 cm)
Art Bridges
1994-1995
Acrylic on canvas
AB.2026.14
Artist; (Trotta-Bono Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA); purchased by the John and Susan Horseman Collection, 2023