Morris Louis, American, 1912-1962
Pipestone Quarry on the Coteau des Prairies, 1954
George Catlin journeyed and painted Native American people throughout the western United States. He was the first to paint this sacred quarry where several different tribes made regular pilgrimages to create their pipes, which were carved for spiritual practices. The gravesite located behind the people gathering rock demonstrates the spiritual importance of the place and the longevity of the quarry as a site used over centuries. Though perhaps not intentionally, Catlin forces his audience to question the conventions of other mining practices that destroy landscapes and people when compared against this sustainable and sacred use of red stone for religious art. The indigenous people depicted are not enslaved labor like in the Caribbean, but instead using the stone as creative matter to maintain their own culture. Label by Katie Lee