Custer's War c. 1900

Editor: This is "Custer's War," created around 1900 by Tȟatȟáŋka Waŋžíla, or Henry Oscar One Bull. It's a drawing using ink, pencil, and colored pencil on paper. It feels... chaotic, yet very deliberately arranged. The bright colors almost make it seem playful, but it's depicting a really brutal event. What catches your eye in this piece? Curator: Oh, "playful brutality" is a good way to put it! I’m immediately drawn to how One Bull chose to represent such a charged historical moment. It feels deeply personal, not just a retelling of a battle. Notice the geometric shapes scattered amongst the figures – to me, they almost hum with unseen energy, a spiritual counterpoint to the violence depicted. Do you sense that tension as well? Editor: Definitely, the geometric shapes do stand out. I initially thought they were purely decorative, but thinking about it as spiritual energy… that makes so much sense in the context. Curator: And think about the act of drawing itself. It’s almost like One Bull is reclaiming the narrative, reframing it from a Lakota perspective after it had been filtered for so long through the dominant white culture. Like singing a story instead of writing it. What emotions surface for you as you look at it? Editor: A sense of…honesty, maybe? The figures are simplified, almost childlike, but that rawness feels incredibly powerful. It doesn't feel like a romanticized view of war, but a real human experience filtered through memory. Curator: Beautifully said. For me, it evokes a mix of sorrow and resilience, the knowledge of profound loss tempered by the enduring spirit of a people. It reminds me that history isn't just a series of dates and battles, but a tapestry woven from individual stories. Editor: This has given me so much to think about – thank you for sharing your perspective. It really opens up the artwork beyond just the historical depiction and into the realm of personal and cultural memory. Curator: My pleasure! Art, at its best, is a mirror reflecting not just the world, but ourselves. I find it interesting that you picked up the notion of the 'rawness', especially through that combination of childlike vision with such terrible historical import. Art is weird, isn't it?