Kawaiisu Native American Artist David Laughing Horse Robinson
exhibits acrylic paintings, steel sculptures and
etchings on steel plates.
Laughing Horse works at California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB), in the Fine Arts department as an Instructional Technician. He teaches students how to use the materials
and equipment necessary to create ceramics, paintings, photography and sculpture. Horse also hangs and lights the exhibits at the Todd Madigan Gallery at CSUB.
KNEE-E TAHVEE
STEEL SCULPTURE, 39"H x 19"D x 6"W
David Laughing Horse Robinson Artist Statement
Creating Art connects me to my favorite way to pass the time, listening to Kawaiisu Tribal Elders tell stories about the history of my ancestors. In my youth, the Elders trained me in all of the traditional ways, just like thousands of generations before me. I learned about our medicines and our written language: the geoglyphs, petroglyphs and pictographs. The Elders took me on journeys along the ancient trails to meet other tribes who maintain the same knowledge about these calendars that people call rock art. Kawaiisu Elders kept these written documents on the rocks to tell of what came before, so we would be prepared for what would come again. The rock art in Kawaiisu territory maintain a written record of climate changes and resources for 56,700 years. This record kept us in touch with what Mother Earth offered in any particular cycle. This data gave us the tools of knowledge for what and when to hunt and which plant foods and medicines to collect. Along with the plentiful times are records of droughts and floods, recorded according to the position of the stars, the Moon and the Sun at a given time in the cycle of the earth. We built reverse gravity canals to move After attending college in my 30's, I found new ways to translate this traditional knowledge about the natural world so that the dominant culture would understand. The most effective method has been through my art, documentaries and lectures. In 2003 I found two new ways to expand the message, by running for Governor in the California Recall election and by attending the World Summit in Geneva, Switzerland and speaking to the Indigenous Peoples of the world at the U. N. I find the message of the Kawaiisu Elders is very true: "When we look to the past we will find the best answers to the problems of the future." This is the way to always take care of Mother Earth so that she will be the same in 30,000 years as we see her today. My heart speaks that message everyday, through the art I feel compelled to create. My greatest wish is to become a good Ancestor.
water up hill to better growing areas and kept all natural springs clean, varying the regions where we harvested wild foods so none would be depleted. Resources were cared for because they fed and housed our villages and were gifts from the Creator, just as our lives are gifts. Seasonal gatherings were held to celebrate and trade resources between villages and tribes. Everywhere, in indigenous territories throughout the world, you will find the pictures, the visual language of tribes worldwide.
All artwork, images and copy
are the exclusive property of
David Laughing Horse Robinson,
including all rights to reproduction
and distribution in any form.
Visit My Favorite Web Sites
KAWAIISU TRIBE HISTORY WEBSITE
Native Web
Angelfire HTML Library
HTML Gear - free polls, guestbooks, and more!
Angelfire - Free Home Pages
