Wendy Red Star
By Matt Stromberg
Wendy Red Star: Bíikkua (The Hide Scraper)
Bishkisché is an Apsáalooke term referring to rawhide containers used to transport goods great distances on horseback, produced by women in several North American Indigenous groups. Throughout her ongoing investigation into the history of bishkisché, Wendy Red Star made studies of 226 examples of these functional objects in the form of meticulously rendered paintings reproducing each one’s unique, richly colored geometric designs. Bíikkua (The Hide Scraper) features 184 of these works, each named for a woman in her tribe, in an attempt to reclaim the abstractions that have been subsumed into Western art history and pay homage to their origins and creators.
