Bently Spang facts for kids

Bently Spang, born in 1960, is a talented artist from the Northern Cheyenne tribe. He is known for creating many different kinds of art. Besides being an artist, he is also a teacher, writer, and curator (someone who organizes art shows). His artwork has been shown in many places around the world, including North America, South America, and Europe.

Early Life and Education

Bently Spang is a member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in Montana. He was born in 1960 at a hospital on the Crow Reservation in Crow Agency, Montana. Bently grew up both on and off the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation. He lived in different places like Sitka, Alaska and Portland, Oregon.

He went to Montana State University Billings and later earned a special art degree (called a Master of Fine Arts) from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Art Career and Teaching

Bently Spang has shared his art and knowledge with many students. From 2007 to 2009, he taught video art at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. In 2014, he was a special "Eminent Artist in Residence" at the University of Wyoming. During that time, he taught a class about Native American art. He also showed his own art at the university's museum.

Today, Spang works as an independent artist. He has his own art studio in Billings, Montana.

Exploring Bently Spang's Artworks

Bently Spang's art has changed over time. When he first started, he made sculptures using different materials, often metal. He also created art installations, which are like art environments you can walk through. Later, he began using digital tools like film and photography in his work.

Spang gets ideas for his art from his Cheyenne ancestors. They were brave in using new materials in their art. He feels his art tells his own story. It explores what it means to be Cheyenne in today's world. He often adds humor to his art to help people understand his messages.

Famous Art Pieces

One of his sculptures is called Pevah, which means "good" in the Cheyenne language. In this piece, he used stone and wood to represent his Cheyenne heritage. He used aluminum to show the modern world. He explained that the metal and wood connect, just as his culture connects him.

Another sculpture, War Shirt #1, was inspired by a Cheyenne tradition. Warriors would decorate their shirts with hair from their community. Spang's War Shirt #1 has photographic negatives of people he knows. This shows that he gets his strength from his community.

Combining Cultures in Art

Spang also worked with a DJ named Bert Benally to create Techno Pow Wow. This project mixed modern rave dance culture with a traditional pow wow. It was inspired by the electronic music of the 1990s. Spang felt the energy and dancing at raves were similar to pow wows. In this piece, Spang performed as "The Blue Guy," a future tribal chief. Through this blend of music and dance, he wanted to show how Native American culture and modern culture have similarities.

In his 2009 work, New American Relics: Redux 2, Spang playfully made fun of how museums sometimes show Native American culture as something from the past. He designed a pretend museum exhibit for the "vit-heut" (meaning "white man" in Northern Cheyenne). His "artifacts" were made from plastic parts of everyday modern objects.

Recent Exhibitions

From February to March 2014, Spang had an exhibition called "Bently Spang: On Fire." This show at the University of Wyoming Art Museum told the story of the 2012 Ash Creek wildfire. In July 2017, he presented a video art piece called "War Shirt #6 – Waterways." This was part of his Modern Warrior Series. It showed moving images inside a steel war shirt, exploring his connection to water.

Awards and Recognition

Bently Spang has received many awards for his amazing art.

• In 2003, he won an Outstanding Alumni Award from MSU Billings. He also received a grant from the Woodrow Wilson Foundation.
• The next year, he got a grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation for his Techno Powwow Project.
• Spang has also received special artist fellowships from the Creative Capital Foundation and the Joan Mitchell Foundation.
• In 2017, he was one of eight artists to receive the Artist's Innovation Award from the Montana Arts Council.
• In 2018, he was honored with the Native Arts and Culture Foundation National Artist Fellowship.