Raven Chacon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Raven Chacon
|
|
|---|---|
Chacon speaking at Columbia University in 2022
|
|
| Born | 1977 (age 47–48) Fort Defiance, Arizona, United States
|
| Education | California Institute of the Arts University of New Mexico |
| Known for | sound art, non-vocal instrumentalist, installation art, composer, musician, visual artist |
| Style | noise music, experimental sound, composer, musician, visual artist |
| Awards | MacArthur Fellowship 2023 Pulitzer Prize 2022 |
Raven Chacon (born 1977) is a talented Diné (Navajo) composer, musician, and artist. He was born in Fort Defiance, Arizona, which is part of the Navajo Nation. In 2022, Chacon made history by becoming the first Native American to win a Pulitzer Prize for Music. He received this important award for his musical piece called Voiceless Mass.
Raven Chacon also performs by himself, creating a type of music known as noise music. He has also worked with different art groups, including Postcommodity.
Life and Art
.jpg)
Raven Chacon was born in 1977 in Fort Defiance, Arizona, in the United States. He went to the University of New Mexico and earned a degree in Fine Arts in 2001. Later, he studied music composition at the California Institute of the Arts, getting his master's degree in 2004. He learned from many famous musicians and composers.
Chacon creates art using both sounds and visuals. His work has been shown in many places across the U.S. and in other countries. One of his well-known pieces is Still Life, #3 (2015). This was a large art piece that filled a room with sounds and text. It was shown at the National Museum of the American Indian in New York.
His art, both alone and with groups, has been featured at major events. These include the Sydney Biennale, the Kennedy Center, and the Whitney Biennial. His work has also been seen at documenta 14 and the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Raven Chacon also plays music with other groups. He is part of KILT with Bob Bellerue. He also plays in Mesa Ritual with William Fowler Collins. Another group he is in is Endlings with John Dieterich. He has also worked with Laura Ortman. In 2016, the famous Kronos Quartet asked him to create music for their "Fifty For The Future" project.
Chacon helps teach young people about music. He works as a Composer-in-Residence with the Native American Composers Apprenticeship Project. This project helps young Native Americans learn to compose music. He has received many awards for his work. In 2012, he won a Creative Capital Visual Arts grant. In 2014, he was honored with a National Artist Fellowship in Music from the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation. In 2018, he received the Berlin Prize from the American Academy in Berlin.
In 2022, Raven Chacon achieved a major milestone. He became the first Native American person to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music. He earned this prize for his special composition called Voiceless Mass.
Working with Postcommodity
Raven Chacon was a member of an art group called Postcommodity. This group is made up of Native American artists. Together, they created large art projects that used different types of media. Their work has been shown all over the world. Other artists in the group include Cristóbal Martínez, Kade L. Twist, Steven Yazzie, and Nathan Young.
In 2017, Chacon and Postcommodity created a project called ...in memoriam. This multimedia art piece was shown in Edmonton. It was organized by the Ociciwan Contemporary Art Collective.
Personal Life
Raven Chacon lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is married to Candice Hopkins, who is a curator from the Tagish people. His sister, Nani Chacon, is also an artist known for painting murals.
Awards and Honors
Raven Chacon has been recognized with many important awards for his artistic achievements. In 2022, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Music. He also received an American Academy in Berlin Prize for music composition. Other honors include a Creative Capital award for visual arts and a fellowship from United States Artists for music. He also earned a fellowship from the Joan Mitchell Foundation. The Native Arts and Cultures Foundation also gave him an artist fellowship.
Chacon was the first person to receive the Mellon Foundation Artist-in-Residence fellowship. This was for the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College. In October 2023, he was named a MacArthur Fellow. This is a very special award given to talented people in many fields.
Music Albums
Here are some of the music albums Raven Chacon has released:
- Inhale/Exhale (with Carlos Santistevan and Tatsuya Nakatani) (Other Minds Records, 2022)
- An Anthology of Chants Operations (Ouidah, 2020)
- Horse Notations (Cimiotti Recordings, 2020)
- Crisalide Fossile (with OvO) (Bronson, 2016)
- Your New Age Dream Contains More Blood Than You Can Imagine 12"LP (with Postcommodity) (Anarchymoon, 2011)
- Kitchen Sorcery (with Bob Bellerue) (Prison Tatt Records, 2011)
- At the Point Where the Rivers Crossed, We Drew Our Knives 12"LP (Anarchymoon, 2010)
- Black Streaked Hum (Lightning Speak/Featherspines, 2009)
- Overheard Songs (Innova, 2006)
- The Incredible 17000 km Split (split with Torturing Nurse) (8K Mob, 2006)
- Jesus Was a Wino (with Jeff Gburek) (Herbal Records, 2005)
- Still/life (Sicksicksick, 2004)
- Meet the Beatless (Sicksicksick, 2003)
