Scorched Art: Gerald Clarke Artist Demonstration

Hear firsthand about the inspirations and processes behind Gerald Clarke’s outdoor art installation, To the Next Generation, in this outdoor artist talk. Clarke will describe his approach to incorporating Summit County and Ute history and answer questions from the audience.

Immediately following his talk, Gerald will create new works for his series, Branded, in which he scorches pieces of paper and other objects using branding irons he forged himself. Branding irons that read “Native” and “Indian” satirize nonnative people’s and the art world’s obsession with Indigenous authenticity. Heated up and burned onto a surface, they highlight how that obsession essentializes and stereotypes the infinitely varied lived experiences and artwork of Indigenous people. Other branding irons and the compositions they create contrast the precariousness of immigrant status and the erasure of immigrant history in the U.S. with the permanence of the branding medium.