Jimmie Durham

Jimmie Durham
Jimmie Durham
Durham in 2012
Born
Jimmie Bob Durham[1]

(1940-07-10)July 10, 1940
Houston, Texas, US
DiedNovember 17, 2021(2021-11-17) (aged 81)
Berlin, Germany
EducationÉcole des Beaux-Arts, Switzerland
Known forSculpture, poetry, installation art
StylePostmodernism

Jimmie Bob Durham (July 10, 1940 – November 17, 2021) was an American sculptor, essayist and poet. He was active in the United States in the civil rights movements of African Americans and Native Americans in the 1960s and 1970s, serving on the central council of the American Indian Movement (AIM). He returned to working at art while living in New York City. His work has been extensively exhibited. Durham also received the Günther-Peill-Preis (2003),[2] the Foundation for Contemporary Arts Robert Rauschenberg Award (2017),[3] and the 58th Venice Biennale's Golden Lion for lifetime achievement (2019).[4]

He long claimed to be Cherokee but that claim has been denied by tribal representatives: "Durham is neither enrolled nor eligible for citizenship in any of the three federally-recognized and historical Cherokee Tribes: the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians of Oklahoma, and the Cherokee Nation."[5] He had "no known ties to any Cherokee community".[6]

  1. ^ Regan, Sheila (June 28, 2017). "Jimmie Durham Retrospective Reignites Debate Over His Claim of Native Ancestry". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  2. ^ "Peill Stiftung - Jimmie Durham". www.peill-stiftung.de. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  3. ^ "Jimmie Durham :: Foundation for Contemporary Arts". www.foundationforcontemporaryarts.org. Retrieved 2018-04-19.
  4. ^ "Biennale Arte 2019 | Jimmie Durham Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement". La Biennale di Venezia. 2019-04-04. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  5. ^ Cara Cowan Watts; Luzene Hill; et al. (26 June 2017). "Dear Unsuspecting Public, Jimmie Durham Is a TricksterL Jimmie Durham's Indigenous identity has always been a fabrication and remains one". Indian Country Media Network. Archived from the original on 22 July 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2017. Durham is neither enrolled nor eligible for citizenship in any of the three federally-recognized and historical Cherokee Tribes: the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians of Oklahoma, and the Cherokee Nation.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Outs was invoked but never defined (see the help page).