John Hitchcock: Protectors
The Ruth and Seymour Landfield Atrium
Protectors, a screenprint installation by artist John Hitchcock, uses multiple screenprinted images of bison skulls mounted on a background of Naugahyde pelts. The pelt forms suggest landmasses, and each element connects to the environment through form, placement, and symbol.
Inspired by the long history of social and political commentary within the discipline of printmaking, Madison-based printmaker John Hitchcock uses the print medium to explore relationships of community, land, and culture. Hitchcock’s works on paper and multimedia installations draw upon his Comanche/Kiowa and Northern European heritage and consist of prints and moving image that mediates the trauma of war and the fragility of life. Images of U.S. military weaponry are combined with mythological hybrid creatures from the Wichita Mountains of western Oklahoma to explore notions of assimilation and control.
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John Hitchcock, The Protectors (Skulls), 2017-18, screenprint on Naugahyde and paper, variable size.
Ongoing Exhibitions
Convergence:
Hope, Love, Resilience, Rest, Community
This installation was created specifically for the atrium at Plains Art Museum as part of the exhibition Convergence: Health & Creativity. Inspired by Labovitz’s research on the psychological benefits of art, this piece celebrates the connection between art and well-being.
View ExhibitionS.P.A.C.E. 2024-2026
The S.P.A.C.E. (Sculpture Pad Art Collaborative Experiment) project is a public art initiative led by Plains Art Museum in collaboration with NDSU, MSUM, and Concordia College. Sculptures are displayed for two years.
View ExhibitionNo Time For Despair
To say that right now is the ideal time to make art that speaks directly to the people about social justice is an understatement. Because the very nature of art is to undertake or assume the role of a healer by shading light on the human condition.
View ExhibitionBee in Flight
Community artist and school art teacher MeLissa Kossick, who guides youth classes at the Museum on art, gardens, and pollinators, has created an enchanting mosaic design in the Creativity Pathway in the Serkland Gallery called Bee in Flight.
View ExhibitionFragile Preservation
A Tallgrass Community
While the Tallgrass Prairie is a community made up of a great diversity of species, Fragile Preservation represents a selection of them.
View Exhibition