Vital signs, the pulses and patterns of the body, are indicators of
essential life functions. The powerful work of Joe Feddersen reveals,
like vital signs themselves, the state of the human condition from the
vantage point of a contemporary artist who has inherited an ancient
aesthetic tradition.
Arising from Plateau Indian iconographic interpretations of the
human-environment relationship, Feddersen's prints, weavings, and glass
sculptures explore the interrelationships between contemporary urban
place markers and indigenous design. Following in the footsteps of his
Plateau Indian ancestors who "spoke to the land in the patterns of the
baskets," Feddersen interprets the urbanscapes and the landscapes
surrounding him and transforms those rhythms into art forms that are
both coolly modern and warmly expressionistic.
Joe Feddersen was born in 1953, in Omak, Washington, just off the
Colville Indian Reservation. His mother was Okanogan and Lakes from
Penticton, Canada; his father was the son of German immigrants. He has
been a member of the art faculty at Evergreen State College in Olympia,
Washington, since 1989.
Rebecca J. Dobkins is a curator at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art and
associate professor of anthropology at Willamette University, Salem,
Oregon. Barbara Earl Thomas is a painter and writer living in Seattle.
Gail Tremblay is a member of the faculty of the Evergreen State College,
Olympia, Washington.
