Creating a Museum Exhibition Mural to Advertise Oscar Howe's Collection at Dakota Modern
This project creates a cohesive advertising campaign for the Dakota Modern: Oscar Howe exhibit by the National Museum of the American Indian. The advertising is framed around a four poster series that create one long image when displayed.
Inspiration
To successfully commemorate the beauty of Oscar Howe’s paintings, indigenous background and life accomplishments, the campaign needed to display his work in an engaging, profound way. A dynamic composition with a striking initial view and an intricate detail view was the best way to capture the true essence of Oscar Howe.
Development
A variety of direct references to Howe’s work are utilized visually to promote the exhibition. The main character in the first poster is a silhouette of the indigenous rider on a horse from Fleeing a Massacre (1969). The inside of the silhouette depicts Dance of the Heyoka (1954) and the dust cloud following closely after the horse is created with snips of Umine Dance (1958), Sacro-Wi-Dance (Sun Dance) (1965), The Council (before 1983) and Fighting Bucks (1967). The background is created with a small piece of Sioux Elk Dance (before 1983) as well. All of these pieces can be found within the Dakota Modern: Oscar Howe exhibit by South Dakota University and tell a story of Howe's indigenous experience.