mOTHER DRUM
Three-channel synchronized HD color video (HD color video and Super 16 mm film transferred to hd color video) with sound, 14 min. 31 sec., 2019
Mother Drum was filmed throughout the summer of 2015 on the Swinomish Reservation in Washington, Coeur d'Alene Reservation in Idaho, and Crow Agency Reservation in Montana.
The genus of this project was a 2014 archaeological dig in downtown Miami, where Friedman is based, which uncovered the remnants of the ancient, aboriginal city of Tequesta. The contemporary city, dense with high-rise developments, had for the most part ignored the history of its native inhabitants. But this sacred ground lies directly beneath the condos that populate its skyline, surrounding this site, encasing it in steel and glass.
The following summer, Friedman placed an advertisement on PowWows.com, asking Native American Fancy Dancers and drummers to take part in her project, and traveled to pow wows in the West to meet with those who replied. The film, Mother Drum, is a result of those meetings.
The people in the film participated explicitly for Friedman's camera, separate from the larger events taking place at the pow wows. The power of the drum is the central, healing character throughout Friedman’s work. In the artist's words, “the dusty and undeniable metaphysics of the drum embody the Earth’s heartbeat; the beats vibrate a person's bones until they are both with and beyond themselves.”
Together with: Cynthia Jim, Jordyn Nomee, Dahyiitihi White, RJ Teveter Jr., Wade Broken Nose, Maxine Broken Nose, Maxx Broken Nose, Maurice Broken Nose, Marques Broken Nose, Ohitika Gibbon, and Delino Cook
press
“What to See in New York Art Galleries This Week: DARA FRIEDMAN,” The New York Times, April 2017
“Goings On About Town: Dara Friedman,” The New Yorker, April 2017
“Review: Dara Friedman,” ArtForum, May 2017
“Dara Friedman,” Art in America, June 2017
“Filming Native American Performance Through a Decolonized Lens,” Hyperallergic, May 2018
