Ledger Art

New Media Ventures today announced publication of George Flett: Ledger Art, the first portfolio collection of the artist's work - and the first book ever devoted to the work of a Spokane tribal artist. The sumptuously produced volume, 12 x 12 inches in size and housed in a cloth-covered, inlaid slipcover, has been produced in a limited edition of 1,200, of which only 1,100 are being released for public sale. The book is also expected to be available as part of the workshop the artist will conduct June 15-17 at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. GEORGE FLETT: Ledger Art features an introductory essay by Spokane writer and educator Scott M. Thompson, an authority on ledger painting. Flett draws upon ledger painting, a major tradition of Native American art, to record the significant aspects of the history, traditions and culture of his Spokane people. In the nineteenth century, Native artists chronicled on buffalo hides the heroic deeds of warriors. As buffalo herds were decimated the forts and towns proliferated, hides became scarce and a new medium emerged: business ledger books. These ledgers, once used by bookkeepers to record business transactions, were obtained in trade or captured in battle and became "canvas" for Plains and Plateau tribal artists. Flett's works - produced on ledger pages, telegrams, maps and other ephemera - depict not only military encounters but also spiritual ones. Collectively his ledger art presents a panorama of Spokane tribal culture and tradition. Flett is uniquely qualified to depict Spokane life, as noted by Cliff SiJohn, elder of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe of Indians: "The Spokane Indians have a long history of pride, integrity, and courage. They were visionary people. George Flett is one of these Spokane Indians. George grew up in the shadow of his grandmother, uncles, aunts, father and mother. He took part in traditional culture and ceremonies of his tribe. As kids we would look for paper-cardboard from a box or a paper sack for art material and put things he saw in his head on this paper. George is a visionary person of the Spokane Tribe, a Spokane man. He has a true heart through and through, a big spirit. You can actually sit and look at his work and it will speak to you." Francis Cullooyah, an elder of the Kalispel tribe and long-time friend of the artist, has also recognized the faithfulness of Flett's work: "George Flett's paintings reflect the past as well as the present. His way of life is represented in all of his very masterful artwork. The skills he so often utilizes come from years of listening and visiting with past generations of elder relatives and friends. Many of these people are now gone, but his preservation of their individual and family values and traditions which he has so generously been gifted with, come out in all of his art pieces.... The land where he still lives today, where many generations of his family raised their children, is still the location of his studio. That connection to that important part of his life's experiences and spirituality comes out in all of his work. He also is one of the principle reasons that the Prairie Chicken Dance style is in resurgence today as you can see by his depictions of that very style in many of his paintings." The book is bound in boards and slipcased in a cloth-covered box, featuring a debossed area that has been inlaid with a Flett print. The front cover of the book also features an inlaid print. Both book and slipcase are covered in blue cloth selected to match colors in the traditional Plateau Indian plateau. Sky-blue endpapers were also drawn from that palette.