Photo courtesy of Museum of Wisconsin Art
Ukwé-tase by Chris T Cornelius
Ukwé-tase by Chris T Cornelius
By any unit of artistic and physical measure, the new Museum of Wisconsin Art installation by Oneida artist and architect Chris T Cornelius stands above many works that have come before it both in concept and execution.
Named ukwé·tase (newcomer/stranger) by its creator, the three-dimensional structure blends contemporary and traditional architectural aspects in unique and compelling ways, while exploring themes of familiarity and alienation within the environment it seeks to capture. The work represents humankind’s place in a world to which it is both resident and stranger, creating a sense of wonder and wariness of the world around us, the Milwaukee-born artist says.
“I am indigenous, but I also am a stranger in that physical land and don’t have any specific knowledge or claim to the place,” says Cornelius who was raised on an Oneida reservation in northern Wisconsin and now lives in New Mexico. “I tend to think about architecture as animals and the ways both inhabit their respective environments.”
Ukwé·tase (newcomer/stranger), originally designed for and first on display at the 2023 Chicago Architectural Biennial, exerts a commanding presence on any space it occupies. A highly stylized “residence,” the piece measures 12 feet-by-20 feet in its nonrectangular construction and reaches 14 feet high at its highest point. Constructed primarily of plywood painted different colors, its exterior style extends from modernist at one end to more traditional at the other, with surfaces covered by stitched deer hides and metallic jingles similar to those worn on the dresses of indigenous women that make noise when they walk or dance.
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Sixteen prints of renderings by Cornelius from MOWA’s permanent collection and a large-scale abstract painting by artist Brennan Steines round out the gallery surrounding the sculpture.
Stranger in a Strange Land
Photo courtesy of Museum of Wisconsin Art
Ukwé-tase by Chris T Cornelius
Ukwé-tase by Chris T Cornelius
In part because of its size, ukwé·tase (newcomer/stranger) is designed to be entered by visitors and is outfitted with a bench on which they can sit and look up at a projection screen that takes the place of a skylight, showing changing scene of the sky above Albuquerque, where Cornelison serves as chair of the University of New Mexico’s Department of Architecture. The New Mexico sky is very different than that of Wisconsin, Cornelius note, further enhancing the artist’s “stranger in a strange land” ethos.
“While I am not trying to replicate indigenous forms, I want to keep indigenous values at the core of the work,” Cornelius says. “This is intended to push the dialogue, and that’s what’s important to me.”
The artist, who also founded studio:indigenous and now lives on the ancestral lands of the Pueblo, Tiwa and Piro people, has won numerous honors and accolades for his architectural work. He holds a BS in Architectural Studies from UWM, where he also has taught prior to his current appointment. In his mind, art and architecture are the same, which lends added dimension to his work.
“For me it’s really about advancing the discussion about what indigenous architecture is,” Cornelius explains. “Is it based on values or forms? The works are new and of my authorship, but the values are about our nonhuman relatives, indigenous regalia, the sky and the land, and we can be separated from those things, but should still be in dialogue with all of them.”
Chris T Cornelius’ ukwé·tase (newcomer/stranger) is on display now through January 2025 at the Museum of Wisconsin Art, 205 Veterans Ave., West Bend. Details at wisconsinart.org.
