Cave Wall Guardians 1972

Editor: David Chethlahe Paladin's "Cave Wall Guardians," from 1972, is a striking mixed-media piece, heavily featuring acrylic. The texture almost makes you feel like you are actually staring at a cave wall. What do you see when you look at this painting, and how might we interpret its visual language in relation to its context? Curator: Considering Paladin's cultural background, Diné (Navajo) and Pueblo, it is nearly impossible not to view this as an engagement with ancestral representation. He takes the practice of Indigenous rock art and situates it within a modern framework. I ask, what happens when Paladin takes something once publicly accessible and places it in a gallery, controlled by a historically oppressive force? How does that recontextualization shift meaning? Editor: That is such a critical question; It immediately makes me reconsider how I initially received it as something static. The shift from a public ancestral site to a gallery setting undoubtedly changes how viewers engage with the work. What purpose do you think these recontextualizations serve in his broader body of work? Curator: These acts serve many purposes, the immediate is the elevation of an overlooked or dismissed culture, as seen through the Western gaze. We should also consider it to be an active means of preservation, by situating within an institution he assures the longevity of this ancestral form. But does that access then risk appropriation? It's a constant tension with work like this. Editor: These contextual layers bring even greater complexity to the already compelling visuals. I’m seeing how important it is to consider Indigenous agency when talking about Paladin’s art and the implications of the art world itself in how those are seen and understood. Thank you. Curator: It's been enlightening to reconsider the intersection between cultural preservation, artistic expression, and the sometimes fraught context of institutional display.