Jeffrey Gibson

Be Witched Bothered and Be Wildered

Jeffrey Gibson (Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, Cherokee) melds Indigenous community-derived visual vocabularies and materials—such as intricately designed and multicolored patterns of beadwork composed of beads, fringe, and animal hide—with pop cultural references. Exemplary of this fusion, Be Witched Bothered and Be Wildered is a found canvas punching bag overlaid with a vibrant pattern of glass and plastic beads that spell out the title of a popular 20th-century show tune.