Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink print by Fritz Scholder. It dates from 1971 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1971, *Untitled* is one of eight lithographs in a portfolio by Fritz Scholder, an enrolled member of the La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians.
Created in 1971, *Untitled* is one of eight lithographs in a portfolio by Fritz Scholder, an enrolled member of the La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians. Produced during his tenure at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, the work belongs to a series that critically reimagined representations of Native identity through printmaking. Scholder’s approach merged contemporary visual strategies with Indigenous subject matter, resisting conventional artistic tropes.
Subject & Meaning
The figure depicted wears a hat and holds a can of Coors beer, its exaggerated facial features—prominent nose, wide mouth, darkened skin—evoke caricature. Rather than reinforcing romanticized or stereotypical imagery, Scholder uses distortion to expose the reduction of Native people to visual clichés. The beer can, a mass-produced commodity, contrasts with the figure’s cultural context, suggesting the intrusion of consumer culture into Indigenous life.
Technique & Style
Scholder employed lithography to achieve bold, flat planes of color and sharp linear contours. The figure’s darkened face stands in stark contrast to the lighter torso and deep brown background, heightening visual tension. The medium’s capacity for texture and layering adds subtle depth, while the simplified forms and strong outlines reflect influences from Pop Art and postmodern irony, distancing the work from traditional Native artistic conventions.
History & Provenance
The lithograph was produced during Scholder’s time teaching at the Institute of American Indian Arts, where he challenged both students and the art world to reconsider how Native identity was portrayed. This portfolio emerged from a period of intense artistic and political engagement, as Native artists sought greater autonomy in representation. The work remains part of a significant body of prints that reshaped contemporary Native art discourse.
Context
In the early 1970s, mainstream depictions of Native Americans often relied on mythologized or sentimental imagery. Scholder’s work directly countered these narratives, aligning with broader civil rights movements that demanded authentic self-representation. His use of everyday objects like beer cans and his stylized figures reflected the complexities of contemporary Native life, rejecting both exoticization and erasure.
Legacy
Scholder’s portfolio influenced a generation of Native artists to embrace critical, personal, and unconventional approaches to their subject matter. By blending modernist techniques with Indigenous themes, he expanded the possibilities of Native art beyond ethnographic or decorative frameworks. His work laid groundwork for later artists to interrogate identity, representation, and cultural authority in visual form.
Artist & collection
Artist
Fritz William Scholder V (October 6, 1937 – February 10, 2005) was a Native American artist, who produced paintings, monotypes, lithographs, and sculptures.
