Ryan Singer (born August 24, 1973) is a

Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

living in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

. He is of the clan, born for . Singer is known for his vibrant Pop Art-inspired takes on Native American and mainstream culture.

As far back as I can remember I have always loved art—drawing, painting, making music. What I like most about it is the freedom to create something—anything—from nothing. – Ryan Singer, 2009

Background

The best thing for a kid is encouragement. My mother always got me art supplies and encouraged me. I think that was all it took. –Ryan Singer, 2009

Born in

Cedar City, Utah Cedar City is the largest city in Iron County, Utah, United States. It is located south of Salt Lake City, and north of Las Vegas on Interstate 15. It is the home of Southern Utah University, the Utah Shakespeare Festival, the Utah Summer Gam ...

, Singer grew up on the Navajo Nation. His hometown was Tuba City, Arizona . As a child Singer gained inspiration from comic books and watching his uncle Ed Singer painting in his studio. In the summers he attended Navajo

sheep camp Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticate ...

, where he was taught to understand the Navajo language despite not being a fluent speaker. At the age of 10, Singer studied art books and familiarized himself with not only Western artists but also Navajo artists like

Shonto Begay Shonto Begay is a Native American artist, illustrator, writer, and teacher. He began his artistic career in 1983 and his art features landscapes and other cultural elements of Navajo life. Biography and education Begay was born into the Diné ...

and Bahe Whitethorne Sr. He also became interested in Surrealist artists such as Salvador Dalí. Singer, as a youth, became engrossed in punk rock culture and immersing himself in zines,

skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport originating in the United States that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a ...

, and hardcore punk. After graduating from high school in Window Rock, Arizona, in 1992, he entered

Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public research university based in Flagstaff, Arizona. It was founded in 1899 as the final public university established in the Arizona Territory, 13 years before Arizona was admitted as the 48th state. ...

. There he studied forestry, inspired by his interests in the outdoors and environmentalism. This led to him working for the United States Forest Service for five years, when he left disappointed with the red tape of the US federal government. In 2004, he entered

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

majoring in fine arts and eventually became a full-time artist.

Current

When not creating art, Singer works as art handler, graphic designer, and mentor for emerging artists. In 2010 he co-founded Native Artists For HOPE, a

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...

organization that provides mentoring, workshops and artistic empowerment to young Native American youth. Singer currently lives and works in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with his wife, Nathania Tsosie, who runs his website and online sales. His work is represented by a number of private galleries.

Art career

I don’t like to conform. That's what art is about—freedom. That's what being an artist is. The most important thing: Speak your own truth. – Ryan Singer, 2010

Singer pulls from two major sources for his influences: popular culture and elements of Navajo culture. Influences of comic books, record album covers, and science fiction are combined with a Pop Art sensibility in a movement called

Indigenous Futurisms Indigenous Futurisms is a movement consisting of art, literature, comics, games, and other forms of media which express Indigenous perspectives of the future, past, and present in the context of science fiction and related sub-genres. Such perspect ...

. He also cites the visual appeal and stories of

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

and classic films and television programs such as

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

, Godzilla,

Flash Gordon Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established ''Buck Rogers'' adve ...

and black-and-white horror films. He is also known for his detailed portraits – ranging from Marilyn Monroe wearing a Navajo blanket to Boba Fett with a

coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecologica ...

Early work

Singer's first completed painting was at the age of 16; a

self-portrait A self-portrait is a representation of an artist that is drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by that artist. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century tha ...

with him wearing a

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

T-shirt and his head wrapped up like a mummy. Upon returning to college he was offered two major opportunities: a commission to create illustrations for a book published by Salina Bookshelf and a museum exhibition.

Major works

''Wagon Burner''

In early 2000 Singer had a vision: "About 10, 15 minutes before going to sleep, I was dreaming with my eyes open.... I could see myself driving on the side of a cliff and I saw the sign. I sketched it out and went to sleep." This experience would lead to one of Singer's most well-known images ''Wagon-burner''; a yellow road sign that depicts a covered wagon with flames in the back of it, rolling down a hill. It is a pop art response to the wagon trains that littered the

Old American West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

as they traveled through Navajo and other Native American lands.

''Mutton Stew''

A tribute to Andy Warhol, ''Sheep Is Good Food'' takes Warhol's iconic Campbell Soup can screen print and combines it with a Navajo twist. The Campbell Soup can is turned into a can of

mutton stew Lamb, hogget, and mutton, generically sheep meat, are the meat of domestic sheep, ''Ovis aries''. A sheep in its first year is a lamb and its meat is also lamb. The meat from sheep in their second year is hogget. Older sheep meat is mutton. Gen ...

and instead of the Campbell gold seal, Singer placed an image of a sheep being lassoed. The image has become one of Singer's most popular, landing the cover of the ''Phoenix New Times'' in 2010. The original is housed at the Heard Museum.

Notable collections

* Heard Museum, Phoenix, AZ *

Navajo Nation Museum The Navajo Nation Museum is a museum and library on Navajo ground in Window Rock, Arizona. Its collections, exhibits, and other activities focus on the cultural history of the Navajo people. Its activities include traditional museum exhibits, a ...

, Window Rock, AZ *

The Heritage Center at Red Cloud Indian School ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

, Pine Ridge, SD

Notable exhibitions

* 2020: ''Indigenous Futurisms: Transcending Past / Present / Future'', Museum of Contemporary Native American Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico * 2012: ''Low-Rez: Native American Lowbrow Art'', Eggman and Walrus Art Emporium, Santa Fe, New MexicoNative American Artists go Lowbrow in Low-Rez
Santa Fe.com, accessed 8-12-2012 * 2010: ''Pop!: Popular Culture in Native American Art'', Heard Museum, Phoenix AZ * 2010: ''Transcending Traditions: Contemporary American Indian Artwork'', Mesa Center for Contemporary Arts, Mesa, Arizona * 2010: ''I Didn't Cross the Border; the Border crossed Me'',

Museum of Contemporary Native Art The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) is a public tribal land-grant college in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The college focuses on Native American art. It operates the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA), which is housed in the historic ...

, Lloyd Kiva New Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico * 2009: ''From Robots to Pin-ups: Artwork of Ryan Singer'', University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Notable awards

*''Cover Artist'', 2010, Phoenix New Times *''Artist-in-Residence'', 2009, Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art *''Cover Artist'', 2009, ''Native Peoples Magazine'' *''Adult Smile Award'', 2008,

Santa Fe Indian Market The Santa Fe Indian Market is an annual art market held in Santa Fe, New Mexico on the weekend following the third Thursday in August. The event draws an estimated 150,000 people to the city from around the world. The Southwestern Association fo ...

*''Judge's Choice'', 2008, Heard Museum Indian Market *''Honorable Mention'', 15th Annual West Valley Invitational Native American Arts Festival *''Honorable Mention'', Heard Museum Indian Market *''2nd Place in Painting, Drawing & Graphics'', 57th Navajo Festival of Arts & Crafts *''Best in Division'', 2005, Heard Museum Indian Market

References

External links

"Family ties bind Monty and Ryan Singer"
discusses the 2010 exhibition with his cousin, Monty Singer.
"Indian art Pops out of niche"
''The Arizona Republic''

an interview with Ryan and Monty Singer.
"Santa Fe Scene in Scottsdale"
''View From the Plaza'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Singer, Ryan Navajo painters American pop artists American contemporary painters Artists from Utah Artists from Albuquerque, New Mexico People from Cedar City, Utah Arizona State University alumni 1973 births Living people 20th-century American painters American male painters Native American male artists 20th-century Native Americans 21st-century Native Americans Native American people from Utah 20th-century American male artists