Punk Petroglyph (Heart Line)

1984

Truman Lowe

(Ho-Chunk, 1944–2019)

Culture

America

Medium

pastel on paper

Measurements

Sheet: 55.9 x 76.2 cm (22 x 30 in.)

Credit Line

Sundry Art - Miscellaneous Fund 2025.246

This artwork is known to be under copyright.

Location

101B Prints & Drawings

Did You Know?

In addition to his prolific career as an artist Truman Lowe taught sculpture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for 35 years and was the founding curator of contemporary art at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian.

Description

In this drawing, Truman Lowe rendered the outline of a buck in bold yellow. The animal appears against powdery pastel layers applied in repeating marks. In contrast to their color and smoothness, a spare blood-red line connects it to the outside world. Called heartlines, these were a prominent feature in ancient Indigenous rock art—a longstanding interest of and inspiration to the artist. Lowe used pastel frequently throughout his long career, which involved not only his artistic practice, but also decades spent as an educator and curator. Here, he used drawing to evoke sculptural qualities of petroglyphs, and to commemorate the wildlife of the Wisconsin forests where he was raised and where his people had lived for generations.