Often for the writer or artist, the brain uses art as a translator, or its sorting tool for explaining what it has seen. In his article, “Artistic Creativity and the Brain," professor of Neurobiology at University College in London, Semir Zeki said, “A major function of art can thus be regarded as an extension of the function of the brain, namely, to seek knowledge about the world.” The creative mind finds commonalities and parallels to what we have experienced. The resulting poem or work of art helps the reader or viewer make the mental leap of understanding.

Debbie Ouellet  |  17.FEB.2012

It is that moment of recognition, that sudden ‘aha’ that pulls the audience in and a connection is made. Dreams, in their imagery and storytelling qualities often act as a creative bridge for these mental leaps.... Read More

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The real question in indigenous film and video is not who is behind the camera but how that person visually structures his or her perception of the world. This perspective allows for the potential that some indigenous filmmakers have created and will continue to create ways of viewing and understanding the world that are different from non-Native views. As an expression of a culture as well as a record about a culture, the process of indigenous documentary springs from social relations and worldviews found in Native American communities, and, in many cases, these relations differ markedly from those of non-Native communities. When studying indigenous media, then, we should not primarily ask whether there is a style, outlook, or code that is characteristically Native in approach, but whether indigenous media emerge from social processes and worldviews that point to alternative possibilities for structuring and knowing our world. This ability of Native media to invite or urge viewers to empathize with alternative points of view demonstrates its rhetorical importance for Native and non-Native viewers alike.

Steve Leuthold  |  12.JAN.2012

Video's decreasing cost, ease of use, and resulting accessibility make it a convenient medium for establishing an alternative ideological framework to that of the dominant culture. The increasing use of video technology by indigenous peoples points to alternative scenarios for media production and use. This scenario runs counter to dominant culture assumptions about the inevitable demise of Native cultures in the face of Euro-American progress, assumptions that have been ingrained by centuries of imagery portraying Indians as enemies, then vanquished foes, and currently relegating Indians in the popular imagination to movies, curio shops, and museum exhibits. In the United States, Native Americans have been actively making videos based on an initial focus of "helping to enhance the survival of their own communities," in their own production facilities and through coproduction arrangements with non-Native videographers and filmmakers...... Read More

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