PABLO, Mont. — Since 1988, the Salish Kootenai College [1] has supported artists teaching and creating in the art of sculpting metal. The result has been rewarding, as many pieces can now be found throughout campus.
Like the tribal college on Montana's Flathead Indian Reservation, the metal sculpting technique has evolved. Originally created from scrap pieces of metal such as junk car parts and wire, the sculptures are now reaching new heights and developing new business opportunities for students and instructors.
A '75 Chevy Malibu soars like an ‘Eagle Spirit'
During a dusty walk to work, Dwight Billedeaux was offered a deal on a 1975 Chevy Malibu and, although money was an issue, he was allowed a payment plan. Within weeks, the car broke down but Billedeaux had a debt that needed to be paid.
The SKC art instructor, a Blackfeet tribal member, quickly went to work sculpting, rearranging and welding the Malibu's junk car parts with wire. After several months, Billedeaux created a sculpture of a tribal man freeing an eagle into the sky.
Appropriately named "Eagle Spirit," the sculpture was sold to SKC in 1988 and has become the campus' centerpiece. During her 2008 presidential campaign visit, Sen. Hillary Clinton said the sculpture "represented Native people coming from poverty and rising above to become anything they wanted to become."
Throughout his 24-year career as an art instructor for SKC, Billedeaux has taught and inspired generations of students in the trash art sculpting technique. Now retired, the 61-year-old Native artist is pleased to see new sculptures displayed throughout campus.
"I try to inspire people in all of my work," Billedeaux said. "Being a poor artist, you think, 'I don't have enough money to buy art supplies.' Then, you look around and there's materials everywhere."
Junk cars become an environmental resource
Sold to SKC in 2000, a new generation of sculptures was born through Blackfeet artist Jay Labor's piece, "Buffalo Hunt." The trash art sculpture depicts an energetic tribal man on horseback, spear-hunting a rowdy buffalo.
Combining talent and experience in the construction business, Laber often shapes his sculptures to give the illusion of movement and depth. Most of the 47-year-old artist's work is constructed of junk car parts.
"I was once challenged to teach art using environmental resources," said Laber. "Maybe they meant rocks or trees but on a lot of reservations, junk cars have become just as much an environmental resource as any of those things."
The experience led to a new career as an art instructor at SKC and, although he teaches various techniques, trash art sculpting isn't one of them: "Art is a person's individual opinion," Laber said. "I teach the craft of art, and it's up to the artist to create from the craft. If you can't form your own opinion, you shouldn't have one."
Metal, light as a feather
While earlier SKC sculptures were created using trash art, artist Glenn Aragon introduced the welded art sculpting technique. Using methods he'd learned during his 35 years as a welder, Aragon's artwork is created from purchased (rather than scrap) metals.
Standing tall at 30 feet, Aragon's sculpture, "Eagle Feather," decorates the newest addition on campus. Weighing more than 300 pounds, "Eagle Feather" seems to float in the wind, and unlike previous artists, Aragon torches the metal to add color to his sculptures.
Aragon's relationship with SKC began when his wife, Johanna Aragon, started attending classes. Coming from the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, Aragon displayed several pieces for the college's art department and was granted a position as an art instructor.
"If SKC had an art degree offered here, we'd have a lot of students," the Eastern Shoshone/Pend d'Oreille artist said. "Art is a big part of Native life. There aren't a lot of colleges out there that value art like SKC does, and I'm honored to be a part of it."