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Hailing from Ronan, Montana, Corwin (Corky) Clairmont is a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. He is a celebrated visual and conceptual artist whose decades of work have included printmaking, mixed media, sculpture and installation. He’s also a professor and former fine arts department director at Salish Kootenai College.
After earning an undergraduate degree from the University of Montana, Clairmont continued his graduate studies with a fellowship at San Fernando State University and in 1971 completed his education with a Master of Arts degree from the California State University in Los Angeles. He spent the next 14 years within the Los Angeles art scene and worked as the printmaking department head at the Otis/Parsons Art Institute. In 1984 Clairmont returned to Montana, where he continued exhibiting his art and administrative work while a professor at the newly accredited Salish Kootenai College, developing the SKC fine arts department and degree program. Corwin’s artwork has been exhibited nation wide as well as in China, Germany, Norway, New Zealand, France US Embassy Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Africa. Awards include the Ford foundation, National Endowment of the Arts, Eiteljorg Fellowship Award, Individual Artist Award Missoula, Mt., and the State of Montana 2008 Governors Award for Visual Arts. Is currently serving on the State Board of the Montana Arts Council. Clairmont’s works of art continued to challenge the cultural and ecological effects of European settlement upon the land previously inhabited by his indigenous ancestors for thousands of years. From Salish Kootenai treaty rights to Montana highway development, Clairmont has addressed both deep-seated and contemporary issues. |
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Statement:
Today, Clairmont is among an important group of Native American artists who use elements of their cultural background in combination with European artistic traditions to make political statements. Clairmont often uses elements of printmaking, photography and collage to create his artwork. These complex images give sharp attention to corporate and governmental injustices imposed on the Native American community and environment. Though messages in his work are strong, their delivery is subtle, relying on ironic observations rather than overt accusations. Viewers must approach the work and examine the relationships of many visual and textual references in order to understand its full social and political commentary. 
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I'd like to thank the great print assistants we had on this project: Jason Clark, Crystal McCallie, Tanya Gardner & Dagny Walton.
This project is made possible with the generous support of the following:
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