Creator Record
Metadata
Name |
Huff, Tom |
Notes |
Tom Huff Seneca-Cayuga Deer Clan Tom is a sculptor whose expressions traverse a variety of styles and themes, both traditional and contemporary. He is highly accomplished with alabaster and soapstone but equally creative with mixed media and found object assemblage, the later which he employs to render wry, often humorous, commentaries on the contradictions and concerns of contemporary times. Tom was born in 1952 and grew up at Seneca Nation Cattaraugus Reservation in western NY. He began carving stone, wood, and antler while still at Cattaraugus, motivated by the creativity of others in his community. He later attended the Institute of American Indian Arts (AFA, 1979) in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and the Rhode Island School of Design (BFA, 1984). He is deeply connected to the ancientness of stone and considers it a living material with communicative properties. His sculptures run the gamut from graceful, highly polished stonework to witty mixed-media statements addressing stereotypes, politics, and cultural traditions. In addition to his sculpture, Tom writes poetry and prose, curates exhibits and serves as adjunct professor at Onondaga Community College where he teaches stone carving and Iroquois art. Selected curatorial projects include The Nuclear Indian Series (undated); Seeing Red: Haudenosaunee Political Art at the Longyear Museum of Anthropology, Colgate University (Hamilton, NY, 1999); Tonto Revisited: Indian Stereotypes at the Iroquois Museum (2010) and other venues; and Haudenosaunee Elements at the Everson Museum (Syracuse, NY, 2010). Each of these expressive acts, regardless of their form, is constructed from thoughtful life narratives, both personal and those carried from earlier generations. Most recently Tom's sculpture was featured in The Land on Which We Gather at the Martin-Mullen Art Gallery at SUNY Oneonta (2019). He is represented in the permanent collections of many institutions including the Wheelwright Museum (Santa Fe, NM); Institute of American Indian Arts (Santa Fe, NM); the Seneca Iroquois National Museum (Allegany Reservation); the NY State Museum (Albany, NY) and in private collections nationwide as well as in Canada, England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, and Sweden. *Bio text cannot be used in print or web publications without IIM permission. Use for other purposes (such as research papers, presentations) should credit the IIM. |
Related Records
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Record Type: Object
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10:10 - Pipe
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10:14 - Sculpture-stone
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10:15 - Sculpture-stone
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23:27 - Sculpture - stone
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88:124 - Sculpture-stone
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88:128 - Sculpture-stone
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89:65 - Sculpture-stone
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91:61 - Sculpture-stone
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92:08 - Sculpture-stone
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92:09 - Sculpture
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92:10 - Sculpture-stone
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93:25 - Sculpture
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93:56 - Sculpture
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98:132 - Sculpture
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99:39 - Sculpture
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Record Type: Object
