Interview · South Dakota · Kevin Locke · OSEU 3
Themes: Kinship & family, Identity & belonging, Values & generosity, Culture & continuity, Arts & expression, Community & responsibility, Listening & observation, Children & young people
Learn About questions
What is the Folk Art movement? What artistic expressions might it include?
What opportunities exist for Lakota, Dakota and Nakota traditional artists to share culture and art around the country and the world?
What’s the difference between “vicarious” appreciation of an art form and “participatory” engagement with an art form?
Learn From questions
Do you practice any forms of artistic expression? What is your creative passion?
Have you experienced presentations by Folk artists of any kind? Where and When? How did it impact you? Did you “participate”?
Do you see yourself as a “legitimate heir” to the richness of the human heritage? What do you think that might mean?
What arts were practiced in your family? Have you inherited any to pass on to the next generation?
Transcripts
Folk Arts - Kevin Locke - OSEU #3
Watch this interview on YouTubeOur official designation is folk arts. And if you look at folk arts…these are things that all communities around the world…they all have their folk arts. It’s very broad. It’s like any kind of tradition that’s passed down from generation to generation within the community. That’s kind of a broad definition of folk arts. But the beautiful thing about folk arts is that these folk arts represent universal signs…or indicators…or expressions of the nobility of the human spirit. Over time, these folk arts are just passed down like that so the next generation will take it and pull out all those things that are beautiful and make it relevant to them. So it becomes refined over time. So these folk arts have universal currency.
They have validity everywhere in the world because what they do is accentuate the nobility of the human spirit…this innate quality that we have to express ourselves in harmony and balance and beauty.
So these things that I do…those are just folk arts you see. I didn’t make it up. It doesn’t belong to me either. I’m just trying to bring it along and do the best I can with it. So then I found in my touring…I’ve been to 93 countries you see…so everywhere…they don’t belong to me. I’ve just, in a humble way, tried to carry it along. But yet, people can see that in those folk arts. They can see how it universally uplifts us. Here in South Dakota, we have such an abundance of these traditions that are so beautiful all over the world.
I’ve been going over to China through the State Department and to Indonesia. Again, this spring I’ll be going over there again. So we just go to the minority areas in China. It never fails. They appreciate that. And they have the same thing. It’s a beautiful way to share the riches of the human spirit, the human heritage. And so, what I like to do is make everything participatory. It’s no good to do everything vicariously. That just reinforces this thing that we exist and everything else is foreign or extrinsic to us. Once you get people to participate…just like you were singing last night…the minute you do that, you have taken ownership of that. You are a participant.
I think we need to begin to cultivate ways where…especially the young people…we can see ourselves as legitimate heirs of the human family. So Lakota people can contribute to this as well.
Resource text
Learn ABOUT Learn FROM
(deep listening, information) (deep sharing, transformation)
1. What is the Folk Art movement? What 1. Do you practice any forms of artistic
artistic expressions might it include? expression? What is your creative
2. What opportunities exist for Lakota, passion?
Dakota and Nakota traditional artiststo 2. Have you experienced presentations by
share culture and art around the country Folk artists of any kind? Where and
and the world? When? How did it impact you? Did you
3. What’s the difference between “participate” ?
“vicarious” appreciation of anart form 3. Do yousee yourselfas a “legitimate
and “participatory” engagement with an heir” to the richness of the human
art form? heritage? What do you think that might
= mean?
es, What arts were practiced in your family?
She Have you inherited any artistic
— . traditions? Do you have any to pass on
_ to the next generation?
WoLakota Project
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Source materials
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Additional source transcripts
Folk Arts
Folk Arts - Kevin Locke - OSEU #3
Our official designation is folk arts. And if you look at folk arts…these are things that all
communities around the world…they all have their folk arts. It’s very broad. It’s like any
kind of tradition that’s passed down from generation to generation within the community.
That’s kind of a broad definition of folk arts. But the beautiful thing about folk arts is that
these folk arts represent universal signs…or indicators…or expressions of the nobility of
the human spirit. Over time, these folk arts are just passed down like that so the next
generation will take it and pull out all those things that are beautiful and make it relevant
to them. So it becomes refined over time. So these folk arts have universal currency.
They have validity everywhere in the world because what they do is accentuate the
nobility of the human spirit…this innate quality that we have to express ourselves in
harmony and balance and beauty.
So these things that I do…those are just folk arts you see. I didn’t make it up. It doesn’t
belong to me either. I’m just trying to bring it along and do the best I can with it. So then
I found in my touring…I’ve been to 93 countries you see…so everywhere…they don’t
belong to me. I’ve just, in a humble way, tried to carry it along. But yet, people can see
that in those folk arts. They can see how it universally uplifts us. Here in South Dakota,
we have such an abundance of these traditions that are so beautiful all over the world.
I’ve been going over to China through the State Department and to Indonesia. Again,
this spring I’ll be going over there again. So we just go to the minority areas in China. It
never fails. They appreciate that. And they have the same thing. It’s a beautiful way to
share the riches of the human spirit, the human heritage. And so, what I like to do is
make everything participatory. It’s no good to do everything vicariously. That just
reinforces this thing that we exist and everything else is foreign or extrinsic to us. Once
you get people to participate…just like you were singing last night…the minute you do
that, you have taken ownership of that. You are a participant.
I think we need to begin to cultivate ways where…especially the young people…we can
see ourselves as legitimate heirs of the human family. So Lakota people can contribute
to this as well.