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John Feodorov in "Spirituality"
Calling on his Native American heritage and sense of humor, John Feodorov sets tradition against modern-day kitsch to create a “hybrid mythology” in provocative multimedia installations. “I have this background,” says Feodorov, “of a traditional Navajo and this sort of outsider Christian background of Jehovah Witnesses, which are completely opposed to each other. And I’m in the middle trying to make sense out of it.”
Filmed in Seattle, Washington, where the artist works and lives, the segment features Office Shaman, a new performance/installation which humorously joins contemporary office culture with ritual healing and sacrifice.
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Brought up both in the suburbs of Los Angeles and on a Navajo reservation in New Mexico, John Feodorov experienced the cultural differences between his dual heritages early. He also observed the stereotypes present in American culture at large, where Native Americans were idealized as the living embodiment of spirituality by New Age consumerists. His work addresses this clichéd modern archetype through a humorous interjection of “sacred” items into recognizable consumer products.
Artwork Survey: 1990s
