This paper analyzes how Leon Polk Smith's Indigenous roots and upbringing in Indian Country had a significant impact on his artistic practice in a time of discrimination and segregation in the United States. Through examination contextualizing his work within the history and political events of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Choctaw Nations it is revealed how Polk Smith developed a formal language that could navigate both worlds and be viewed through a pure abstraction lens or a lens embodying his Indigenous traditions. In addition to his Indigenous philosophies, Mesoamerican Inca Nation’s cultural motifs further ground Polk Smith’s Indigenous aesthetic, and avant-garde works by Piet Mondrian and Kashmir Malevich serve as a contemporary vantage point. This parallel places Polk Smith at a convergence of traditions.
","abstract_html":"<p>This paper analyzes how Leon Polk Smith's Indigenous roots and upbringing in Indian Country had a significant impact on his artistic practice in a time of discrimination and segregation in the United States. Through examination contextualizing his work within the history and political events of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Choctaw Nations it is revealed how Polk Smith developed a formal language that could navigate both worlds and be viewed through a pure abstraction lens or a lens embodying his Indigenous traditions. In addition to his Indigenous philosophies, Mesoamerican Inca Nation’s cultural motifs further ground Polk Smith’s Indigenous aesthetic, and avant-garde works by Piet Mondrian and Kashmir Malevich serve as a contemporary vantage point. This parallel places Polk Smith at a convergence of traditions.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Montanino, Danielle"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (M.A.)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Art History","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Lise Kjaer","Craig Houser"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2022,"date_issued":"2022-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2022-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:57:53Z","subjects":["Indigenous","Nation","primitive","modern","geometric","tondo","American Studies","Art and Design","Contemporary Art","Indigenous Studies","Native American Studies","Theory and Criticism"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/997","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Lise Kjaer","Craig Houser"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Montanino, Danielle"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2023-05-09T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Art History"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (M.A.)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Indigenous","Nation","primitive","modern","geometric","tondo","American Studies","Art and Design","Contemporary Art","Indigenous Studies","Native American Studies","Theory and Criticism"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/997"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This paper analyzes how Leon Polk Smith's Indigenous roots and upbringing in Indian Country had a significant impact on his artistic practice in a time of discrimination and segregation in the United States. Through examination contextualizing his work within the history and political events of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Choctaw Nations it is revealed how Polk Smith developed a formal language that could navigate both worlds and be viewed through a pure abstraction lens or a lens embodying his Indigenous traditions. In addition to his Indigenous philosophies, Mesoamerican Inca Nation’s cultural motifs further ground Polk Smith’s Indigenous aesthetic, and avant-garde works by Piet Mondrian and Kashmir Malevich serve as a contemporary vantage point. This parallel places Polk Smith at a convergence of traditions.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Cherokee Abstract Artist Leon Polk Smith: A Convergence of Traditions"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Lise Kjaer","Craig Houser"],"dc:creator":["Montanino, Danielle"],"dc:date.available":["2023-05-09T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This paper analyzes how Leon Polk Smith's Indigenous roots and upbringing in Indian Country had a significant impact on his artistic practice in a time of discrimination and segregation in the United States. Through examination contextualizing his work within the history and political events of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Choctaw Nations it is revealed how Polk Smith developed a formal language that could navigate both worlds and be viewed through a pure abstraction lens or a lens embodying his Indigenous traditions. In addition to his Indigenous philosophies, Mesoamerican Inca Nation’s cultural motifs further ground Polk Smith’s Indigenous aesthetic, and avant-garde works by Piet Mondrian and Kashmir Malevich serve as a contemporary vantage point. This parallel places Polk Smith at a convergence of traditions.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/997"],"dc:subject":["Indigenous","Nation","primitive","modern","geometric","tondo","American Studies","Art and Design","Contemporary Art","Indigenous Studies","Native American Studies","Theory and Criticism"],"dc:title":["Cherokee Abstract Artist Leon Polk Smith: A Convergence of Traditions"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Art History"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (M.A.)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:57:53Z"}