American, born 1976; Lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.

Born Umar Rashid in Chicago in 1976, Frohawk Two-Feathers is truly a modern-day Renaissance man. An artist, musician, poet, and above all, a master storyteller, Rashid uses various pseudonyms (Frohawk Two-Feathers, Hi-Fidel, and Kent Cyclone) and produces work that offers a modern interpretation of the age-old themes of colonialism, imperialism, and conquest.

His two drawings featured in Stranger Than Fiction recount a highly imaginative, revisionist history of eighteenth-century imperial conquest. These works belong to a series of portraits of characters involved in the 50 Years War (1742-1790) fought between Francis III of Frengland and belligerents scattered throughout the world. Frengland, the imagined union of France and England, and their combined territories, is presented as a relentless colonial force.

Maria, the newly crowned Empress of Frengland, is fashioned after Napoleon’s wife, Josephine. On her neck is a tattoo inspired by the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s coat of arms. The servant behind her holding a bowl of bananas is a self-portrait of the artist. The facial and bodily markings on all the figures belong to a complex imperial tattoo system. The portrait of Romulus is modeled on Alex de Cordoba (the gallerist who represents the artist). The detail with which Frohawk narrates this fabricated colonial account as well as the references to actual historical personages and empires, blurs the distinction between fact and fable.

Regarding music, Rashid is currently in the bands Friday Night and SUPERDELUXE, and was formerly in the band Foreign & Domestic. Like his drawings, his music is characterized by a free-flowing sense of narrative storytelling—drawing on the sounds of hip-hop, electro, pop, and soul.

Please join us this Thursday, October 21, from 5:30 – 7:30 pm, for a special in-person performance by Frohawk at Atelier, an evening of intimate, intriguing, occasionally irreverent interactions with art and artists in the Museum’s galleries. To purchase tickets, click here.

Education: BA, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, Carbondale, IL, 2000.

Solo Exhibitions: Frohawk Two-Feathers at Scenic, New York, NY, 2009; New Work, Galerie Emmanuel Post, Leipzig, Germany, 2009; In The Court Of The Crimson King, Taylor De Cordoba, Los Angeles, CA, 2008; Last Night, After the Lights Went Out, We Fell, Taylor De Cordoba, Los Angeles, CA, 2006; 25 Bold Moves, House of Campari, Venice, Italy, 2006; The Easter Seal, Bent Gallery, South Pasadena, CA, 2006; C-Note Show, Project, Los Angeles, CA, 2006; You and Me, Unitard Gallery, Los Angeles CA, 2006; The Union vs. The Confederacy, Marvimon House, Los Angeles, CA, 2005; Tundrafoot vs. The Vikes, Han Cholo, Los Angeles, CA, 2005; Cool Heat, Blue Chips Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, 2005.

Captions (all works by Frohawk Two-Feathers): “Tabac Et Banane” Maria, (Now) Empress of Frengland (After the Death of Francis IV) and Her Servant, Gannibal in the Courtyard of the Royal Palace at Calais. 1870., 2008. Ink, acrylic, and tea on paper. Museum Purchase, General Art Acquisition Fund, 2010.22 • “With a Cool Crew Key-chain and Street Name” Romulus, now Francis IV, Emperor of Frengland. Magda’s Husband., 2009. Ink, acrylic, and tea on paper. Courtesy of Taylor De Cordoba, Los Angeles. •  Philip, Crown Ruler of the Khedivate of Columbra (Zanzibar and Tanzania) and Unknown Bedouin Woman of Low Birth, 2008. Ink, acrylic, and tea on paper. Courtesy of Taylor De Cordoba, Los Angeles. • Henri Lafayette (1758), 2009. Ink, acrylic, and tea on paper. Courtesy of Taylor De Cordoba, Los Angeles.