Raven Halfmoon (Caddo Nation) makes monumental, totemic sculptures that speak to the living power of indigenous peoples. Halfmoon is best known for towering, glazed stoneware figures that loom at more than twice a human scale and can weigh hundreds of pounds. These figurative beings, whom Halfmoon builds from a coil method, bridge Caddo pottery traditions with ideas rooted in the artist’s feminist matrilineal ancestry along as well as a range of artistic influences including Land Art and the Moai figures on Rapa Nui (Easter Island).
Installation view “Raven Halfmoon: Neesh & Soku” 2024. Images courtesy of the artist and Salon 94. © Raven Halfmoon. Photo: Elisabeth Bernstein
Now in a new exhibition “Neesh + Soku (Moon + Sun)” at Salon 94 in New York, the artist has taken inspiration from her name —Halfmoon—to mine the binaries of light and dark, male and female, past and present, while finding meaning in the rich spaces in between. Here for the first time, the artist presents work in stone and bronze, in addition to new stoneware sculptures. In these works, twinned figures appear, hinting at the multiplicities present in each person. Her works are still monumental, and include a 9-foot bronze sculpture and a 7-foot figure made from travertine.
The artist, who was raised in Oklahoma, has pulled from Caddo history in these new works taking inspiration from the Spiro Mounds of Oklahoma and the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks in Ohio. She’s also done deep dive of research into the interrelation of textile culture and womanhood. In these works, the dush-toh, a traditional and ceremonial Caddo hairpiece worn by women and girls has offered her evocative new meanings.
Below, Halfmoon takes us along on her journey to Earthworks in Ohio with her mother, to the stables where she visits her horses, and into ceremonial moments in Caddo culture.
Raven Halfmoon, NDN Rockstar (2024). Images courtesy of the artist and Salon 94. © Raven Halfmoon. Photo: Elisabeth Bernstein
My work is an ongoing quest to bridge past, present, and future, with particular focus on my Tribal Nation’s history, tradition, and culture. Growing up in Oklahoma, a state with 38 federally recognized Tribal Nations, I’ve felt it part of my responsibility to reclaim space for myself and my Caddo lineage. I feel a passion and a responsibility to share my family’s story and hopefully normalize Native culture and the Native experience in the 21st century. Every sculpture I create carries within it my experiences such as going to dances, listening to stories, and learning our history. Each sculpture contains a piece of me. Each sculpture reflects the powerful spirit of Native people, my family, and me. I view my pieces as monolithic beings that demand to be heard, acknowledged, and experienced.
Courtesy of Raven Halfmoon.
This image shows me and my mother Stacey at Earthworks in Ohio—one of many Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks built by American Indians 2,000 years ago. My mother is an anthropologist who has worked for several Native cultural centers/ museums and is also my operations manager; so our work together and relationship further cements my love for Native culture and the strong female role models it has provided me with.
Courtesy of Raven Halfmoon.
The earthworks site is the largest complex of its type, built from earth carried by human hands and laid intentionally, one basketful at a time. Many groups of American Indians from all over North America gathered at the Newark Earthworks to practice spiritual traditions, celebrate, and connect with one another and the world around them.
Such large earthworks and natural features have provided a guiding influence on the centerpiece of my new show at Salon 94—particularly my first large-scale ventures with bronze and travertine. Each sculpture is conceptually rooted in the traditional coil-built methods of Caddo pottery, using customized clay that emulates the clay sourced from the Caddo homelands centered around the Great Bend in the Red River. The bronze sculpture, created in residence at Urban Art Projects in Rock Tavern, New York, and the travertine sculpture, sculpted in Carrera, Italy, maintain my signature palette of red, black, and white: reds (after the Oklahoma soil and red symbol of the MMIW movement, blacks (referencing the natural clay native to the Red River), and white (referencing the dualities of light against dark).
Courtesy of Raven Halfmoon.
No fieldwork process would be complete without an image of my horses; beyond being a significant part of my daily life and Caddo culture. I have also been interested in horse iconography in my work. The horse can be seen as a metaphor for people; wild or tamed, imperial or submissive—through them I can also consider the importance of our collective heritage, histories, and legacies. The figure of the horse has a political bent for me; like horses, Native people have been traced through blood quantum. Keeping track of “how much Native Blood” someone has is something only put on Tribal people by the US government.
Courtesy of Raven Halfmoon.
The below image was taken at the Caddo Tribal Headquarters in Binger, Oklahoma, at the dance ground. The women you see are participating in the Caddo Turkey Dance, an all-women/female dance that must be completed before sunset. Growing up in Oklahoma, I went to Caddo dances with my mom, Grammie, and other family. I was always struck by the beautifully colored dresses, shawls, jewelry, ribbon work, and designs of our Tribe.
Courtesy of Raven Halfmoon.
I like to incorporate these elements in my artwork. In a stone sculpture I recently created for a show at Salon 94, the female figure is adorning a dush-toh (pronounced dush-doe). The dush-toh is beautiful regalia worn by Caddo women during traditional dances. Dush-tohs are worn toward the back of women’s heads. The top part usually consists of a velvet-wrapped leather piece in the shape of two triangles; the second part is multi-colored ribbons that are attached to the headpiece and flow down the women’s backs.
The dush-tohs are often decorated with mirrors, silverwork, and bells. The ribbons dance in the wind and the mirrors catch glimmers of sunlight. The dush-doh remains special to me, particularly as it is culturally distinct: I am told there are only three Tribal groups who wear them, the Caddo, Delaware, and Shawnee. I am both Caddo and Delaware.
The artist Raven Halfmoon. Courtesy of Raven Halfmoon.
These images are of me in my Caddo dress, also wearing my shawl and fan. I took these during my time at Long Beach’s ceramics center. I love fashion and textile culture, whether that’s contemporary brands or indigenous creations. The clothes I wear also help me interrogate narratives such as Indigenous identity and feminine histories with my own contemporary perspective and context. I’m particularly interested in the interrelation of textile culture and womanhood, how things like my shawl or the dush-toh can also become important signifiers embodying the timeless spirit of female empowerment.
Courtesy of Raven Halfmoon.
Welcome to Source Material, where artists share their creative journeys beyond the confines of the studio. From hunting down frescos in Florence to chasing storms in Cornwall, we explore the eclectic sources of inspiration that fuel artists’ imagination.