Michael Stoklos: Portraits of Native Doctors and Healers
December 11, 2008 – January 20, 2009 in the Gallery

In 2002, while attending the American Association of Indian Physicians convention in Anchorage, Alaska, Tucson artist Michael Stoklos began taking a series of black and white portrait photographs of Native American physicians and healers. Recalling the style of Richard Avedon, the subjects are photographed against a minimal white backdrop while looking directly at the camera. Some hold prayer fans, others embrace their native heritage by wearing traditional tribal attire for their portraits. A few of the images are group portraits showing important family relationships: mother and child, husband and wife, grandfather, son and grandson. The results are powerful and insightful, achieving an honesty and intimacy that feels quite personal.

The son of a rural Wisconsin doctor and nurse mother, Michael Stoklos and his aunt Mary Stoklos founded the Stoklos Foundation that supports Native American students at the University of Arizona and encourages the duality of the studying Western medicine and traditional healing.