Norman Akers
Norman Akers is a Native American artist known for his landscape works that incorporate cultural, historical and contemporary visuals of Native American life. He is a member of the Osage Nation and currently teaches in the Indigenous studies program at the University of Kansas. Biography. Norman Akers was born in Fairfax, Oklahoma and is a part of the Osage Nation. In 1982, Akers received his BFA in Painting from the Kansas City Art Institute. The next year Akers received a certificate in Museum studies from the Institute of American Arts. In 1991, Akers received an MFA  from the  University of Illinois. Artistic process. Akers's artwork is inspired by his background as a Native American and what it means culturally to be an Indian. He has stated that he interprets his art as a form of cultural expression that tie to his views politically and historically, while maintaining a contemporary form. The art often includes references to multiple perspectives or interpretations and how these ideas are used to identify spiritual places. Akers has specified that there is no certain physical place or destination, as it represents the spiritual origin these images bring him and relate to him culturally . Akers will use maps in his work, which he has described as an expression for spiritual connection to physical places he has yet discovered. His work also takes inspiration from current mainstream ideas of "immigrants" and what it means to be "illegal" in the present day world and his desire to question these ideas.