John Henry Gloyne, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, is shown with his 53rd Annual Trail of Tears Art Show Best of Show piece, “Burial Ceremony: The Four Souls of the Cherokee Being”. (Anadisgoi – Cherokee Nation News photo)
By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
CHEROKEE, N.C. – The late Irish poet Oscar Wilde once said, “Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known.” That sentiment describes John Henry Gloyne who is an incredible artist who always brings a powerful message.
Gloyne, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians with Pawnee and Osage heritage, is from Elawodi (Yellowhill).
John Henry Gloyne is shown with a blanket he designed for Eighth Generation entitled “Earth & Beauty”). (Photo by Tyra Maney/Museum of the Cherokee People)
Information from the Museum of the Cherokee People states of Gloyne, “John Henry Gloyne is an artist with a focus on tattooing, painting, and wood carving. Gloyne has been a tattoo artist for 18 years and learned woodcarving under Bud Smith, who learned from Amanda Crowe. Working in a variety of styles and mediums, he finds himself embedded in Indigenous themes, specifically Southeastern. Gloyne’s current work focuses on expanding upon and honoring Indigenous themes. His art is a reaction to his upbringing, his surroundings, and is a channel to feel connected to the past, present, and future of the Cherokee universe.”
Earlier this year, I got to see Gloyne’s work featured, along with other Native artists, in an exhibit at the McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture on the campus of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn. The exhibit is entitled “Homelands: Connecting to Mounds through Native Art” and will be on display at the McClung for the next three years.
Gloyne has a 4’ x 7.5’ acrylic painting on display entitled “Birthright: A Vision into the Plight of Southeastern Indigenous Culture Through the Eyes of Guernica”. In his artist statement on the piece, Gloyne states, “My remix of Picasso’s ‘Guernica’ depicts the horrors of colonialism and mound desecration from a Cherokee perspective. Cherokee symbols replace Spanish ones, from the fallen warrior’s topknot hairstyle and war club to the buffalo, hunted out of existence in North Carolina after contact.”
He further stated, “A mound on fire is protected by a masked Medicine Man, holding the hearth flame in a fire pot. Pots, which were important to my Ancestors, have been found in mounds excavated by academics. Pots are an Indigenous person’s birthright to the land, made of the very earth they live upon and decorated with designs specific to their Tribe.”
His artwork aims to make people think – not just about the past but about how that past intertwines with the present.
John Henry Gloyne’s 4’ x 7.5’ acrylic painting entitled “Birthright: A Vision into the Plight of Southeastern Indigenous Culture Through the Eyes of Guernica” is one on display in an exhibit entitled “Homelands: Connecting to Mounds through Native Art” at the McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture on the campus of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather photo)
Gloyne’s art has been featured in other shows such as “Disruption” at the Museum of the Cherokee People and “A Living Language: Cherokee Syllabary and Contemporary Art” which was shown at the Museum of the Cherokee People and the Asheville Art Museum.
Gloyne’s paintings have gained widespread praise, and he won Best of Show at the 53rd Annual Trail of Tears Art Show, hosted by the Cherokee Nation in Tahlequah, Okla. in 2024 for his piece entitled “Burial Ceremony: The Four Souls of the Cherokee Being”. He has also won numerous awards at the Annual Cherokee Indian Fair including a first place ribbon last year in the 18” painting category.
He is the owner and founder of Serpent & The Rainbow Tattoo. His work is stellar and groundbreaking.
When my son turned 18, he got his first tattoo there from Gloyne, and it is just an awesome piece of work. Like all of his art, his tattoos are expertly done and groundbreakingly interesting.
According to an abstract of an article by Todd Honma and Anthony Francoso that appear in the Fall 2023 Issue of The American Indian Quarterly, “Gloyne’s work redefines contemporary Native tattooing by highlighting its continuing significance and artistic innovations in the present. In doing so, Gloyne’s work challenges the settler notion that Native cultural practices are static and stuck in the past.”
If you get a chance to check out Gloyne’s work, you won’t be disappointed, and he’s a very cool guy to boot. Check him out on Instagram at: Check him out on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/gloyne83/
