Mythological Map of Kansas

Konoike Tomoko, artist

born 1960

Mythological Map of Kansas, 2016

Where object was made: Lawrence, Kansas, United States

Material/technique: water soluble wax pastel; cowhide; fabric; acrylic

Credit line: © Tomoko Konoike

Accession number: 2017.0006.a-l

Not on display

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Konoike Tomoko’s painting on cowhide Mythological Map of Kansas is suspended in the Central Court above her folding screen Earthshine. The map is a mythological evocation of Konoike’s experiences and encounters from her Lawrence residency rather than a topographically accurate rendering of Kansas. Even so, certain geographical features are discernable. The two large, red stitched lines represent two major rivers of the region: flowing horizontally from right to left is the Kaw (Kansas) River, and vertically from top to bottom is the Missouri River. Writhing at the confluence of the Missouri and the Kaw is a large, light yellow mass of intertwined snakes meant to signify Kansas City, and further downstream along the banks of the Kaw is a bright yellow group of intertwined serpents representing Lawrence. Three man-made lakes are also recognizable: Hillsdale Lake, Perry Lake, and Clinton Lake. The map’s overall shape resembles the head of a mighty American bison, an image that conjures the opening line of the Kansas state song Home on the Range: Oh give me a home, where the Buffalo roam. Nestled just above the tassels that form the bison’s iconic beard are playful squirrels and a pair of slumbering foxes. In the
single winking eye of the beast is a swirling tornado, a symbol repeated in blue cloth on the back of the work. While the emblem of the tornado might be expected in a Mythological Map of Kansas, other elements are more cryptic. For instance, what is the large yellow orb in the bison’s horn? Has the great beast snagged the sun, or is it a reference to the sunflower, the state flower of
Kansas? And why is one horn solid red, as if soaked in blood? Like so much of Konoike’s art, the questions the work elicits allow viewers the freedom to generate their own meanings, for such is the mystical power of mythology to evoke wonderment.