Artist's Statement: Our ancestors built thousands of burial mounds and earthworks around Teejop, where we have lived since time immemorial. Although many of these sacred sites have been destroyed, we are the caretakers of those that remain.

Carved out of White Oak, Greeting The Land allows the public to interact respectfully with the mounds that surround Teejop. Although the mounds represented are not to scale, this piece can help us understand their general locations and shapes. Because they are burial sites, it’s important for the public to refrain from walking on the mounds. Please keep a watchful eye for the subtle mounds that surround us, as they may not be marked.

My first public wood sculpture is dedicated to my father, Harry Whitehorse, whose legacy as a Indigenous artist and craftsperson has inspired me immensely. His sculpture, Let The Great Spirits Soar (Effigy Tree), is located a short distance up the hill at Hudson Park. Made from a storm-damaged hackberry tree and later cast in bronze, the sculpture honors our ancestors as a tribute to the Effigy Mound Builders.

Created for the Teejop Community Art Project, which promotes learning and awareness of the over 14,000 year human story of Teejop (Four Lakes) through public art projects in places important to Hoocąk (Ho-Chunk) people. Greeting The Land is located at Olbrich Park in Madison, WI.

Following in the tradition of street-based movement art, June’s print and design practice utilizes bold colors and striking typography to engage working people and serve as a call to action to organize. Over the past decade, they have produced a sizable portfolio of printed materials, dedicated primarily to supporting tenant unions, labor movements, and other community organizations. Their work can be seen on streetpoles, picket signs, in windows, and in the hands of teachers and tenants. Deeply inspired by the protest art of the 1960s and subsequent workers’ and civil rights movements, their work draws upon these legacies and adapts them with contemporary messaging.

Alongside their independent organizing and artistic practices, June regularly takes on contract work to support social campaigns, cultural heritage, and the arts. They have produced a range of public-facing materials, including multilingual transit ads, placemats, and large-scale vinyl banners. They have also contributed to short-run publications, providing layout formatting, risograph printing, and site design. Their design capabilities are further supported by their background managing high-volume digital photography production and retouching in fast-paced commercial settings. For a more comprehensive look at June’s professional experience and technical skills, please view her full CV.

Risograph Posters

See more →

Publications

A Generous Grift: Museums, Finance Capital, and the Clash of Cultural Workers and Collector-Trustees.

A writing and research project on the pitfalls of museums, by Sam Lefebvre, supported by the Lab in San Francisco. Site and booklet design by June LS.

Risograph printed, 34 pages. Edition of 150.

See more →

Counterpulse Fall Programming Brochure

CounterPulse is a San Francisco-based home for independent and experimental arts. Located at 80 Turk Street, the organization provides a dedicated stage and supportive environment for artists pushing the boundaries of contemporary performance.

Risograph printed. Edition of 200.

See more →

Terrain: Art & Crisis in Downtown Oakland

A publication featuring local artists, writers and organizers reflecting on the built-environment and their practices, particularly turning to mutual-aid, during a year of alienation, privation and unrest. Edited by Sam Lefebvre, designed by June LS, printed in collaboration with Mollie Underwood of Irrelevant Press.

Published by Pro Arts & Commons. Risograph printed, 44 pages, perfect-bound. Edition of 200.

See more →

Posters of the Wisconsin Union Solidarity Protests

In 2011, thousands demonstrated and occupied the Capitol building in Madison, WI in opposition to the Act 10 bill and the attack on Union labor. This booklet celebrates ten years since the demonstrations, and complies photos of the imaginative posters and costumes of the uprising.

Photography, design, and publishing by June LS. Risograph printed, 16 pages, spiral bound. Edition of 150.

Tenants in Movement: A Tenant And Neighborhood Councils Reader

Two volumes of a practical and political education training program for tenant union organizers.

Design and printing by June LS. Spiral bound. Two editions of 50.

Vol. 1 →

Vol. 2 →

June has considerable experience working as both a photographer and photo editor. They are skilled in studio portraiture and film photography, including developing film and making enlargements.
See more →

After working with a collection of their parents' vintage seed beads, beadwork has become a deeply meditative practice for June. They've had the opportunity to sell at marketplaces, including the Little Eagle Arts Foundation Native Arts Marketplace at Taliesin, Frank Lloyd Wright's historic estate in Spring Green, Wisconsin. June particularly enjoys blending traditional techniques with contemporary fashion, such as creating custom embroidered beadwork on jackets and baseball caps. They always enjoy taking on new commissions.