Eli Secody
Graphic artist, photographer and musician
Eli Secody may live in the city, but his spirit has never left his birth place, the Navajo Nation. You can hear, touch and see Native American influences in all of Secody's art forms. Secody is a recognized musician, professional graphic designer and photographer.
If you follow Native American music, you've probably heard of Secody. He was named Best Male Artist of year at the 7th annual Native American Awards gala for his CD titled Butterfly.
Winning a Nammy Award is the most prestigious honor a Native American musician can receive. The annual awards, which are based on the same premise as the Grammy awards, were conceived to honor and promote Native American musicians.
Butterfly is a vocal harmonization of Navajo and English lyrics. Secody wrote and produced the CD while pursuing his graphic arts degree. Butterfly is Secody's third CD.
As a graphic designer, Secody is juggling a number of different projects, including "Running in Beauty Clothing for Men and Women." Secody launched the line with a series of T-shirts. The design on the front of the shirts represents how Native Americans perceive beauty. Secody uses graphic symbols and colors to illustrate the many facets of beauty.
"Everything has meaning in our culture. Some of the graphic elements used denote spirituality, turning a negative into a positive, safety and protection, having goals and direction. Even the colors tell a story. The goal was to create a contemporary design that can be worn with pride."
Other projects in the works include designing and shooting the photography for Runway Beauty 2008 Calendar featuring Native American models. He and his wife, also a model, are collaborating on the project. The impetus behind the calendar is to help promote breast and cervical cancer awareness among Native American Women.
Secody's musical achievements along with his success as a designer and photographer motivated him to do something that would allow him to give back to the Native American community.
