Innholdsfortegnelse for December - January 2019 / No.18 i Native American Art Magazine

QUESTION: What is the masculine form of the word “beautiful” in the Hopi language? ANSWER: Loloma. QUESTION: What would you call stunning, one-of-a-kind pieces of Native American jewelry made a few decades ago? ANSWER: Loloma…as in Charles Loloma, jeweler extraordinaire. And yet, what is it about this man and his artistry with stones, wood and metal that still captures, no, grabs firmly onto our attention even though his life ended in 1991? Why is it that even though he’s been gone 27 years, those who knew him speak about him mostly in the present tense? It all began when Loloma was born in 1921 near Third Mesa on the Hopi reservation. His father was an accomplished weaver while his mother was known for her basketry. It was a quiet life,…

“The best jewelers have deep wells of creativity combined with well-refined fine motor skills in order to create their art. These artists bring their inspirations to life in their jewelry and often have stories to tell about the source of inspiration or the meaning of the jewelry. Those stories add precious meaning to the jewelry,” says Katie Richarme, owner of Dancing Rabbit Gallery. Native American jewelry tells us as much about the heritage and history of tribes across the continent as it evokes fondness and sentimentality with its stunning features. And turquoise in particular is a quintessential element of Native American jewelry, its unique blue-green hues captivating collectors of both vintage and contemporary pieces. “Turquoise is very beautiful and is becoming rare and highly collectible. As time goes on, quality…

SANTA FE, NM When Lyn Fox moved into his own gallery space in Santa Fe, New Mexico, he looked forward to expanding the educational aspect of his business, Lyn A. Fox Fine Pueblo Pottery. On December 14 he continues that aspect with an All-Star Pottery Demo with Nancy and Chris Youngblood (Santa Clara), Russell Sanchez (San Ildefonso) and Dominique and Maxine Toya (Jemez). The artists will be demonstrating how they work from 1 to 4 p.m. Fox extols the uniqueness of the family lineages and traditions in Pueblo pottery, noting that Chris Youngblood lives in his grandmother Mela’s house at Santa Clara Pueblo where he and his mother, Nancy, fire their work together and where firing has taken place for generations. “Their work may appear modern,” Fox says, “but they’re…

SANTA FE, NM Sister to the larger-than-life Santa Fe Indian Market in the summer, the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA) Winter Indian Market gives collectors of Native American art the chance to browse and purchase works from top Native American artists during the snowy season. The market, held at the downtown Santa Fe landmark La Fonda on the Plaza, features original works in painting, weaving, pottery, beadwork, sculpture and more. In addition to an exciting exploration in holiday shopping, market-goers can enjoy live music and dance, as well as attend a silent auction. Approximately 150 artists will be coming to the Winter Market this year, including Prudy Correa, Keri Ataumbi, Oreland “Bo” Joe Jr., Jared Chavez, Janie Reano, Ernie Lister, Randy Brokeshoulder, Jason Ebelacker, Upton “Greyshoes” Ethelbah, Benson Manygoats,…

GREAT FALLS, MT Now open at the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, Montana, is a new retrospective for Chippewa painter David Bradley. The exhibition, titled Indian Country: The Art of David Bradley, will highlight the artist’s unique and wide-ranging style, which often reflects his outspoken ideas on social issues, the environment, consumerism and the art market as a whole. “David Bradley definitely injects a sense of humor and whimsy in his work. Of course, he also invites a lot of probing questions through his work,” says Emily Wilson, curator at the Montana museum. “The works are really great because the more you look the more you see. He paints environmental issues, social issues…all these important things that you might miss if you just did a cursory view of his…

LOS ANGELES, CA Over the last 40 years, Alan and Bronnie Blaugrund of Albuquerque, New Mexico, have amassed a striking collection of Native American baskets from around the United States. “Like many collectors they started out small and built their interest over time,” says Ingmārs Lindbergs, director of Native American art at Bonhams. “They became very focused on collecting very good examples of a number of different types of baskets.” While their items come from all over the country, the primary selections are of California basketry with a number of Pomo miniatures, Southwest baskets including miniature trays and works of the Great Basin. In all there will be around 420 baskets offered over 210 lots, with many being from the 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as representative work…

MFA Boston receives major gift from Rockefeller estate BOSTON, MA The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston has announced a gift from the Collection of David and Peggy Rockefeller. The donation includes 52 works of art by Native American artists, primarily assembled by John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller in the 1920s and ’30s. Represented in the collection include Plains beadwork, Navajo weavings and rugs, Nez Perce cornhusk bags and one Taos School painting, as well as pottery, watercolors and baskets from a variety of Native American tribes and nations. MIAC director Della Warrior honored SANTA FE, NM Director of Santa Fe’s Museum of Indian Arts & Culture Della Warrior has been named as the recipient of the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries and Museums’ Lifetime Achievement Award. The…

When Tom James started collecting Western and Native American art many years ago, he spent a great deal of time in Santa Fe, New Mexico, especially during Santa Fe Indian Market, when he could divide his time in the galleries around the Plaza and the artist booths that lined the streets outside. Tom’s wife, Mary, would frequently accompany him as their collection grew and as they expanded their definition of Western art. Like her husband before her, Mary was slowly pulled into the artwork, and then embraced in its grasp. But where Tom mostly went after paintings and bronzes, Mary was lured in another direction entirely. “He seemed like he was having so much fun in the galleries and talking with the artists. We had heard stories about Santa Fe…

SANTA FE, NM European abstraction and Native mythology find a perfect marriage in Sheldon Harvey’s latest series of sculptures and paintings. The diptych Beginning of My Traditions encompasses the myth of creation of the Navajo people, using the language and symbolism found in sand paintings. Harvey explains, “I tried to create something that was un-prided. A lot of the imagery that is a part of our traditions is secret, so it’s a creation story that outsiders have an interest in.” The result of the work is a balancing act, a window into the culture without revealing those closely held secrets. That sentiment carries through in a collaboration with glass artist Ira Lujan. “Ira and I have been friends for a long time, since we both got involved in Santa Fe…

TULSA, OK The 13th annual Cherokee Art Market saw another successful run this year from October 13 to 14, showcasing the diverse works of more than 150 artists across 50 tribes. An all-encompassing event, the Cherokee Art Market is one of the largest Native American art markets in the country, with works available for purchase in the areas of beadwork, painting, pottery, jewelry and more. This year’s Best of Show went to Eugene Tapahe for his piece Never Forget Standing for Unity, a black-and-white collage featuring 44 powerful photos taken at Oceti Sakowin Camp in Standing Rock, North Dakota. This was the first time a photography piece had been awarded Best of Show, according to market coordinator Deborah Fritts. “We can’t say enough how thankful we are for the opportunity…

LOS ANGELES, CA Arriving at market during Bonhams’ December 11 sale of Native American art is a rare, show-stopping Tlingit rattle attributed to Kadjisdu.axch, who was described by Tlingit scholar Louis Shortridge as “the greatest carver of wood in the history of the Tlingit people” in a 1917 narrative on the artist. Steven C. Brown, a Northwest Coast scholar and former curator of Native American art at the Seattle Art Museum, researched the rattle and determined the attribution of the work. “He came to the conclusion that there are stylistic elements that allow him to attribute it to Kadjisdu.axch,” says Ingmars Lindbergs, director of Native American art at Bonhams. “He was the only known named carver in the 18th century. He was so famed that he was one of the…

CINCINNATI, OH On September 21, Cowan’s Auctions hosted it fall American Indian & Western Art sale with a stunning collection of Native American art from William H. Saunders, M.D. and Putzi Saunders being among the most notable items. Presented in their collection were 87 lots that included artifacts, beadwork, basketry, pottery, sculptures and more, with the couple being the original owners of many of the items. The pieces, which included five among the top 10 lots, yielded more than $320,000 of the day’s $919,769 total. “The Saunders bought most of these pieces directly from the artist or a dealer who got it directly from the artist, meaning this was the first time most of their pieces were made available to the public,” says Danica Farnand, director of Cowan’s American Indian…

DEC. 1 BOSTON, MA American Indian & Ethnographic Art Sale Skinner Inc. (617) 350-5400 www.skinnerinc.com DEC. 1-JAN. 10 SANTA FE, NM Nathan Youngblood: The Space Between King Galleries (480) 440-3912 www.kinggalleries.com THROUGH DEC. 2 ALBUQUERQUE, NM A Promise Fulfilled: The Life and Legacy of Bob Chavez Indian Pueblo Cultural Center (505) 842-7270 www.indianpueblo.org DEC. 8 ALBUQUERQUE, NM Hangin’ with the Masters Wright’s Indian Art (505) 266-0120 www.wrightsgallery.com DEC. 10 LOS ANGELES, CA The Alan and Bronnie Blaugrund Collection of Native American Baskets Bonhams (415) 503-3393 www.bonhams.com DEC. 11 LOS ANGELES, CA Native American Art Bonhams (415) 503-3393 www.bonhams.com DEC. 13 SANTA FE, NM Pueblo Pottery All Stars Lyn A. Fox Fine Pueblo Pottery (505) 577-0835 www.foxpueblopottery.com DEC. 14-16 SANTA FE, NM Sheldon Harvey Faust Gallery (480) 200-4290 www.faustgallery.com THROUGH DEC.…

What are you currently working on? We opened my exhibition, Ticket to Ride: Artists, Designers, and Western Railways, in October—it will be on view through the end of December. That was a major project! It brings together paintings, posters and original advertising art by artists and designers who were supported by railways in the western U.S. and Canada between 1880 and the 1930s. I’m currently working on an entire reinstallation of our American West and Native American galleries for spring 2019. Name an interesting museum exhibit, gallery opening or work of art you’ve seen recently. I was fortunate to be in Canada in August and saw the Alex Janvier retrospective at the Glenbow. I’m ashamed to say I wasn’t overly familiar with his work beforehand. It was a gorgeous installation…

“It all starts from the valley floor,” says Tony Otteson, who has been hunting turquoise in the central Nevada Candelaria Hills since he was 5 or 6. “What you do is look at the mountain ranges from a distance. You read the minerals. If a mountain has a high iron content those hills will be red or reddish.” That’s how you start. But then you want to see traces of the aluminum being pushed up through the ground. “And that comes with the gray bands running through it,” says Otteson. “So when you see that gray banding across the hills through the red outcropping you know you are on the right track for the ground that makes the turquoise. There are a lot of minerals pushed up through the ground…

SANTA FE, NM One of the pleasures of learning about Pueblo pottery is delving into family lineages, the continuing of design traditions and the developing of innovations. King Galleries in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is presenting Nathan Youngblood: The Space Between, December 1 through January 10, 2019. King notes, “The Space Between is a unique opportunity to study and see artistic interpretation regarding the evolution of carved pottery at Santa Clara Pueblo over the past century. Nathan Youngblood’s new works finds inspiration in the shapes and designs of these early pieces. He gives them a new voice and a foundation for evolution for the next hundred years.” Youngblood is the great-grandson of Sara Fina Gutierrez (1863-1947) and Jose Geronimo Tafoya (1863-1952). Sara Fina made some of the first deeply carved…

MESA, AZ If you’ve been to a major Western or Native American show lately, you’ve likely run into or maybe just seen Brian Lebel, who has what most athletes refer to as hustle. And he has it in spades. Lebel, who owns the Old West Show & Auction held every January in Mesa, Arizona, frequently hops around the country looking at potential auction lots, bringing in consignors and working with galleries and dealers. He’s very much a hands-on kind of guy who knows the market and respects the various players in it—“It happens naturally when you’ve been doing it as long as I have,” Lebel says. This fall we saw him and his wife, Melissa, in Oklahoma City, where he was happy to report that his first Santa Fe summer…

FLAGSTAFF, AZ Transcending Duality: The Santa Fe Studio Style recently opened at the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff and documents roughly the time from 1918 to 1945 when Native students from all over the country traveled to the Santa Fe Indian School (now the Institute of American Indian Arts) to study with Dorothy Dunn. Artists in the group include such luminaries as Awa Tsireh, Ma Pe Wi, Fred Kabotie, Gerald Nailor, Harrison Begay, Quincy Tacoma, Allan Houser, Robert Chee, Ha So Deh and Pablita Velarde. However, the fact that there even was such a group, or such a school for that matter, is a direct result of these artists overcoming a variety of obstacles. In March 1955, Dunn wrote an article for The National Geographic Magazine titled “America’s First…