Innholdsfortegnelse for October-November 2021/ No. 35 i Native American Art Magazine

Welcome to the October/November issue of Native American Art magazine. We are freshly back from the 99th Santa Fe Indian Market where we were the official magazine. We had a team of six on the ground, a giant booth, thousands of magazines were distributed and we recorded new episodes of our podcast, The American Art Collective (follow us to hear entertaining stories from artists by our hosts). Truly this event is the single major center of activity for collectors. When you buy a piece of Native American art, it is not just an additional object for a collection. It is more than just a piece of pottery or jewelry or sculpture. It is the life and the influence of hundreds, even thousands, of years of artistry that comes with it.…

“Native Fashion not only shows the world the balance we have learned of the past and the present, but it also reminds the world that we are still here and we will remain here.”Norma Baker Flying Horse “My name is Red Berry Woman, [and this is] my Native given name that I have named my fashion business,” says Norma Baker Flying Horse, an enrolled member of the Hidatsa people, member of the Dakota Sioux and Assiniboine tribes and creator of the fashion line Red Berry Woman. Growing up, she was taught both the Hidatsa and Dakota Sioux ways, which included dancing, singing, beading and sewing, with her grandmother of the Fort Peck Sioux Reservation having taught her how to bead and incorporate tribal Sioux designs. “It’s my Sioux designs that…

When I began collecting vintage Navajo blankets and rugs 30-plus years ago, there was no guidebook or database on buying or pricing a Navajo weaving, not to mention understanding how to verify authenticity. Of course, this was before the internet, and the only references were a few books, museum stores and dealers. Therefore, I needed to develop an objective set of criteria to help solidify a repeatable roadmap for every rug I purchased. Since beginning this journey, I have purchased thousands of antique Navajo blankets and rugs, and realized I repeatedly used the same parameters. These parameters apply to Navajo textiles dated from the 1950s and earlier, as contemporary weavings differ regarding the artist’s reputation and skill. I looked, listened, handled and read as much as I could for two…

A garment, especially one of quality and complexity, has many parts. When considered for more than practical purposes, the creation of clothing can grow into a beautiful and ornate form of art in and of itself. This is what fashion designers do every day. They take fabrics—cotton, silk, suede, velvet, linen, cashmere—and they turn those textiles alchemy-like into pieces of wearable art, imbuing their own passions and self-expression into the very stitches of each piece. Many designers, though immensely talented, may focus primarily on the designs and perhaps one or two other elements, like sewing, ultimately working with other creatives to produce their overall vision. But Jamie Okuma does it all. The artist—of Luiseño, Shoshone-Bannock, Wailaki and Okinawan heritage—labels herself “a fashion artist, because it goes beyond designing.” For all…

The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum’s exhibition Navajo Weavings: Tradition and Trade, featuring 26 Navajo textiles, was so well received, they decided to continue the celebration. In Navajo Weavings: Adapting Traditions, American folkart collectors and enthusiasts Pat and Rex Lucke, have generously loaned six additional Navajo weavings that span 100 years, highlighting the talents of an all-female collection. “[The first exhibition] reached so many people,” says Kim Smith Ivey, senior curator of textiles, “and they were very interested in this form of art. So, with the six new pieces, we were excited about the possibility of exhibiting artwork that we rarely get to show… highly skilled Navajo weavers adapted and modified their traditional textiles from the world around them to meet the demands of a modern market and trade.…

The year’s offerings in exhibitions of Native American culture contain early observations by curious Europeans in the 19th century as well as expressions of concern for the state of the land by 21st-century artists. George Catlin (1796-1872) and Karl Bodmer (1809-1893) traveled west to create a pictorial history of the region’s Indigenous peoples. Two exhibitions celebrate their accomplishments. Faces from the Interior: The North American Portraits of Karl Bodmer will be shown at the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, Nebraska, October 2 through April 17, 2022. Bodmer’s recently conserved watercolors were produced on an expedition to the northwestern reaches of the Missouri river in 1833-34. The expedition was headed by the German explorer and naturalist Maximilian, Prince of Wied-Neuwied. Catlin produced a portfolio of hand-colored lithographs of his painted portraits…

On March 11, 2021, the Tucson Museum of Art opened a reinstallation of its Indigenous Arts Gallery that offers a new perspective and approach to curatorial practices and processes. On view are approximately 100 historic and contemporary artworks including baskets, paintings, photographs, pottery, sculpture, textiles, mixed media, katsina and more. Included are pieces from artists such as Wendy Red Star, Tony Abeyta, Marlowe Katoney, Alan Houser, Nampeyo and more. “The Indigenous Arts exhibition features works from the Tucson Museum of Art Indigenous Arts permanent collection and select loans, including baskets from the Amerind Foundation,” says Christine Brindza, senior curator and Glasser Curator of Art of the American West at the museum. “It is a community-based exhibition that is part of a large project at TMA funded by the Institute of…

The Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia in Athens was built on the traditional land of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation who were forced from the land. The university’s Institute of Native American Studies and numerous other academic and cultural programs bring attention to the history of the land. The museum will host the exhibition Collective Impressions: Modern Native American Printmakers, October 16 through January 30, 2022. It notes that the exhibition “will introduce a significant group of Native American artists and an important development in Indigenous self-expression…The exhibition is of utmost importance in a state and region once home to a diverse constellation of tribal nations and on a campus that occupies the ancestral homelands of the Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek) and Yuchi people.” The show includes “an…

SANTA FE, NM The evolution of Native American pottery, including traditional through contemporary forms and designs, will be on full display during the Dancing Rabbit Gallery’s upcoming online exhibition Born of Fire – Native American Pottery. Highlighted in the show, which will be on view October 15 through January 13, are works by artists who are preserving culture in their artwork, but also pushing boundaries with new shapes, patterns and techniques. San Ildefonso potter Erik Fender will be represented by a unique black-on-black jar with a sterling silver lid. The lid is carefully tufa cast with “accents of raindrops and geometric designs,” while the jar itself has four turquoise cabochons with straight bezels that correspond to the stones on the pot’s rim. Known for her pottery figures, Maxine Toya (Jemez)…

DENVER, CO Marilyn Eber was a passionate collector of historic and contemporary Native American art and was an important figure in the art community in Denver, where she lived, and throughout the Southwest region. On November 3 at 10 a.m. Denver time, Hindman will present the single-owner sale featuring the Marilyn Eber Collection of Native American Art. “Marilyn Eber was an amazing friend of Hindman and so many others in the Native American and contemporary art communities,” says Maron Hindman, vice chair of the auction house. “She was generous with her knowledge and welcomed any opportunity to share her collection with other enthusiasts. Hindman is deeply honored to be working with her family to bring Marilyn’s lifetime passion to market.” Eber’s collection shows the knowledge she gained over her years…

One of our main goals with every issue of Native American Art magazine is to help you—readers and collectors—make informed purchases when it comes to the Native American art market. We believe that knowledge is power, and walking into a gallery, museum or auction with a wealth of information helps you better understand what you’re seeing and possibly purchasing for your home. It’s in that spirit we are bringing you a remarkable Weavings & Textiles section that explores many facets of these exciting categories. Helping us with our coverage are some of the top experts, including Mark Sublette, Joshua Baer, Jackson Clark and many others. We have a story about Spider Rock in Arizona’s Canyon de Chelly and a weaving that was inspired by the sacred rock formations there. We…

BRANDON BOSWORTH PROPRIETOR, ANCIENT NATIONS INDIGENOUS ART THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS have been both trying and exciting times for Native American artists. With markets closed or postponed in some areas and artist patrons scaling back travel as a whole, creators have had to adapt and find other ways to showcase their work. As a result we have seen an increase in online offerings as the internet has allowed artists to reach more collectors around the world than ever before. Social media has been an effective tool for many artists, and gallery owners have had to position themselves in new ways to help service the artisans they represent as well as the customers they serve. The online marketplace has definitely emerged as one of the most viable outlets for Native…

The weaving of wearing blankets is part of the Navajo (Diné) creation story, present in Navajo culture from the beginning. Spider Woman, who wove the web of the universe, taught the Navajo people to weave. She is present in their lives today, residing atop Spider Rock in Canyon de Chelly. The Navajo philosophy of Sa’ah Naaghai Bik’eh Hozhoo guides life in balance and in harmony with the natural world and the universe. Balance occurs in the physical world with a reverence for the four cardinal directions, the four sacred colors and the four sacred mountains that border Navajo Country. Balance is the theme of the Beauty Way Chant, part of which reads: In beauty I walk With beauty before me I walk With beauty behind me I walk With beauty…

For the past 50 years, I have been privileged to work with Navajo weavers and witness dramatic changes in the art form. One major reason has been the disappearance of the trading post as the primary source for goods and services on the reservation. Another has been the manner in which weavers responded to the new market. This is the story of one family, but it has been repeated many times across the Navajo Nation. In the early days, the weavers, because of geography and the difficulty of travel, were most likely to sell their weavings at the closest trading posts. These trading posts began to disappear in the late 1960s and early’70s. This, combined with the arrival of auto financing and pickup trucks capable of traveling reservation roads to…

“Wow!” That’s usually the first word said when someone looks at this stunning piece created by Navajo master weaver Marian Nez. “That’s incredible!” usually follows as people look at this pictorial piece measuring 35 by 48 inches. Spider Rock, one of the holiest landmarks in the Navajo culture, appears to be painted with Churro wool while next to it is a guardian Yei sand painting. The two images are blended into one weaving, carefully and artistically brought to life. The piece was actually started in 2017 by Helene Nez, also a master weaver, who is one of Marian’s seven sisters. Steve Getzwiller—owner of Nizhoni Ranch Gallery in Sonoita, Arizona, and a long-time collector and trader with many master weavers—asked her to do one with Spider Rock, sending her pictures of…

In 2019, the Heard Museum hosted the exhibition Josef Albers in New Mexico, and while preparing they found a black-and-white photo collage that featured several Navajo textiles. The similarities between the textiles and Albers’ iconic paintings served as the basis for a new exhibition titled Color Riot! How Color Changed Navajo Textiles, which is now on view at the Montclair Art Museum. The show features complex, colorful works from historic Navajo weavers as well as contemporary works from artists like Melissa Cody, Venancio Francis Aragon and exhibition co-curator Velma Kee Craig. While walking with her dogs in her neighborhood one night, Craig passed a home that had a foreclosure sign in the front yard with a large QR code on it. The sight inspired her to create a flag-designed textile.…

After the many struggles of the past year or so, The Heard Museum is responding with their remarkable exhibition of Native American artists in Remembering the Future: 100 Years of Inspiring Art. The museum has chosen significant pieces from their permanent collection, beginning in 1920 through today, that “largely reflect an artistic response to the challenges and opportunities of the decade in which it was created,” stated in the show press release. Co-curator Ann Marshall furthers, “We’re looking at how voices from the past and the present join together in a way that looks forward to the future. It gives us things to think about, along with inspiration coming from a very difficult time, looking forward to better times.” Organized by Marshall, Diana Pardue, chief curator, and David M. Roche,…

For centuries, Santa Clara Pueblo potters have gathered and prepared local clay to make utilitarian vessels that are considered works of art. Traditions evolve over the centuries. Today, Roxanne Swentzell uses traditional techniques to build clay figures full of passion and humor. Her daughter, Rose B. Simpson, learned to work with the earth from her mother, fashioning not only vessels but adobe bricks to build the home she grew up in. Simpson left the Pueblo for schooling and returned with a master’s degrees in ceramics from Rhode Island School of Design and later a master’s degree in creative non-fiction from the Institute of American Indian Arts. The attachment to home was strong. She returned to the land that holds the memory of her people’s pride, of colonization, oppression and survival.…

Now open at the Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor, Maine, is Stitching Ourselves Together: Mi’kmaq Porcupine Quillwork, an exhibition that represents a collaboration between the museum and Wabanaki community members. Opened in June, Stitching Ourselves Together is told in a first-person perspective by Mi’kmaq artisans and culture keepers. “When we, as Mi’kmaq people, are involved in the curation and narration of our own history we are able to correct the incomplete and often erroneous narratives assigned to our existence,” says community curator Jennifer Pictou (Mi’kmaq). “Academics have often misidentified the motifs represented in our quill art or applied their own experiences and beliefs to our imagery. This Euro-centric interpretation negates our Indigenous use of symbols, styles and patterns.” Works in the show include numerous quilled boxes, as well as masks,…

SWAIA once again elevated fashion onto another plain at Santa Fe Indian Market. The fashion shows are not only gorgeously produced and lavishly staged by Amber-Dawn Bear Robe (Siksika Nation), but they are putting Native American designers on a world stage to showcase their visions. This year’s designers were Jamie Okuma (Luiseño/Shoshone-Bannock), Pamela Baker (Squamish/Kwakwaka’wakw), Orlando Dugi (Diné) and Lauren Good Day (Arikara/Hidatsa/Blackfeet/Plains Cree). Here is a small sampling of some of their fall 2021 designs debuted at market.…

Dennis J. Aigner Dennis J. Aigner is Emeritus Professor of Economics and Management at the University of California, Irvine. His fascination with the swastika motif in Navajo weaving began more than 35 years ago. His latest book, The Swastika Motif: Its Use in Navajo and Oriental Weaving, is now in its second edition. Jackson Clark Jackson Clark II, is the owner of Toh-Atin Gallery in Durango, Colorado. The family business was founded in 1957 by his father, Jackson Clark Sr., who was a dealer in Navajo weaving. Today, they represent hundreds of artists and are one of the largest Native American galleries in the U.S. Clark graduated from the University of Colorado with a degree in journalism. He writes an informative newsletter that you can sign up to receive at…

Owner & Curator Museum of Western Film & Costume Santa Fe, NM (505) 455-2819 www.nambetradingpost.com/museum What event (gallery show, museum exhibit, etc.) in the next few months are you looking forward to, and why? I’m currently advising and working with the property department making the 19th-century Lakota, Comanche and Crow props for the new series Y:1883, the prequel to Yellowstone. I’m very excited about the project and looking forward to seeing the finished film. It is a well-funded series with a great writer and crew, and a quality production concerned with authenticity. I think it will stimulate interest in the historic West and the Western genre. What are you reading? The Encyclopedia of Trade Goods, Vol.4: Clothing & Textiles of the Fur Trade by James A. Hanson from the Museum…

Discover New Art Available For Sale The art of major historic and contemporary Native artists is in demand, and if you’re serious about acquiring new works, you need to know when they become available. When you subscribe to Native American Art magazine you’ll be the first to know about new works because each month we’ll email you the link to the latest issue online. You’ll have instant access to the latest issue when it is published. You’ll see art coming available for sale before the shows even open. Coast-To-Coast Coverage See new art being created by major Native artists coast to coast. Many readers travel across the country to acquire pieces from galleries showing new work in this magazine. Embedded Videos Scan for VIDEO Videos in each issue let you…

Editor’s Note: Prior to the late 1930s, the Whirling Log was primarily known as a Native American symbol of luck and friendship. To recognize the symbol’s earlier history, and to educate our readers who may see the symbol within the art market, we are presenting this excerpt from Dennis J. Aigner’s book, The Swastika Motif: It’s Use in Navajo and Oriental Weaving. It is our hope that when you encounter this symbol within Native American art and history, you regard it with its original intent. The two most influential traders in the early days of the Navajo Reservation were Juan Lorenzo Hubbell and John B. Moore. Both encouraged their weavers to incorporate the swastika motif into their designs because it was such a popular symbol in Anglo-America in the late…

Every year, the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian convenes a committee to decide what artwork they will purchase for the permanent collection. And a few years ago, Chickasaw weaver Tyra Shackleford, threw her hat in the ring for consideration. “I took some photos with some work at home, and they decided to purchase one piece I had finished,” she says. That piece—a multicolored shawl with a striking lightning-bolt pattern—was acquired by the museum in 2019. But the NMAI had even more in mind for Shackleford. They were also interested in a large, lace-like white shawl called The Lady. “I don’t know who in the committee knew my work, but they asked about that piece specifically even though I hadn’t submitted it,” Shackleford says. There was only one problem:…

Robert R. Compton (1922-2015) was a Guggenheim Fellow in Earth Science in 1963. He took early retirement from his professorship at Stanford University at the age of 60 and happily painted in his studio every day until he died at the age of 92. Richard Diebenkorn was at Stanford when Compton was there and Compton admired his figurative work, incorporating some of Diebenkorn’s idea into his own early work, and purchasing a figurative gouache. Many of Compton’s paintings and the Diebenkorn gouache are now in the collection of James Compton, the artist’s son. Compton is a collector and dealer in historic Native American art. The elder Compton’s passion for painting is reflected in his son’s passion for the objects he collects and those he puts into appreciative hands. He purchased…

This section features available works from talented weavers that specialize in rugs, wall hangings, garments and blankets. Not only are these textile pieces glorious displays of art, but they incorporate stories that have been passed down from generation to generation. Technique and design are also handed down through families, with pieces featuring an array of shapes, colors, patterns and spiritual symbols that relate to region, tribe and even family. Continue reading through this section to get a taste of the extraordinary, and experience a bit of history steeped in the sacred and divine. From an Expert: THOUGHTS ON COLLECTING TEXTILES & WEAVINGS “Certain Navajo textile techniques are rare and hard to find such as twills, two-faced, wedge weaves and tufted pieces. Beyond the technical architecture of pieces, the subjective element…

For the last year, the Eiteljorg Museum has been honoring and celebrating women in their artistic accomplishments. Their first exhibition, Powerful Women, featured all Native American women artists, but they’ve now expanded their vision in Powerful Women II to also include the voices of African American, Latina, Asian American and European American contemporary female artists. “We thought this was a good time to focus on women artists,” says Elisa Phelps, vice president and chief curatorial officer. “Curator Jennifer Complo McNutt created Powerful Women, and as she began to explore, it became apparent that our collection is rich in strong, female artists. While the Eiteljorg is known for our contemporary Native American art, we also have a broader contemporary collection.” After the first exhibition, the museum realized they needed two shows…

Multi-disciplinary artist Cannupa Hanska Luger (Mandan/Hidatsa/Arikara/Lakota) is the 2021 Visiting Artist at the Albuquerque Museum in New Mexico. This means that through July of next year, visitors can observe a unique, site-specific installation created by the dynamic artist, known for his multimedia, large-scale installations that lend a voice to timely issues. Luger’s installation, set up this past July in the museum’s lobby, is the newest component of his Future Ancestral Technologies series. “Consider first that this installation is not an object in space, but in time. Then imagine it is not a relic of the past, but in fact, we are. Now we may relax our gaze and realize that this installation is not inverted, but that our current world is upside down,” says Luger. The piece, Future Ancestral Technologies:…

1 October 30, 2021-October 2, 2022 Apache Stories Desert Caballeros Western Museum Wickenburg, AZ www.westernmuseum.org Apache Stories examines the continuing traditions in Apache art and culture. It specifically dispels false myths, some caused by film and television, that have lingered for decades. Artists represented in the show include Allan Houser, Bob Haozous, Kristal Williams and many others. The exhibition opens with performances by Apache Crown Dancers, hoop dancer Tony Duncan and other activities. 2 October 9, 2021-March 27, 2022 Poetic Justice: Judith F. Baca, Mildred Howard, and Jaune Quick-to See-Smith New Mexico Museum of Art Santa Fe, NM www.nmartmuseum.org Opening this month, Poetic Justice celebrates the work of three innovative artists: Judith F. Baca, Mildred Howard and Jaune Quick-to-See-Smith. The exhibition will include painting, installations, film and monuments as the…

SANTA FE, NM On November 6, the Santa Fe Art Auction will offer nearly 350 lots of Western and Native American artwork to bidders when it presents the Annual Signature Live Auction. The auction is the largest and most important event for the auction house, which was started with this one annual sale, though in recent years it has has added additional sales that have expanded its offerings. “It’s the only event we have a live auctioneer in the room for and the only one we print a catalog for—our November signature sales are always a great time for us to offer some really amazing artwork,” says Josh Rose, senior vice president at Santa Fe Art Auction. “This year we will again offer a mixture of classic and contemporary Western…