Native treasures
2012 The Santa Fe New Mexican • www.san ta fenewmexican.com
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NATIVE TREASURES PUBLISHED MAY 23, 2012
COVER PHOTO
Kitty Leaken Tony Abeyta, MIAC Living Treasure 2012 COVER DESIGN
Deborah Villa
OWNER
Robin Martin PUBLISHER
Ginny Sohn EDITOR
Rob Dean EDITORIAL
Creative director Deborah Villa 986-3027, dvilla@sfnewmexican.com Copy editors Pat West-Barker, Sandy Nelson ADVERTISING
Advertising director Tamara Hand, 986-3007 Art Department Scott Fowler, manager Rick Artiaga, Dale Deforest, Elspeth Hilbert, Melyssa Holik Advertising layout Christine Huffman ADVERTISING SALES
Nocona Burgess
Tony Abeyta
Michael Brendel, 995-3825 Gary Brouse, 995-3861 Kaycee Cantor, 995-3844 Mike Flores, 995-3840 Margaret Henkels, 995-3820 Belinda Hoschar, 995-3844 Cristina Iverson, 995-3830 Stephanie Green, 995-3820 Art Trujillo, 995-3820 NATIONALS ACCOUNT MANAGER
INSIDE 6
Museum-quality Native art on sale this weekend
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Treasure boxes hold artists’ hopes, dreams, prayers
10 Tony Abeyta: 2012 MIAC Living Treasure
SYSTEMS
Technology director Michael Campbell PRODUCTION
Operations director Al Waldron Assistant production director Tim Cramer Prepress manager Dan Gomez Press manager Larry Quintana Packaging manager Brian Schultz DISTRIBUTION
15 ‘Exciting and new’: Nine emerging artists at this year’s festival
Circulation manager Michael Reichard Distribution coordinator Casey Brewer
18 Native Treasures purchases make museum exhibits possible
WEB
22 Booth locator map 24 Meet the artists
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Rob Newlin, 505-995-3841 nationals@sfnewmexican.com
2012 NATIVE TREASURES
Digital development Geoff Grammer www.santafenewmexican.com ADDRESS
Office: 202 E. Marcy St. Hours: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday Advertising information: 505-986-3082 Delivery: 505-984-0363, 800-873-3372 For copies of this magazine, call 428-7645 or email caseyb@sfnewmexican.com.
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Terrance Guardipee
COURTESY
JANE PHILLIPS
Ed Archie NoiseCat sets up one of his pieces, Chiaroscuro Darkness to Light, at the Santa Fe Convention Center last year.
NATIVE ART ON SALE THIS WEEKEND Top artists from 40 tribes and pueblos show work Visitors and locals who want to buy museum-quality art this holiday weekend need look no further than the invitational Native Treasures Indian Arts Festival, which takes place Saturday and Sunday, May 26 and 27, at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center. About 200 artists representing 40 tribes and pueblos will show their work at the festival. Organizers have kept the event small so those who attend can see every artist showing work. As they did last year, festival organizers also have selected student artists from Pojoaque Pueblo’s Poeh Center for the “Emerging Artist” category. “We only invite people who are the best of the best,” Native Treasures co-chairwoman Ardith Eicher said. “We try to keep the quality of the show incredibly high.” Now in its eighth year, the festival began in 2005 as a small art show on Museum Hill to raise funds for the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture. (The state of New Mexico pays for museum maintenance and staff salaries, but MIAC must raise its own funds to pay for exhibits and educational programs.) Artists participating in Native Treasures donate 25 percent of what they earn at the show to MIAC. Last year, the festival — along with a fall Collectors’ Sale — raised $80,000 for the museum. The festival kicks off today (May 23) with a new event — a breakfast with this year’s MIAC Living Treasure artist, Diné (Navajo) painter and jeweler Tony Abeyta. Weekend events begin Friday night (May 25) with a Benefit PreSale Party. This year, festival artists were encouraged to create a “treasure box” out of material of their choosing to be sold at the party; 25 percent of the proceeds from the sale of the boxes goes to MIAC. 6
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Save the date For the third year, Native Treasures Indian Arts Festival organizers are holding a Collectors’ Sale September 15 and 16 in the Meem Auditorium of the Laboratory of Anthropology, 708 Camino Lejo on Museum Hill. Because of its success in 2011, the Collectors’ Sale has been expanded from one to two days this year. Entry to the event is free; early birds can shop from 9 to 10 a.m. on Saturday for $10. The Collectors’ Sale is an opportunity to purchase Native art from private collectors, with part of the proceeds benefiting the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture. Last year, more than 800 pieces of art were available for purchase, raising $25,000 for MIAC.
Abeyta will be honored at the benefit, with last year’s Living Treasure, Roxanne Swentzell (Santa Clara), making the presentation. Tickets to the event are $100 per person; admission includes hors d’oeuvres, wine and champagne, as well as the opportunity to meet artists and purchase the treasure boxes. Tickets to Saturday’s Early Bird market are included in the party ticket price. The Early Bird Market kicks off the Native Treasures Indian Arts Festival from 9 to 10 a.m. Saturday, May 26; tickets are $20 at the door. The show, at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center, 201 W. Marcy St. in downtown Santa Fe, opens to the public from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, May 27. Tickets are $10 at the door on Saturday; entrance to the show is free on Sunday. For information, go to nativetreasures.org or call 982-7799, Ext.3.
INDIANMARKET2012 T H E SWAIA
OFFICIAL GUIDE
Each year, more than 100,000 people from all over the world travel to New Mexico to experience Indian Market. This annual event brings an estimated $15 million to local businesses and retailers, making it one of the most exciting and popular events in the Southwestern United States. Attendees will be interested in our Exclusive Artist Directory and Booth Locator Map to help navigate through this vast event. 25,000 copies will be distributed in the Santa Fe New Mexican on August 12, and an additional 20,000 copies will be available on the Santa Fe Plaza during the event. Take advantage this year by representing your business in remarkable color and detail with a glossy page in the SWAIA OfďŹ cial Guide to Indian Market. Call Art Trujillo at 505.995-3852 or email: arttrujillo@sfnewmexican.com to reserve your glossy page now. Deadline is Monday, July 16th. See more info at www.santafenewmexican.com/advertising To become a SWAIA business member email: dkeron@swaia.org or call 505.983.5220 x223
You Turn To Us.
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BY KAY LOCKRIDGE
This year, artists participating in the eighth annual Native Treasures Indian Arts Festival were invited to create special “treasure boxes” to be sold at the Friday evening Benefit Pre-Sale Party. The party offers artists and collectors the opportunity to come together in a festive atmosphere; the one-of-a-kind boxes give collectors the opportunity to share artists’ hopes, dreams and prayers; and the money raised supports exhibits at the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture.
Jeweler Loren Aragon’s box, Grant Me This, reflects the traditions of the Diné (Navajo) people.
BOXES HOLD DREAMS, PRAYERS, HOPES
Special pre-sale supports Museum of Indian Arts & Culture
DETAILS The Native Treasures Indian Arts Festival Benefit Pre-Sale Party takes place Friday, May 25, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center, 201 W. Marcy St. Tickets are $100 per person and include an Early Bird ticket for Saturday’s show. Purchase tickets online at www.ticketssantafe.org, at the Lensic Performing Arts Center box office, or call 988-1234.
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Comanche painter Nocona Burgess said he wanted to “put the record straight” with a special set of two boxes that he calls Truth and Lies. He said they represent the real story of his great-great-grandfather, Quanah Parker. The boxes look and open like books, each with a latch. “Stories about Quanah Parker have become clouded and just plain wrong down through history,” Burgess said. “These boxes tell what’s true and what’s not.” Quanah Parker, whose mother was a white woman captured by the Comanches, grew up to become a Comanche chief and traveled to Washington, D.C., where he met with President Theodore Roosevelt. In effect, Parker lived two lives, and these boxes reflect that: The portrait on one box shows Parker in Anglo clothes of the time — a suit, tie and bowler hat; the second box displays a portrait of Parker in his Indian chief attire. Together, Burgess said, they represent the “real” Quanah Parker. Ojibway jeweler Wanesia Misquadace said her box, titled My Sweet Grass Dancer, honors her son and his first time dancing at a powwow when he was 4 years old. Misquadace, an Institute of American Indian Arts graduate, works in a medium called birch bark biting. “Folding the bark and separating the pieces into thin layers, I vary the pressure of each bite so that I can shade and texture my designs,” she said. “I believe I am one of only a handful of artists in North America who create the bitings,” an Ojibway tradition. “What I do is take the traditional birch bark basket, incorporate silver [into the design] and make it my own,” she said. “These vessels represent stories of my
people, and they help preserve our prayers and ceremonies, our experiences and our people.” The silver figure atop her treasure box represents her son in dance. Jeweler Loren Aragon’s box, Grant Me This, reflects the traditions of the Diné (Navajo) people. “Anything beautiful in this world is accepted, and we inhale the essence of it,” Aragon said. “Your wishes are your prayers.” The box was created from a gourd, a medium Aragon often uses. Other materials include copper, aluminum and paint. He achieved a dimpled effect by gouging out the skin of the gourd with a rotary tool. “Working with the gourd gives you a feel for it,” Aragon said. Aragon painted traditional floral designs — suggesting things being rooted — that often are drawn from pottery shards he puts together to form larger shapes. Incorporating these designs in a circular shape is his signature. A copper design attached to the top of the gourd embodies four circles. “Four is a sacred number to us and represents many important things — the four seasons, four directions and four stages of life,” Aragon said. “The overall design of the box is a request to grant one’s wishes throughout one’s life.” Kiowa jeweler Keri Ataumbi suggested her treasure box, How We Got the Sun, is a piece that encourages the beholder to consider one of the mysteries of creation. Using such materials as rosewood from India, smoked buckskin, sterling silver, yellow diamonds, gold and mirrors, the multilayered box follows the Kiowa tale of Uncle Sainday and his friends — Fox, Hawk and Deer — as they find a way to bring the sun and its heat to our side of the world, Ataumbi said. To aid in their quest, she also created four pairs of uniquely designed aviator sunglasses incorporating everything from sterling silver to deer antler and opal that can be purchased separately or with the box. The treasure boxes will be for sale at prices set by the artists; 25 percent of the proceeds from the sales go to the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture. A special “Best of Box” award will be announced and the 2012 Living Treasure award will be presented to Tony Abeyta during the party.
on the plaza in santa fe NEW MEXICO MUSEUM OF ART IT’S ABOUT TIME: 14,000 YEARS OF ART IN NEW MEXICO 505.476.5072
NEW MEXICO HISTORY MUSEUM/ PA L A C E O F THE GOVERNORS ILLUMINATING THE WORD: THE SAINT JOHN’S BIBLE 505.476.5100
on museum hill in santa fe MUSEUM OF INDIAN ARTS & C U LT U R E THE BUCHSBAUM GALLERY OF SOUTHWESTERN POTTERY 505.476.1250
MUSEUM OF I N T E R N AT I O N A L FOLK ART FOLK ART OF THE ANDES 505.476.1200
2012 Native treasures
PORTRAITS BY KITTY LEAKEN
Tony Abeyta, a Diné (Navajo) painter and jeweler, is this year’s MIAC Living Treasure, an award given annually to an artist during the Native Treasures Indian Arts Festival in recognition of his or her work and contributions to the community.
JENNIFER ESPERANZA
While this is Abeyta’s first year participating in the weekend show, he has long been considered an innovative painter who continuously uses new media and employs fresh techniques in his work. “If you look at Tony’s work, he is not formulaic at all,” said Native Treasures co-chairwoman Ardith Eicher. “He’s a real student of art history. There’s a real sophistication to his style.”
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Tony Abeyta wanted to include his own “self interview” as a complement to the story about his MIAC Living Treasure award. His responses are incorporated into this story in italics.
Abeyta’s pieces range from abstracts and landscapes in oil to drawings in charcoal, ink and crayon. He has recently delved into making jewelry, using many of the same themes and imagery from his paintings, Eicher said. Abeyta grew up in Gallup, near the Zuni and Navajo reservations, the son of Sylvia and Narciso Abeyta. His mother was Anglo and his father was a Navajo painter. TA I was never raised on the reservation like some. I wouldn’t do well there either. I’d always be driving into town for a double espresso with a splash of coconut milk. My father was full-blooded Navajo, went to boarding school, fought in World War II as a code talker and spoke his own language beautifully. I was raised for the most part in urban surroundings. I am the next chapter in my father’s journey, as is my son in mine. I will always be Navajo; it’s an imprint on the deepest cellular level. I’m also part white, and I honor that. It’s the part of me that enjoys eating sushi and grants me permission to be a tourist on my own lands. His parents encouraged him to follow his dreams. So, at age 16, Abeyta moved to Santa Fe to study at the Institute of American Indian Arts. TA I remember entering the dorms of the Institute of American Indian Arts, and I knew that I didn’t want to be a painter. After all, my father was a painter but struggled as a weekend artist who traded art for his supplies. I was just glad to leave home, find independence and had some vague ideas that I could go into advertising and graphic design — whatever that meant at the time. I was lucky I was in Santa Fe at the right time. The Native art world was on fire, and I sold my first painting for $75, then $400 and so on. Many fine artisans had paved the way ahead of me, and collectors were already in place. I couldn’t have imagined that there was a support system built into this community, and school helped guide me and facilitated a great many adventures. “Early on, [Tony] was one of those young artists you could see was going to take his art and be somebody,” said Marita Hinds, an art consultant who, as an art history major, enrolled at IAIA just before Abeyta some 30 years ago. She later worked at IAIA for more than a decade. “I could definitely see him blazing his own trail,” she said. “He took his whole creative interpretation of his Navajo culture, his connection with Taos, and really incorporated the masters that he learned from [abroad].” Abeyta’s studies did not end at IAIA. He earned a Bachelor of Fine 12
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Arts degree at the Maryland Institute College of Art and went on to study in Florence, Italy, the south of France and New York University, where he earned a Master of Fine Arts degree. Said Hinds: “You can go to an art school here in Santa Fe, but I think for Tony, studying at a different art school and going out of the country played a huge role in who he is.” TA I define myself as a contemporary Native American painter. I say that with the same pride as if I were to say an “abstract expressionist” or a “French impressionist.” I am also a Navajo, a father, a teacher, a jeweler, a collector and an extremely grateful man. The nature of what I do as an artist is to create images from thin air and see them realized as art, which never existed before. I am an abstract painter, a monochromatic modernist with traditionalist undertones and a memory of the sacred. I am a chameleon with a range of subjects that can confuse any viewer who came to see whatever it was they expected I should be. While Abeyta has been able to make a very good living as an artist for many years, he said he has never measured his own success by what he has earned for his work. TA I became successful when I was content. But money had nothing to do with the equation. There was a long period where I felt mediocre, banal and uninformed of the vast possibilities of what art can be. I was selling well commercially but miserable. I had a beautiful family, galleries and art supplies — all the stuff that defines a successful career. But I dreaded going into my studio. Most artists know the feeling … What happened to change that? I moved out of a big house with a view of a magic mountain in Taos, sold all my cars and packed up my family and moved to Venice, Italy, for two and a half years, then New York. I quit drinking and later divorced. I studied contemporary art theories and criticism. I explored things like installation art, video, dance, performance, modern architecture and design. I devoured the ideas of artists like Bill Viola, Andy Goldsworthy, Maurizio Cattelan, Agnes Martin and Joseph Beuys. Abeyta’s artistic range can be seen in all the unfinished pieces sitting in his second-floor, multiroom studio on Palace Avenue. TA I know when a painting is done when I just can’t paint anymore on the work and it’s ready for that illegible signature. In a year’s time, I work on about 25 paintings in the studio. Some have been in there for years. I wait for that muse to come and work quickly to capture the idea, the moment without a prior sketch or study. Then as time passes, I finish each one carefully. It is easy to lose track of how many get done ... Now that I have been making jewelry, it’s taken a bite out of the paintings, but I always will be a painter and look forward to holding that brush back in my hand. Abeyta counts Robert Harcourt among those who have supported
him and his work throughout the years. Harcourt spent 47 years working at IAIA in various capacities and met Abeyta when the artist was a new student at the school. “It was hard for him to sit still, which made me wonder how in the world he got his paintings done,” Harcourt joked. Harcourt recalled that Abeyta was driven even as a young man. When Abeyta was planning to study in Europe, he sold a number of paintings to help offset the costs. “I thought that was terrific and showed a lot of initiative,” Harcourt said. He also recalled Abeyta’s generosity. One year, Harcourt ran into the artist after Santa Fe Indian Market, and Abeyta gave Harcourt a large painting. “It was too large for him to carry to his car,” Harcourt said. “He said, ‘This one didn’t sell, so I’d like you to have something of mine.’” Abeyta has donated pieces of his work year after year for the IAIA gala. He has also served as an adjunct faculty member, on the board of the foundation for IAIA and the development committee for the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture. In 2000, he painted a large mural in MIAC’s gathering space in the lower lobby. “Tony knows it’s important to look at the rest of the community and to give back,” said Gov. George Rivera of Pojoaque Pueblo, a friend of Abeyta and a collector of his work. Rivera, who is also a well-known artist, met the painter when Abeyta was studying in France. Rivera was a visiting art teacher and Abeyta was his student. A number of Abeyta’s pieces now grace the hallways of the Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino, where Rivera has an office. Rivera said that while he has met many talented artists over the years, Abeyta stands out as a success because of his ability and work ethic. “Tony is an outstanding artist,” Rivera said. “He’s been consistent all these years, producing art with almost no break at all.”
Tony Abeyta, Untitled, 64 x 40, oil on canvas
DETAILS Tony Abeyta will be recognized as 2012’s MIAC Living Treasure at 6 p.m. Friday, May 25, during the Benefit PreSale Party. Sculptor Roxanne Swentzell (Santa Clara), the 2011 MIAC Living Treasure award recipient, makes the presentation. Tickets to the event are $100 per person and include an Early Bird ticket for the opening of the Native Treasures Indian Arts Festival on Saturday morning. For more information about the Benefit Pre-Sale Party, call 982-7799, Ext. 3, or visit nativetreasures.org. To purchase tickets, call 988-1234, visit www.ticketssantafe.org, or stop by the Lensic Performing Arts Box Office (225 W. San Francisco St.).
PHOTOS COURTESY OF BLUE RAIN GALLERY
Tony Abeyta, Trio in Song, 60 x 80, oil & sand on canvas
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‘EXCITING AND NEW’ Nine emerging artists featured at this year’s festival BY ADELE MELANDER-DAYTON Lynda Romero took a red clay pot from the shelf in the pottery studio at the Poeh Center in Pojoaque Pueblo. Cradling the bowl in her hands, she pointed to a chip on the lip of the drying piece. “See, air bubbles,” she said, shrugging. “Lesson learned.” Romero started taking classes at the center (where she also works) 18 months ago, though she’s had pottery classes elsewhere in the past. “I like working with clay,” she said. “It’s really forgiving. If you mess up, you can break it down and start again.” Romero draws inspiration from old pottery shards, as with the geometric corn design she painted on a bowl. On a recent evening, the pottery studio was closed for the day and empty. In-progress pieces were carefully wrapped in plastic, neat stacks of Tupperware containing earth-toned glazes lined one wall and the sinks were clean and dry. Though the studio was silent, Romero had no trouble conjuring the image of her classes there. “It’s like a sewing circle: We talk, we laugh, we eat,” she said. In addition to working full time, Romero has two teenagers at home. Weekly pottery classes are a refuge and give her “peace of mind.” Romero, who is from Pojoaque Pueblo, is one of nine emerging artists to be featured at this year’s Native Treasures Indian Arts Festival. Every year, representatives from the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture, which benefits from the event, visit Poeh’s winter student art show to select new artists. The emerging artist category “gives brandnew student artists the experience of participating in a show, and the exposure,” said Karen Freeman, Native Treasures co-chairwoman. “Collectors always want to see new artists; they’re interested in what’s exciting and new.” This year, Poeh is the official sponsor of the emerging artist category, which means the center makes a financial contribution to MIAC. The partnership between Poeh and the museum began several years ago, growing out of Poeh director Vernon Lujan’s involvement with MIAC’s Indian Advisory Panel. The Poeh Center’s mission is to preserve Pueblo culture and history through its programs. The arts offerings include classes in jewelry making, pottery and sculpture and are open to all Native peoples, though a majority of the students are from New Mexico. Participating in Native Treasures helps build new artists’ confidence, Lujan said. “It’s so intimidating, in this economy, to think
Lynda Romero
Genevieve Waquie
Melbourne Pesata Jr.
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EMERGING ARTISTS 2 0 1 2 about making a living as an artist. The opportunity to be an emerging artist is a way to succeed.” Romero also appreciates the vocational training Poeh provides new artists. “We’re required to do portfolios and get business cards,” she said. “The thing about Poeh that’s really great and different is that it’s the tribes all coming together. We become like a big family — the younger people looking up to the older people.”
Finding identity and direction On a Wednesday night in early April, spring winds howled along U.S. 84/285, which runs beside the Poeh complex, but inside the jewelry studio it was quiet and warm. Students bent over blowtorches and little pieces of metal, surrounded by their wares — sheets of silver, rough and polished pieces of turquoise, small tools, sketches for bracelets and bolos. Fritz Casuse, the instructor of this and two other classes, has taught at Poeh for 12 years. Casuse wears matching silver hoops with turquoise beads in his ears; he’s an experienced jeweler and a participating Native Treasures artist. “This class is about finding your identity and your direction,” said Casuse, who is Diné (Navajo). “A lot of times students come here to find peace. I find the same thing when I’m creating. ... I love teaching at Poeh because they’ve helped me with my career, and I’m able to give back to the community.” “I always tell my students that I’m just their guide. [When I was learning] there was no one for me to call, no one for me to hang out with. But my students will call me when they’re at the jewelry store with questions about what to buy.” At a nearby table, another emerging artist, Melbourne Pesata Jr., peered closely at his inprogress piece, a ring with a bezel setting. The metal he used is mokeme, he explained, a Japanese term that translates roughly to “wood grain.” The tiny sheet of metal, about to be shaped into a ring, featured an easy swirl of copper, silver and brass. Pesata is a large man with big hands, which made the precise jeweler’s tools he was using look especially tiny. He’s concerned with details, like the delicate patterns and inlays on his jewelry. Pesata scrolled through dozens of pictures of his work on his phone, pointing out beaded hair ties, polished elk ivory bracelets and an antler motif used in 16
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Emerging Artists 2012 Johnny Cruz (San Ildefonso) pottery Tim Herrera (Cochití) jewelry Daniel Jim (Diné) jewelry, sculpture Melbourne Pesata Jr. (Jicarilla Apache) silversmith, beadwork Arnold and Scarlett Reano (father and daughter, Santo Domingo) jewelry Lynda Romero (Pojoaque) pottery Genevieve Waquie (Jemez/Cochití) jewelry, pottery, woodwork Calvin Woods (Tesuque) pottery
several different designs. He paused to look at a large silver disc bearing an impression of a Jicarilla basket design. Pesata is Jicarilla Apache and, like many of the emerging artists, he is deliberate in the application of his heritage to his work. Pesata lives in Dulce, a two-hour drive north of Poeh. He commutes to the studio twice a week. The jewelry class is the first he’s taken at Poeh, though he’s been beading for years. “I do beadwork at home — powwow regalia,” he said. “My kids and my wife dance, and I make their stuff so I don’t have to buy it.” Genevieve Waquie, a third-semester student at Poeh, is the only emerging artist who will have pieces in three different media — jewelry, pottery and woodworking — at Native Treasures. “I used to see my grandmother making pottery,” Waquie said in a phone interview. “When I was a teenager I started making stuff, but I put it aside for so many years. I hadn’t touched [clay] until I decided to go back to class.” In March, Waquie lost her home (and her beloved Chihuahua) in a fire. She also lost much of her inventory; because her supplies were destroyed, it’s been especially difficult to make jewelry and do woodworking. “At least I can do pottery, because we get our clay from Mother Earth,” Waquie said. “But each and every day has been a struggle. There are days when it’s good and days when it’s so rough. I wonder where I’m going to live.” In the face of devastating loss, Waquie manages to find solace in her work. “I’m happiest when I go to class,” she said. “That’s where I do my healing. I can always put my feelings into my pieces. I’m able to express my inner thoughts, my soul. I still look at life as a beauty.”
Genevieve Waquie
Melbourne Pesata Jr.
Lynda Romero
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Jar, 1905, Tubatulabal, artist known as Lucy
Exhibitions staff Jamie Hascall installing material case
‘MORE THAN JUST AN ART SHOW’ Native Treasures purchases make museum exhibits possible BY ARIN MCKENNA PHOTOS BY KITTY LEAKEN
After being immersed in the work of incredible artists at Saturday and Sunday’s Native Treasures show and sale, viewing more artwork may feel excessive. But a visit to the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture provides a direct experience of the benefits derived from the event. “[Funding for] every single new exhibit, as well as the changes we did for the Buchsbaum [Gallery of Southwestern Pottery], all came from Native Treasures,” museum director Shelby Tisdale said. Twenty-five percent of artist sales from Native Treasures are donated to the museum. Last year, the event raised $55,000 for MIAC. Proceeds from the show also provided a $50,000 match for a “Save America’s Treasures” grant to purchase storage units for the new Center for New Mexico Archaeology under construction southwest of Santa Fe. While museum exhibits are also funded by individual donors — and a basket exhibit received additional funding from the National Endowment for the Arts — major funding comes from Native Treasures. For example, Woven Identities: Basketry Art From the Collection, an exhibit running through April, 1, 2014. includes work from 60 cultural groups in North America. Most of the baskets were collected between 1900 and 1930, a time when even the finest basketry was viewed as craft rather than art. The unfortunate repercussion is that only 44 of the 221 artists are identified, and some of those are referred to as “Young Bob’s Woman” or “Mrs. Jonny Jack.” Instead of using the typical anthropological approach of grouping 18
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by region, the skill and ingenuity of the artists is highlighted by grouping baskets according to function, with labels identifying style of construction, materials and design. Traditional utility items, gift baskets and clothing are included, as are items created for Anglo customers, such as flask covers and cigarette cases.
Contributions appreciated From its inception, the arts festival was designed as a fundraiser for MIAC. “I think both collectors as well as artists should feel good about what they’re doing,” Tisdale said. “And I think a lot of the artists do. I think they feel they’re doing something for the museum, even during these really difficult times. And we certainly appreciate it.” Contributing a portion of her proceeds has a very personal connection for Diné (Navajo) jeweler Liz Wallace. “For me, museums are magical,” she said. “I grew up in an abusive home, and one of the few bright points for me was going to museums. Museums are incredible institutions.” MIAC purchases a piece for its permanent collection every year, and the collection holds work from 29 artists showing at Native Treasures this year. “What we try to do is find an artist we don’t have represented or a piece of artwork that we feel is really important to have in the collection,” Tisdale said. Participating Native Treasures artists whose work is in the collection include Upton Ethelbah Jr., David Gaussoin, Connie Tsosie Gaussoin, Cavan Gonzales, Samuel Manymules, Roxanne Swentzell, Robert Tenorio, Preston Duwyenie and Jody Naranjo. A display of paintings and jewelry from Diné artist Tony Abeyta — this year’s MIAC Living Treasure award recipient — is featured in the museum foyer.
Exhibit curator Valerie Verzuh. All baskets are the collection of The Museum of Indian Arts & Culture/Laboratory of Anthropology.
Jar, 1990, Hopi (Second Mesa), Elizabeth Nuvayouma
Creativity across the centuries
included with the exhibit and provides a glimpse into the woman who created the work. The video highlights Bagshaw’s artistic perspective, such as her reaction to people telling her she should paint in earth tones, “the colors of your people.” “I find that amazing, because the colors I use are bigger than that; they are the colors of my world,” Bagshaw says in the video. The artist, who spent several years living in the U.S. Virgin Islands, points out that any color can be natural, depending on where you are. The exhibit runs through December 30, 2013.
MIAC exhibits extol American Indian creativity across the centuries. Margarete Bagshaw: Breaking the Rules, is a 30-year retrospective of the artist’s work. Walking into the exhibit feels like walking into the artist’s soul. The complex, brilliant designs — a mix of cubism, modernism and transcendentalism — draw the viewer into their vortex, especially in the Fibonacci spiral series she created by drawing a mathematically exact grid. Titles such as Out There From in Here and Pages From My Life — a piece shaped like an open book — suggest that is exactly what the artist hopes to do. “When I go into my paintings, it’s like being inside my dreams,” said Bagshaw, who carries on the legacy of two acclaimed artists, her grandmother Pablita Velarde and her mother, Helen Hardin. The exhibit includes three pieces from her “Mother Line” series, which pay homage to the two women. A video, produced by Bagshaw’s husband, Dan McGuinness, is
Weaving cultures Another exhibit, They Wove for Horses: Diné Saddle Blankets, is up through August 25. Although the frequently overlooked saddle blankets are the focal point of the exhibit, curator Joyce Begay-Foss took a more expansive approach, Tisdale said. “Instead of just focusing on the weaving, she really wanted to bring in the importance of the horse to the Diné, especially the importance 2012 NATIVE TREASURES
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A Navajo Indian and His Mount, Wyatt Davis, ca. July 1939 Courtesy Palace of the Governors Photo Archives (NMHM/DCA), negative number 132451
Multi-Dimensional Personality, 2005 Oil on constructed panel (12.5” x 12.5 “ x 6”) Margarete Bagshaw Collection of Pat and James Hagan Courtesy Museum of Indian Arts & Culture
of the horse to herding sheep, and the relationship of the sheep to the horse in terms of things like the wool,” Tisdale said. The exhibit highlights blankets made between 1860 and 2002, as well as silver and turquoise headstalls created by Diné silversmiths. Videos provide a glimpse into Diné culture and the people’s relationships to their horses, their weaving and the Churro sheep. The museum is experimenting with less sequestering behind glass, so blankets are displayed on rounded stands, with fragile older pieces in cabinets with pullout drawers. “We wanted our visitors as well as the weavers who come to the museum to really be able to look at these close up,” Tisdale added. Two looms are set up to illustrate the weaves, augmented by a display of tools and technology. FFF “The museum is our museum,” said sculptor Upton Ethelbah Jr. (Santa Clara/White Mountain Apache). “We have ownership in the museum as Indian people. We’re very proud that the facility even exists. “The museum helps educate people about Native art and history,” he added. “It is only right that we try to support that. This is more than just an art show; it’s an opportunity to support the museum through a portion of our earnings.” 20
2012 NATIVE TREASURES
Tapestry-weave double saddle blanket, 1890–1910 Gift of Florence Dibell Bartlett (36407/12) Courtesy Museum of Indian Arts & Culture Photo Blair Clark
DETAILS MUSEUM OF INDIAN ARTS & CULTURE 710 Camino Lejo, Museum Hill 505-476-1250 For hours, exhibits and other information, visit www.indianartsandculture.org.
TONY ABEYTA Pro u d SP o n So r o f n ati v e tr e a Su r eS
Untitled oil on canvas 64" h x 40" w
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Thank you to our other 2012 Lead Sponsor
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Native Treasures Cool Stuff!
Booth at the entrance to the show T-shirts (Adults & Kids) • Latte Mugs •Visors Baseball Caps • Bookmarks • Notepads
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May 26-27, 2012
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Win a 7-Night Alaskan Celebrity Cruise for two in ocean view stateroom* Retail value: $5,850 Tickets for sale at the show – see poster for details Drawing will be held Sunday, May 27, 2012; need not be present to win *Winner may choose Bermuda or Caribbean destination instead
SAV
ET HE DA TE!
Sep tem ber 15– 16, 20 12
Collectors’ Sale
A unique sale of Native American art from the homes of top collectors! Expanding to two days in 2012
September 15–16, 2012 Early Birds 9–10am Saturday ($10) General Admission 10am-4pm both days (free) Museum Hill Laboratory of Anthropology - Meem Auditorium Benefits the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture www.nativetreasures.org
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ARTISTS FO FOR NATIVE TREASURES ARTISTS R NATIVE TREASURES 2012 2012
Anita Suazo
POTTERY Lawrence Thunder Atencio, Ohkay Owingeh Booth 84 Romaine Begay Diné Booth 131 Caroline Carpio Isleta Booth 126 Larry Chino Acoma Booth 4 Alice Cling* Diné Booth 94 Ione Coriz* Kewa Booth 141 Clarence Cruz* Tewa/Ohkay Owingeh Booth 8 Preston & Debra Duwyenie Hopi/Santa Clara Booth 2
Nocona Burgess
D.G. House
Veronica Benally
Loren Aragon
Roxanne Swentzell
Lisa Holt & Harlan Reano Cochiti/Kewa Booth 40
Robert Patricio Acoma Booth 69
Victor & Eleanor Beck* Diné Booth 35
Frank & Evelyn Chee Diné Booth 74
Glenda Loretto Jemez Booth 107
Monica Romero Santa Clara Booth 21
Darryl & Rebecca Begay Diné Booth 80
Carl & Irene Clark* Diné Booth 38
Anthony Lovato Kewa Booth 68
Marian Denipah Diné/Tewa Booth 117
Duane Maktima* Laguna/Hopi Booth 101
Orlando Dugi Diné Booth 57
Wanesia Misquadace Fond du Lac Booth 55
Terrence & Dorothy Emery Ojibway/Jemez Booth 76
Wanda Morrison Muscogee Creek Booth 28
Marietta & Melvin Juanico* Acoma Booth 114 Elizabeth Manygoats Diné Booth 29 Samuel Manymules Diné Booth 23 Valerie Namoki* Hopi-Tewa Booth 98 Geri & Kevin Naranjo Santa Clara Booth 21 Jody Naranjo Santa Clara Booth 59 Joseph & Eunice Naranjo Santa Clara Booth 112
Lorraine Gala-Lewis Laguna/Taos/Hopi Booth 64
Dolly NaranjoNeikrug* Santa Clara Booth 42
Jason Garcia Santa Clara Booth 27
Elijah Naranjo-Smith* Santa Clara Booth 42
Sharon Naranjo Garcia Santa Clara Booth 84
Shelden NunezVelarde* Jicarilla Apache Booth 34
Goldenrod Pojoaque Booth 27 Cavan Gonzales San Ildefonso Booth 82
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Janice Ortiz Cochiti Booth 40 Pahponee Kickapoo/Potawatomi Booth 152
2012 NATIVE TREASURES
Anita Suazo Santa Clara Booth 118 Robert Tenorio Kewa Booth 141 Dominique & Maxine Toya Jemez Booth 54 LaDonna Victoriano Acoma Booth 86
JEWELRY
Larry Begay Diné Booth 35 Leroy Begay Diné Booth 104 Ernest & Veronica Benally Diné Booth 58 Fernando Benally Diné Booth 113 Heidi BigKnife Shawnee Booth 45
Venus Etsitty Diné Booth 58 Jacqueline Gala Taos Booth 117
Tony Abeyta* Diné 2012 MIAC Living Treasure Award Booth 144
Jolene Bird* Kewa Booth 9
Michael NaNaPing Garcia Pascua/Yaqui Booth 120
Rachele Agoyo Cochiti/Kewa Booth 73
Aaron Brokeshoulder Choctaw/Shawnee Booth 43
Michael Horse* Yaqui Booth 140
Andrew Redhorse Alvarez Colville/Apache Booth 63
Althea Cajero Kewa/Acoma Booth 135
Mary Irene Muscogee Creek Booth 113
Franklin Carrillo* Laguna/Choctaw Booth 97
Al Joe Diné Booth 70
Fritz Casuse Diné Booth 55
Kenna Yaqui/Tarasca/Huichol Booth 99
Ed Charlie* Diné Booth 111
Anderson Koinva* Hopi Booth 36
Allen Aragon Diné Booth 78 Loren Aragon* Acoma Booth 3 Keri Ataumbi Kiowa Booth 66 Fidel Bahe Diné Booth 13
Richard & Jared Chavez Steve La Rance San Felipe Hopi/Assiniboine Booth 61 Booth 117
Ehren & Edward Natay Diné Booth 17 Christopher Nieto* Kewa Booth 33 Sage Nunez* Diné Booth 13 Joel & Cordell Pajarito Kewa Booth 68 Brad Panteah Zuni/Diné Booth 85 Norbert Peshlakai & family Diné Booth 7 Chris Pruitt Laguna Booth 100 Tonya June Rafael Diné Booth 19 Mark Roanhorse* Diné Booth 111
Michael Roanhorse Diné Booth 111
Vincent Kaydahzinne Mescalero Apache Booth 123
Ken Romero Laguna/Taos Booth 41
Estella Loretto Jemez Booth 65
Nick & Me-Wee Rosetta Carol Chiago Lujan Kewa Diné Booth 15 Booth 148 Maria Samora Taos Booth 60
Ed Archie NoiseCat Salish Booth 155
Alex Sanchez Diné Booth 83
William Rogers Diné Booth 137
Jamie Sandoval* Diné Booth 11
Roxanne Swentzell Santa Clara Booth 145
Lorenzo Shirley* Diné Booth 22
Walter Torres Acoma Booth 90
David Sloan Diné Booth 149
Kathleen Wall Jemez Booth 133
Roy Tenorio* San Felipe Booth 87
Kathy Whitman— ElkWoman Mandan/Hidatsa/Arikara Booth 129
Olin Tsingine Hopi/Diné Booth 24 Alois Wagner* Kewa Booth 26
PAINTING DRAWING
Liz Wallace Diné Booth 53
Tony Abeyta* Diné 2012 MIAC Living Treasure Award Booth 144
Wilbert Yazzie Diné Booth 13
Marla Allison Laguna Booth 81
SCULPTURE Joe Cajero Jemez Booth 135 Upton Ethelbah, Jr., Santa Clara/White Mountain Apache Booth 125 Cliff Fragua* Jemez Booth 52 Oreland Joe Ute Booth 49 Alvin John Diné Booth 5
Thomas Begay Diné Booth 88 Roger Broer* Oglala Lakota Booth 130 Nocona Burgess Comanche Booth 132 DeHaven Solimon Chaffins* Laguna/Zuni Booth 25 Avis Charley Dakota/Diné Booth 12
Patrick Dean Hubbell
Charlene HolyBear
Ronald Chee Diné Booth 1
Michelle Tsosie Sisneros Santa Clara Booth 153
Dolores Purdy Corcoran Caddo Booth 151
John Well-Off-Man* Chippewa-Cree Booth 72
Ishkoten Dougi* Jicarilla Apache/Diné Booth 96
Peterson Yazzie Diné Booth 124
Aaron Freeland Diné Booth 96
Yellowman Diné Booth 75
Terrance Guardipee* Blackfeet Booth 146 Benjamin Harjo, Jr. Absentee Shawnee/ Seminole Booth 142 D.G. House Cherokee Booth 134 Patrick Dean Hubbell Diné Booth 127 David K. John* Diné Booth 47 Melvin John Diné Booth 116 Tulane & Myleka John Diné Booth 5
CARVING Joseph Begay Diné Booth 44 Delbridge Honanie Hopi Booth 32 Wayland Namingha Hopi Booth 39 Spencer Nutima Hopi Booth 62 Lynn & Jayne Quam Zuni/Diné Booth 119 Elmer Yungotsuna Tewa/Hopi Booth 79
TEXTILES
Brent Learned* Arapaho/Cheyenne Booth 122
Nanabah Aragon* Diné Booth 77
Sheridan MacKnight Chippewa/Lakota Booth 136
Rena Begay Diné Booth 104
Ben Nelson Diné Booth 75
Catherine BlackHorse* Seminole Booth 146
Amado Pena Pascua/Yaqui Booth 147
Dorothy Grant Haida Booth 143
Mona & Charlene Laughing Diné Booth 56
Charlene HolyBear Standing Rock Sioux Booth 103 (dolls, beadwork)
Jhane Myers-NoiseCat Comanche/Blackfeet Booth 154
Melissa Lewis-Barnes* Diné Booth 31 (hats)
Penny Singer Diné Booth 6
Robert “Spooner” Marcus Ohkay Owingeh Booth 102 (glass)
Toadlena Trading Post Diné Booth 138-139
BASKETRY Sally & Lorraine Black* Diné Demonstrators Booth 95 Carol Naranjo Laguna Booth 37
Native Treasures Shop (multiple artists) Booth 10
EMERGING/ STUDENT ARTISTS SPONSORED BY POEH CULTURAL CENTER
Johnny Cruz* San Ildefonso Booth 109 (pottery)
Everett Pikyavit Southern Paiute Booth 67
BEADWORK Jerry Ingram* Choctaw/Cherokee Booth 121
Tim Herrera* Cochiti Booth 93 (jewelry) Daniel Jim* Diné Booth 91 (jewelry/sculpture)
Craig Kelly Diné Booth 18
Melbourne Pesata, Jr.* Jicarilla Apache Booth 91 (jewelry)
DIVERSE
Arnold & Scarlett Reano* Kewa Booth 110 (jewelry)
Walter BigBee Comanche Booth 128 (photography) Black Eagle Shoshone/Yokut Booth 150 (warrior art) Debra Box Southern Ute Booth 14 (rawhide, beadwork) Lisa Chavez-Thomas* Isleta Booth 115 (gourd sculpture) Amber Gauthier* Ho-Chunk/Menominee Booth 121 (painting/beadwork)
Lynda Romero* Pojoaque Booth 92 (pottery) Genevieve Waquie* Jemez/Cochiti Booth 108 (jewelry/pottery/ woodwork) Calvin Woods* Tesuque Booth 92 (pottery) * = New to Native Treasures in 2012
2012 NATIVE TREASURES
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THANK YOU TO ALL OUR WONDERFUL 2012 SPONSORS!* *as of May 1st
LEAD SPONSORS
Pak Mail off the Plaza
GOLD TREASURES Dobkin Family Foundation SILVER TREASURES Diane & Peter Doniger • Charles M. & Ann H. Smith
BRONZE TREASURES Charmay Allred • Ardith Eicher & Dave Rashin Karen Freeman • Don Pierce
TURQUOISE TREASURES Ben Crane • Mr. & Mrs. Charles Diker • Ruth & Scott Hamilton Sandy Nachman • Frauke & Keith Roth • Lyn Schmidt Sharon Curran-Wescott & Earle F. Wescott CORAL TREASURES JoAnn & Bob Balzer • James H. Duncan, Jr. • John & Mary Easley Lassie & Mike Eicher • Claudia & David Grayson • Patricia & James Hagan Cynthia & Scott Hale • David & Sue Halpern • Valerie & Bud Hamilton • Patricia & Richard Hawkins Olga & Jim Hutson-Wiley • Impact Printing • Sherry & Adel Kheir-Eldin • Ricki & Scott Kresan Marvin & Gloria Lieberman • George Lord • Greg & Karen Loucks • Sherry Malone & David Shavor Jenny Auger Maw & Gilbert Maw • Susan McGreevy & Herb Beenhouwer • Don & Marilyn Miller William & Susan Ouren • Yara & Gerald Pitchford • Bob Reddington & John O’Malley Max & Janet Ragsdale • Elizabeth Raspolic • Sandra Russ & Tom Brugger Ellie Schrader & Stu Patterson • Carol Warren And . . . John & Anabel Konwiser • Barbara & Gene Sanger
MUSEUM OF NEW MEXICO FOUNDATION
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2012 NATIVE TREASURES
SANTA FE EXCHANGE
Old Time Trading Post • Old Time Prices Jewelry and Collectibles 525 West Cordova Rd • 505.983.2043 Tue-Fri 10:30am - 5:30 pm • Sat 12 pm - 5pm
)0)0) current exhibits )0)0) Margarete Bagshaw: Breaking the Rules Through December 30, 2012
Paintings, bronzes and polychrome ceramic vessels demonstrate the multidimensionality of the artist’s dazzling work.
They Wove For Horses: Diné Saddle Blankets Through March 4, 2013
The great pride and skill the Diné take in adorning their horses is revealed in this display of weavings both everyday and fanciful.
Woven Identities Through April 1, 2014
Exquisite baskets woven by artists representing 60 cultural groups in six cultural areas of western North America: the Southwest, Great Basin, Plateau, California, the Northwest Coast, and the Arctic.
The Buchsbaum Gallery of Southwestern Pottery Ongoing
Works from the pueblos of New Mexico and Arizona are presented here, representing the evolution of community traditions.
Museum of Indian Arts & Culture Museum Hill off Old Santa Fe Trail | (505) 476-1250 | indianartsandculture.org |
Top: Margarete Bagshaw, Ancestral Procession, 2010. Bottom, left to right: Diné tapestry- and diagonal twill-weave single saddle blanket, 1880–9, photo by Blair Clark. Western Apache jar, c. 1900, photo by Addison Doty. Tesuque polychrome jar, 1890, photo by Blair Clark.