FEB/MAR 2018
the
Katsina ISSUE
Mystic Warriors
Comanche Dance Shield circa 1870s
Visit our website: www.MysticWarriorsIndianArt.com We purchase fine Native American objects and collections. Appraisal services available. P.O. Box 3353, Evergreen, CO 80437 (303) 670-4402 | www.MysticWarriorsIndianArt.com | mwarriors@aol.com Visit our gallery, only 30 minutes from Denver. By appointment.
~ JOSEPH HENRY SHARP (1859 - 1953) Crow Lodges on the Little Horn, c. 1905
Oil on cigar box lid 5 13/16 x 8 7/16 inches Signed lower left, J H Sharp
We are always interested in purchasing quality works by noteworthy artists, single pieces or entire collections.
BISCHOFF’S GALLERY
www.BischoffsGallery.com 3925 N. Brown Avenue Scottsdale, Arizona 85251 • 480-946-6155
TurkeyMountainTraders.com P.O. Box 2049 | Evergreen, CO 80437 480.423.8777 | info@turkey-mountain.com Charles Loloma, silver, gold and Bisbee turquoise
SPECIAL HEARD MARKET SHOW Bishop Gallery 7164 E. Main Street Scottsdale Wednesday-Sunday February 28-March 4
WE BUY, SELL & BROKER
Antique American Indian art and jewelry of artistic and historic merit Fine jewelry by contemporary American Indian masters
27 Years of Experience Appraisal Services Available
Editor's Letter
Salvator Mundi I’ve been fortunate to see a lot of wonderful things through my job as editor of this magazine. But I would say the highlight of my career was being in the room at Christie’s on November 15 and watching Leonardo’s Salvator Mundi sell for $450 million after a 19-minute bidding war between two phone bidders standing right next to each other on the Christie’s elevated platform, unassumingly raising each other by $10 million bids at a time each second. “The masterpiece by Leonardo, Christ the Savior, been in the collection of three kings of England, King Charles the First, King Charles the Second and King James the Second. What am I offered here? Let’s open this at $70, $70, $75 million,” the auctioneer Jussi Pylkkänen rattled off to get the sale going. The increments started at $10 million, then lowered to $5 million and then, at one point, to $2 million, all accompanied by gasps from the packed room which included dealers Larry Gagosian and David Zwirner as well as collectors such as Eli Broad, Michael Ovitz, Martin Margulies and Stefan Edlis. Native American Art I travel to New York quite often but I live in Arizona. I didn’t know the faces in the room but luckily I quickly befriended an editor from Elle Décor magazine who was standing next to me in our little sectioned-off quarter of the room. We were the collectart first two to arrive. The room was completely empty except for us. As the room gradually filled, he started telling me who everyone was, what they owned, what real estate belonged to them. It was the perfect narration for the evening events. @artmags When the hammer finally was brought down at $400 million— bringing the actual sale, with the juice, to $450.3 million—the room erupted in cheers. Cheers that replaced the gasps that were heard when Alex Rotter, Christie’s co-chairman of postwar and nativeamericanarts contemporary, jumped the bidding $30 million to arrive at $300 million and then another $30 million to arrive at the final price, which in the parlance of today, was the mic drop of all mic drops. At the end of the night, while people have criticized the sale, the auction house, the painting and whatever else they might see as a target, what remains true is that for that moment, in that 19-minute span, art and the acquisition of art was at the center of the universe and managed to grab the headlines from Scan the Icons whatever else was happening in the world at the moment. And, Throughout This as a magazine devoted to art and art collecting, we find that to Issue to Watch be a very good thing. Videos Let’s hope 2018 brings many more joyous moments of art Don't Have and art collecting. It’s a wonderful experience and we feel A Scanner App? everyone should be able to bring original art into their lives and reap the benefits it offers. Sincerely, We recommend SCANLIFE
Joshua Rose Editor 04
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018 BIMONTHLY VINCENT W. MILLER Publisher)
EDITORIAL JOSHUA ROSE Editor) joshuarose@nativeamericanartmagazine.com ROCHELLE BELSITO (Managing Editor) rbelsito@nativeamericanartmagazine.com MICHAEL CLAWSON (Deputy Editor) mclawson@nativeamericanartmagazine.com ERIN RAND (Assistant Editor) JOHN O’HERN (Santa Fe Editor) MAIA GELVIN (Intern)
ADVERTISING (866) 619-0841 LISA REDWINE (Senior Account Executive) lredwine@nativeamericanartmagazine.com CHRISTIE CAVALIER (Senior Account Executive) ccavalier@nativeamericanartmagazine.com ANITA WELDON (Senior Account Executive) aweldon@nativeamericanartmagazine.com CYNDI HOCHBERG (Senior Account Executive) cyndih@nativeamericanartmagazine.com CAMI BEAUGUREAU (Account Executive) camib@nativeamericanartmagazine.com
Traffic BEN CROCKETT (Traffic Manager) traffic@nativeamericanartmagazine.com
PRODUCTION ADOLFO CASTILLO (Multi Media Manager) TONY NOLAN (Art Director) AUDREY WELCH (Graphic Designer) KEVIN KING (Junior Designer)
SUBSCRIPTIONS (877) 947-0792 EMILY YEE (Subscriptions Manager) service@nativeamericanartmagazine.com JAIME PEACH (Accounts Receivable) jpeach@nativeamericanartmagazine.com JESSICA HUBBARD (Subscriptions Coordinator) admin@nativeamericanartmagazine.com Copyright © 2018. All material appearing in Native American Art is copyright. Reproduction in whole or part is not permitted without permission in writing from the editor. Editorial contributions are welcome and should be accompanied by a stamped self-addressed envelope. All care will be taken with material supplied, but no responsibility will be accepted for loss or damage. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the editor or the publisher. The publisher bears no responsibility and accepts no liability for the claims made, nor for information provided by advertisers. Printed in the USA.
NATIVE AMERICAN ART 7530 E. Main Street, Suite 105, Scottsdale, AZ 85251 Telephone (480) 425-0806. Fax (480) 425-0724 or write to Native American Art, P.O. Box 2320, Scottsdale, AZ 85252-2320 Single copies $7.95. Subscription rate for one year is $36. To place an order, change address or make a customer service query, please email service@NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com or write to P.O. Box 2320, Scottsdale, AZ 85252-2320. POSTMASTER: Send all address changes to Native American Art, P.O. Box 2320, Scottsdale, AZ 85252-2320
Available on Android and IOS Devices
PUBLISHER VINCENT W. MILLER NATIVE AMERICAN ART (ISSN 2469-6137) is published 6 times a year by International Artist Publishing Inc.
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
SherwoodsSpirit@yahoo.com | 505-988-1776 | SherwoodsSpirit.com 128 West Palace Avenue, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501
FAUST GALLERY | HEARD FAIR AND MARKET MARCH 2018 THURSDAY 5 PM - 9 PM FRIDAY - SUNDAY 10 AM - 6 PM ARTIST DEMONSTRATION SATURDAY - SUNDAY 1 PM - 3 PM
SONWAI. DON SUPPLEE JAMES LITTLE. RIC CHARLIE
SCOTTSDALE 7100 E MAIN ST SCOTTSDALE, AZ 85251 bill@faustgallery.com 480.200.4290
FAUSTGALLERY.COM
ORLANDO ALLISON
KACHINAS IN THE CLASSROOM PAINTINGS BY HOPI SCHOOLCHILDREN SHORTLY AFTER WWII MARCH 1ST, 2018 | 5 PM - 9 PM
MONTY SINGER | FAUST GALLERY ARTIST DEMONSTRATION SATURDAY - SUNDAY 1 PM - 3 PM FAUSTGALLERY.COM | 7100 E MAIN ST | SCOTTSDALE | AZ 85251 STE 4 | bill@faustgallery.com | 480.200.4290
Contributor
Debra Utacia Krol Indigenous storyteller Debra Utacia Krol is an award-winning journalist with an emphasis on Native, environmental and science issues, as well as travel—she’s fond of averring that, “My beat is Indians.” She is an enrolled member of the Xolon (or Jolon) Salinan Tribe from the Central California coastal ranges. Krol’s Arizona Indian tourism guides have been distributed across the United States, and her coverage of the impact of invasive species on Native communities has won her accolades.
Patsy Lowry Patsy Lowry is a third generation Phoenician, a contemporary artist, a student of Native American cultures and a past contributing editor of Mentor and Thriving Business Strategies Magazines. In 2017, Patsy had a one-woman show at the Arizona Capitol Museum, created an installation for the Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera exhibition at the Heard Museum and a show at the Olney Gallery in Phoenix.
Iris McLister Iris McLister is a freelance writer and art consultant based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She is a regular contributor to national and regional publications. She writes exhibition and artist catalog essays and has worked in the commercial art world for almost 10 years.
Daniel Nadelbach Daniel Nadelbach has specialized in architecture, fashion and hospitality over a 25-year career. Clients include Auberge Resorts, Ocean Drive, Head Sports, One & Only and Sotheby's. Recent assignments have taken him to Bora Bora (St. Regis/Starwood), Zanzibar (The Palms), and Sri Lanka (Kahanda Kanda). See his photography at www.nadelbachphoto.com.
Dr. Mark Sublette Dr. Mark Sublette, a former physician, is the founder of Medicine Man Gallery. He is the author of numerous catalogs on Navajo textiles, and published authority of the lifeworks of Maynard Dixon. Sublette’s involvement in the arts is all encompassing. He buys, sells and researches. A constant student of the many areas he delves into, he is happy to pass along his knowledge through his YouTube channel MedicineManGallery. The delight in sharing his passion and his deep love of art and admiration of artists is evident as he speaks.
Barry Walsh Barry Walsh, along with his wife, Valerie, is co-owner of Buffalo Barry’s Indian Art, established in 1988. They specialize in Hopi material, especially antique and traditional katsina carvings. Walsh has written extensively on Hopi katsina carvers from the past and present. In his other life, Walsh is a Ph.D. therapist who specializes in treating people who present with self-injury and/or suicidality. He has presented internationally and written three books on these topics.
10
314 N River St., Dundee, IL 7033 E. Main St., 102, Scottsdale, AZ 866-426-6901 rivertradingpost.com
Building Quality Collections for 40 Years
Additional Katsina Dolls on our Website
Zuni Shalako and Koyemsi Katsina Pair Homer Sowtey 25� tall | Zuni Pueblo
221 Canyon Road, Santa Fe 505.955.0550 www.adobegallery.com info@adobegallery.com
Columns/Features
56 the
Katsina ISSUE 58
74
How to identify vintage katsina
The life and katsinam of Wilson
dolls. By Mark Sublette
Tawaquaptewa. By Barry Walsh
66
78
Deciphering Katsina
Decades of Katsina Dolls An iconic Southwestern art form moves from cultural artifact to fine art. By Debra Utacia Krol
Turning the Power
Dramatic Evolutions The transformations of Manuel Denet Chavarria. By Barry Walsh
84
Katsina Buying 101 Heard Museum katsina buyer James Barajas offers some do’s and don’ts when it comes to collecting the popular doll carvings.
14
90
The Hopi and their World of Spirits “I am as old as the memory of my people and as young as my children yet unborn.” By Patsy Lowry
96
Cloud Carvings A buyer’s guide for katsinas with advice from experts.
IN THIS ISSUE
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
Native American Art magazine is unique in its concept and presentation. Divided into four major categories, each bimonthly issue will show you how to find your way around upcoming historic and contemporary Native American art shows, auctions and events, so you can stay fully informed about this multifaceted market.
Departments 44
CALENDAR
46
MARKET REPORTS
48
NEW ACQUISITION
50
CURATOR CHAT
52
NEWS
GETTING THE MOST OUT OF THIS MAGAZINE Each category has its own easy-to-find colorcoded section. Quickly turn to the section that interests you the most. Each section lists dates and addresses for upcoming events and activities so you don’t miss any important shows or sales.
103 115 129
Gallery Previews
Previews of upcoming shows of historic and contemporary Native American art at galleries across the country.
events/Fairs
Previews and reports of all the major art fairs and events taking place around the nation.
Museum Exhibitions
Insights from top curators about the major exhibitions of Native American art being organized at key museums.
FEB/MAR 2018
On the cover
Nata'aska (Black Ogre), ca. 1900, Hopi katsina, cottonwood root, paint, kaolin and rabbit fur, the
Katsina ISSUE
141
Auctions
Major works coming up for sale at the most important auction houses dealing in Native American art, and results of recent auctions.
18 x 8 x 8". Heard Museum Collection, Gift of Senator Barry M. Goldwater, NA-SW-Ho-F-126.
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
15
NEW LOCATION - SAME GREAT EVENT SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO Brian Lebel's Old West Events is thrilled to announce a new location for our 29th Annual Old West Show and Auction: Santa Fe Community Convention Center in the heart of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Break out the margaritas!
SAVE THE DATE
JUNE 23-24, 2018 Be a part of this exciting new chapter. We are currently reviewing vendor applications and consignment inquiries. Visit OldWestEvents.com for more information.
CLASSIC TO CONTEMPORARY | EXPERIENCE EXCEPTIONAL ART IN CLAY
DYNAMIC CLAY THURSDAY, MARCH 1 5 TO 9 P.M. SCOTTSDALE, AZ
KINGGALLERIES.COM
NATHAN YOUNGBLOOD TAMMY GARCIA AL QOYAWAYMA LES NAMINGHA JUAN DE LA CRUZ NEW WORKS IN CLAY
SCOTTSDALE 4168 N. MARSHALL WAY, SCOTTSDALE, AZ 85251 | 480.481.0187 SANTA FE 130 LINCOLN AVE., SUITE D, SANTA FE, NM 87501 | 480.440.3912
Native American Dolls on view now: johnmolloygallery.com 49 East 78th Street | Suite 2B | New York, NY 10075 | (212) 249-3020
M M Y
B K M A I A S Marin Center | San Rafael, CA February 17-18, 2018
O T (S / KT)
T M
J K, J.
Phone: 415.519.7797 | Miles@MilesNativeArts.com | www.MilesNativeArts.com
F V, S.
HISTORIC HOPI KACHINAS 1890 - 1940
View our entire collection of vintage Hopi Kachinas on our website
MEDICINEMANGALLERY.COM
NANCY YOUNGBLOOD CHRIS YOUNGBLOOD RUSSELL SANCHEZ DOMINIQUE TOYA MAXINE TOYA DELORES JUANICO ERIK FENDER MARCELLUS & ELIZABETH MEDINA ANGIE YAZZIE
Check the website for upcoming pottery demonstrations!
KAREN CLARKSON SHERIDAN MACKNIGHT CHESSNEY SEVIER BRYAN WAYTULA DARANCE CHIMERICA IRA LUJAN
LYN A FOX FINE PUEBLO POTTERY 505.577.0835 839 PASEO DE PERALTA, SUITE K, SANTA FE, NM 87501 | FOXPUEBLOPOTTERY.COM
photo credit Addison Doty
Santa Clara Small Sun and Moon Plate by Chris Youngblood.
Partner with an Industry Leader Always Accepting Exceptional Consignments Danica M. Farnand indianart@cowans.com 513.871.1670 x215 6270 Este Ave. Cincinnati, OH 45232
Next Live Salesroom Auction American Indian and Western Art April 6, 2018
Preston Monongye (Hopi, 1927-1987) Red Winged Blackbird Bolo Tie Sold for $20,295
cowans.com
Hopi Koyemsi and Canteen 1890-1910
Three Katsinam by Manfred Susunkewa
VENTURES TRIPS
San Juan River Music Excursion SEPT 10 – 13
Arches & Canyonlands OCT 22 – 26
APPRAISAL DAY Southwest Native American & Cowboy Art APR 7 • 10 am – 2 pm Sedona United Methodist Church
Custom trips available NPS Photo by Neal Herbert
MUSEUM SHOP Authentic Native Art & Jewelry
OPENING IN APRIL
Native Peoples of the Colorado Plateau A new, tribally curated exhibition Rainbird Olla by Timothy Edaakie & Bobby Silas
The Dancing Rabbit Gallery AUTHENTIC NATIVE AMERICAN ART
Crow Mother Plaque, 1920s Hopi Katsina, 1940s
Paqua Naha Cylinder Jar, Hopi Necklaces by Piki Wadswort, Hopi
thedancingrabbitgallery.com
817-337-8576 Founded in 1980 – Online since 2012
MAY 26, 2018 • SULPHUR, OKLAHOMA FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL (580) 272-5520 OR EMAIL ARTISTINFO@CHICKASAW.NET
INSPIRED BY COLOR
Hopi carver, Ron Honyouti began using oil versus acrylic paint to bring out the texture, grain and beauty of each piece of wood he selects. The oil paint makes the carvings look natural and remarkably realistic.
HEARD MUSEUM MEMBERS GET 10% OFF A LARGE SELECTION OF ITEMS
2301 N. CENTRAL AVE. PHOENIX, AZ
■
602.842.9085
■
HEARDSHOPS.COM
Ron Honyouti (Hopi), Broadface Katsina Doll. Photo: Megan Richmond, Heard Museum Shop.
SUBSCRIBE TODAY AND GET ALL 18 MAGAZINES EVERY YEAR
SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY OFFER
FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY!
Discover New Art Available For Sale
T
he 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.
6 Issues of (Bimonthly) Native American Art PLUS 12 Issues (Monthly) Western Art Collector
Coast-To-Coast Coverage
A Unique Magazine Native American Art magazine is unique in its concept and presentation. Divided into four major categories, each bimonthly issue will show you how to find your way around upcoming historic and contemporary Native American art shows, auctions and events, so you can stay fully informed about this multifaceted market.
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.
Gallery Previews
Previews of upcoming shows of historic and contemporary Native American art at galleries across the country.
events/Fairs
Previews and reports of all the major art fairs and events taking place around the nation.
Embedded Videos
6 Issues of the Bimonthly Magazine
Videos in each issue let you take part in all the art action—starting from inside artists’ studios to gallery openings and right through to auctions on the go.
Scan for
VIDEO
A visual feast of large-format images and articles previewing upcoming shows of major historic and contempoary Native artists coast to coast.
Museum Exhibitions
Insights from top curators about the major exhibitions of Native American art being organized at key museums.
Auctions
Major works coming up for sale at the most important auction houses dealing in Native American art and results of recent auctions.
WHICH READER ARE YOU? 1
uundam, quam, omnisit por sapere nim harum rem faccatus ne ex ea dolore
uundam, quam, omnisit por sapere nim harum rem faccatus ne ex ea dolore
uundam, quam, omnisit por sapere nim harum rem faccatus ne ex ea dolore
uundam, quam, omnisit por sapere nim harum rem faccatus ne ex ea dolore
INSIDE Autry Masters of the American West • State of the Art: California • Settlers West
PremierE Issue
FEBRUARY 2016
0
102
F E BRUARY/M ARCH 2016
& 2016
(BIMONTHLY)
12/30/15 5:02 PM
Cover WAC102.indd 1
(MONTHLY)
ONLY $20
OR
FEBRUARY Cover.indd 3
12/29/15 7:09 PM
PRINT AND DIGITAL
1 YEAR $36 (US$49 CAN) | 2 YEAR $68 (US$96 CAN)
1 YEAR SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL ONLY
AVA I L A B L E W O R L D W I D E
2 YEAR $38
AVA I L A B L E I N N O R T H A M E R I C A O N LY
FOR FASTER SERVICE
subscribe online at www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com/subscribe
Top: Arnold Blackgoat Royston Bracelet. A.Cadman 5-Stone Royston Bracelet. Ernest Begay Royston Large Stone Necklace, Earrings, Royston Squash Necklace .
Sunwest on the Plaza 56-58 Lincoln Ave Santa Fe NM 87501 1-505-984-1364 Info@SunwestonthePlaza.com
Top: Vintage Lone Mountain Squash, Bracelet & Earrings. Vintage #8 Squash Necklace
SILVER CO INC SINCE 1972
Sunwest Silver Co Inc 324 Lomas Blvd NW Albuquerque NM 87102 1-800-771-3781 Info@Sunwestsilver.com
Jesse MONONGYA NAVAJO/HOPI Jeweler
Native American Indian Top Jewelry Designer
God’s Creation
UPCOMING SHOWS: AMERICAN INDIAN ART SHOW MARIN San Rafael, CA February 17th &18th, 2018 S WAIA In dian Mar ket Marin Center
JOIN US:
Au gu s t 20 - 21, 20 1 6 BOOTH #603THE PLZ
Jesse Monongya Studios Jesse Monongya’s Creation
HEARD MUSEUM INDIAN FAIR AND MARKET Phoenix, AZ March 3rd & 4th 2018
4 8 0 -9 9 1 -2 5 9 8 BOOTH # K-02 monongye@cox.net j essemonongyastudios.com
August 21st, 2017 total solar eclipse: A beautiful phenomenon depicted by Jesse Monongya
JOIN US:
S WAIA In dian Market Au gu s t 20 - 21, 20 1 6 BOOTH #603 PLZ
Jesse Monongya Studios
4 8 0 -9 9 1 -2 5 9 8 monongye@cox.net jessemonongyastudios.com
REPRESENTING AMERICA’S ORIGINAL MODERNISTS
ELMORE INDIAN ART CLASSIC INDIGENOUS FINE ART, ESTABLISHED 1992
EXHIBITING Saturday & Sunday, January 20th - 21st Brian Lebel’s Old West Show & Auction Mesa Convention Center, Mesa, AZ
EXHIBITING Saturday & Sunday, February 17th - 18th 34th Annual American Indian Art Show Marin Civic Center, San Rafael, CA
ELMOREINDIANART.COM • 839 PASEO DE PERALTA • SANTA FE NM 87501 • (505) 995 9677
rse.com
ho unting h e n u t or 9772 f
.co otmail h @ e s ghor fhuntin
Fortune Huntinghorse Jewelry fortunehuntinghorse.com | 971-242-9772
Neckwear Art Display
Finally a way to enjoy your pieces rather than putting them away!
PERFECT FOR SQUASH BLOSSOMS AND/OR BOLOS!
GOOD alone
or
© Pat and Betty Kaufmann Basketry with woodwork; overall measurement approx. 25” high and 21” wide with 3 different necklace lengths. 4-6 wks. for delivery. $650 + shipping.
TheGreatSouthwestGallery.indd 1
GREAT adorned
Great Southwest
Jewelry | Arts | Appraisals Tlaquepaque Village, Sedona, AZ 86336 928-282-0248 | greatsouthwestart.com
12/28/17 5:49 PM
Jennifer Tafoya-Moquino
russell sanchez
Pueblo Pottery . InDIan jewelry . ZunI FetIshes
chrisTopher youngblood
nancy youngblood
nativepots.com jillspots@aol.com (303) 321-1071 Denver, ColoraDo
60 TH ANNUAL HEARD MUSEUM GUILD
OVER 600 ARTISTS, PERFORMANCES AND MORE BUY TICKETS ONLINE: HEARD.ORG/FAIR
BEST OF SHOW RECEPTION | FRIDAY MARCH 2, 2018 INDIAN FAIR & MARKET | SATURDAY & SUNDAY MARCH 3 & 4, 2018 Kennenth Shirley (Diné) | Photo: Robert Doyle/Canyon Records
Hopi Ogre Woman a by Leonard Selestewa
Dennis June Gallery AMERICAN INDIAN ART & TURQUOISE SCOT T SDAL E, AZ
SCOTTSDALE MAIN STREET ARTWALK 7056 E Main at Marshall • 480.500.1000 DennisJune @ cox.net • www.DennisJune.com WmEMcGee Estate Heritage
Calendar
February/March FEB. 2-SEPT. 30 PHOENIX, AZ Symmetry in Stone: The Jewelry of Richard I. Chavez Heard Museum (602) 252-8840 www.heard.org
THROUGH FEB. 4 CODY, WY Out West Where the North Begins: Harold McCracken in Alaska and the Arctic Buffalo Bill Center of the West (307) 587-4771 www.centerofthewest.org
THROUGH FEB. 4 SEATTLE, WA Alison Marks: One Gray Hair
FEB. 7-11 TUBAC, AZ Tubac Festival of the Arts
Frye Art Museum (206) 622-9250 www.fryemuseum.org
Tubac Village (520) 398-2704 www.tubacaz.com
FEB. 17-18 SAN RAFAEL, CA 34th annual American Indian Art Show | Marin
FEB. 9-MARCH 4 TAOS, NM Annual Miniatures Show & Sale
FEB. 10 CASA GRANDE, AZ February Auction
FEB. 16-18 LITCHFIELD PARK, AZ Wigwam Festival of Fine Art
Millicent Rogers Museum (575) 758-2462 www.millicentrogers.org
Western Trading Post (520) 426-7702 www.westerntradingpost.com
Wigwam Front Lawn (623) 734-6526 www.vermillionpromotions.com
00
Marin Civic Center (310) 822-9145 www.marinshow.com
00
APRIL 8-MAY 5 TAHLEQUAH, OK
47th annual Trail of Tears Art Show & Sale Cherokee Heritage Center (888) 999-6007 | www.cherokeeheritage.org
In every issue of Native American Art magazine, we publish the only reliable guide to all major upcoming fairs and shows nationwide. Contact our assistant editor, Erin Rand, to discuss how your event can be included in this calendar at (480) 246-3789 or erand@nativeamericanartmagazine.com. 44
FEB. 8 SCOTTSDALE, AZ Western Spirit ArtWalk
FEB 8-22 SCOTTSDALE, AZ Pueblo Voices and Animal Tactics
Old Town Scottsdale www.scottsdalegalleries.com
King Galleries (480) 481-0187 www.kinggalleries.com
THROUGH FEB. 18 LOS ANGELES, CA Standing Rock: Art and Solidarity
MARCH 1 SCOTTSDALE, AZ Native Spirit ArtWalk
FEB. 9-11 SAN FRANCISCO, CA
Old Town Scottsdale www.scottsdalegalleries.com
San Francisco Tribal & Textile Art Show
The Autry Museum of the American West (323) 667-2000 www.theautry.org
Fort Mason Center, Festival Pavilion | (310) 822-9145 www.sanfranciscotribalandtextileartshow.com
MARCH 1 SCOTTSDALE, AZ Special Gallery Opening
MARCH 1-15 SCOTTSDALE, AZ Dynamic Clay
Waddell Gallery (480) 755-8080 www.waddellgallery.com
King Galleries (480) 481-0187 www.kinggalleries.com
MARCH 10 CASA GRANDE, AZ March Auction
APRIL 5-12 SCOTTSDALE, AZ Taos Light: Maidens to Mantas
Western Trading Post (520) 426-7702 www.westerntradingpost.com
King Galleries (480) 481-0187 www.kinggalleries.com
THROUGH APRIL 15 SANTA FE, NM Beads: A Universe of Meaning
THROUGH APRIL 15 SANTA FE, NM Eye Candy: Visual Treats from the Permanent Collection
THROUGH APRIL 2018 SONOITA, AZ The Timeless Treasures of Two Grey Hills
The Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian (505) 982-4636 www.wheelwright.org
Nizhoni Ranch Gallery (520) 455-5020 www.navajorug.com
The Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian (505) 982-4636 www.wheelwright.org
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
MARCH 3-4 PHOENIX, AZ Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market Heard Museum (602) 252-8840 www.heard.org
APRIL 6 CINCINNATI, OH American Indian and Western Art Cowan’s Auctions (513) 871-1670 www.cowans.com
MARCH 7 PHOENIX, AZ Earliest Apache in Arizona Pueblo Grande Museum (602) 495-0901 www.pueblogrande.com
THROUGH APRIL 8 NORMAN, OK Generations in Modern Pueblo Painting: The Art of Tonita Peña and Joe Herrera Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art (450) 325-3272 www.ou.edu/fjjma
THROUGH JUNE 3 WICKENBURG, AZ A Trader’s Legacy: Steve Getzwiller Collects the West Desert Caballeros Western Museum (928) 684-2272 www.westernmuseum.org
» Calendar
45
Market Report In this column we speak to leading galleries, auction houses and dealers to find out what’s happening in their world. Our main area of business is antique and vintage Turkey Mountain Traders buys Native American jewelry, though we are also heavily and sells high quality antique involved in the beadwork, textiles and basketry American Indian art and markets. While the latter areas have yet to return antique American folk art. to the levels at which they were selling 10 years ago, jewelry and silverwork have been strong throughout our 27 years in business. We find that the main limiting factor in our market is not finding customers, but finding material of a sufficiently high quality to satisfy the collectors we know. The best always sells, while that which is lacking in quality lags behind, and Turkey Mountain Traders always strives to handle the best quality pieces possible. Recently, we have had many good sales of items with top-quality turquoise from the most desirable American mines, especially pieces made by great artists such as Kenneth Begay, Joe H. Quintana and Lewis Lomay. We have also sold some highly important older pieces, but the supply of truly great jewelry that dates before 1920 is so small that it is impossible to find them with regularity—people who want truly excellent early pieces must sometimes wait a great while before something comes to market. The best private collections remaining are generally in the hands of people who recognize the rarity and value of what they have, and those people are often more interested in buying than selling.
“Recently, we have had many good sales of items with top-quality turquoise from the most desirable American mines, especially pieces made by great artists such as Kenneth Begay, Joe H. Quintana and Lewis Lomay.” 46
STEVE BEGNER, OWNER, TURKEY MOUNTAIN TRADERS We are extremely high on the work of people like Ramon Platero, Kee Joe Benally and the Rivera shop of Santa Fe—artists who were doing excellent work in a modernist vein in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Many of those artist are no longer with us, and modern collectors have discovered that they can purchase wonderfully made and extremely stylish pieces with excellent turquoise at what are still very reasonable prices. There is plenty of shoddy and derivative jewelry from the 1970s available on the market, but the best work from this era has a look and quality that is timeless. We also are actively buying and selling UITA (United Indian Traders’ Association) jewelry from the 1940s and 1950s, because that was an organization that held its members to very strict guidelines for quality and authenticity.
Turkey Mountain Traders P.O. Box 2049, Evergreen, CO 80437 (480) 423-8777, www.turkey-mountain.com
AntiqueAmericanIndianArt.com OFFERING
One of the Largest Online Catalogs of Quality Antique American Indian Art
FOUR COLOR ACOMA PARROT POT Late 19th century 11¾ x 13½" A remarkable jar in un-restored, original condition.
Please Visit our websites:
AntiqueAmericanIndianArt.com and
MariaMartinezPottery.com to view our incredible inventory of Native American art & artifacts
M AT T W O O D ’ S Antique American Indian Art, LLC 11824 North Creek Pkwy. N, Suite 101A Bothell, WA 98011 ◆ 949.813.7202 mwindianart@gmail.com
AntiqueAmericanIndianArt.com
Marie & Santana 1943-1954
◆
MariaMartinezPottery.com
Acquisition Georgia Welles Apollo Society purchases three significant Native works for Toledo Museum of Art.
Acoma Pueblo Embroidered Manta, ca. 1850. Lac-dyed raveled yarns, indigo and natural brown/black handspun yarns, 44 x 49½". Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio. Gift of The Georgia Welles Apollo Society, 2017.13.
TOLEDO MUSEUM OF ART
The Toledo Museum of Art has recently acquired three significant Native American works of art. The objects were purchased from three separate galleries in Santa Fe and New York with funds from the museum’s Georgia Welles Apollo Society. The group has purchased more than 50 works of art for the museum in the past 30 years. The objects include a classic Acoma manta, embroidered around 1850. The designs on the manta combine Spanish floral motif with design elements from the Anasazi. Also acquired is a polychrome clay jar, which would have been used to store and transport wheat and corn, created in the Santo Domingo Pueblo during the late 19th
48
century. The model teepee cover acquired was created in the mid19th century, and exemplifies traditional teepee construction and pattern. The earth and sky are symbolically depicted on the hide. “These stunning objects truly exemplify the collective spirit of the Apollo Society and the museum’s collections policy to acquire works of the highest quality in a variety of media,” says museum director Brian Kennedy. “They also represent our goal to broaden our collecting practices to include more indigenous works of art, historical and contemporary, from around the world.”
Curator Chat
We Ask Leading Museum Curators About What’s Going On In Their World I can’t wait to see T.C. Cannon: At the Edge of America, organized by the Peabody Essex Museum. This exhibition explores T.C. Cannon as a leader of activism and cultural transition in the 1960s and 70s, and will include his artwork, poetry and music. After the inaugural showing at the Peabody Essex Museum, this exhibition travels to Gilcrease Museum from July 14 to October 7. This fall, I am also looking forward to seeing Preston Singletary’s latest glass sculptures in the exhibition Preston Singletary: Raven and the Box of Daylight, opening in October 2018 at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington.
What type of Native art are you currently seeing an interest in right now, historic or contemporary?
Laura F. Fry Senior Curator and Curator of Art Gilcrease Museum Tulsa, OK (918) 596-2700 www.gilcrease.org
What exhibitions are you currently working on? Coming up in spring 2018 at Gilcrease Museum, we are updating and reinstalling Enduring Spirit: Native American Art. This installation will highlight several new acquisitions, and will combine contemporary and historic Native American artworks from our permanent collection. I’m also organizing Seasons of the Desert: Landscapes of the American Southwest, an exhibition of modern and contemporary Southwest paintings from the Gil Waldman and Christy Vezolles collection. On view from March 16 to June 10, this show features a variety of artists from Maynard Dixon to Tony Abeyta, and reveals the vibrancy in the shifting seasons of the desert landscape.
Name an interesting museum exhibit, gallery opening or work of art you’ve seen recently. One of the most spectacular artworks I’ve seen this year is Resisting the Mission; Filling the Silence by artist Shan Goshorn. This set of seven pairs of column baskets features “before and after” photographs of Native children coerced or forced to attend boarding school—showing the U.S. government’s push to eradicate Native cultures in the early 20th century. The Gilcrease Museum is thrilled to have this piece on loan from the artist through May 2018—the impact of the full set is stunning! Shan hopes that Resisting the Mission; Filling the Silence will offer viewers an opportunity to overcome the silence long suffered around the history of Native American boarding schools.
What event (gallery show, museum exhibition, etc.) in the next few months are you looking forward to, and why?
50
In the museum world, it has been wonderful to see an expanding interest in contemporary Native art, from Rick Bartow to Kay WalkingStick to Preston Singletary. Especially for institutions with extensive historic Native American collections like Gilcrease Museum, incorporating contemporary works allows us to tell a broader, more complete story of Native American art and culture. We can challenge outdated, narrow definitions of “traditional” art, and show that Native cultures—like all peoples—continue to evolve and change in the modern world.
What is the most recent object of art your museum has added to its collection? Two of our most exciting recent acquisitions for the Gilcrease collection include an oil painting by Rick Bartow, Jane Avril (Spindly Legs Flying in All Directions), donated by Tom and Judy King, and two beautiful contemporary vases by Hopi-Tewa artist Debbie Clashin, donated by Loren Lipson.
What is your dream exhibition to curate? Or see someone else curate? I’d love to curate an exhibition exploring cross-cultural connections in the ceramic arts. The Gilcrease collection includes beautiful examples of Mississippian pottery, dating from approximately 900 to 1500 CE. It’s an under-explored area of Native American art and it could be fascinating to see these historic works paired with work by contemporary Native artists.
Give us a few of your favorite Native artists. While it’s impossible to name a favorite Native artist, it has been an honor to meet many of the talented artists living here in Tulsa. In particular, I’ve been impressed with the work of Tony Tiger and Bobby C. Martin, who are artists, instructors and curators. Bobby and Tony were co-curators of the recent exhibition Return from Exile: Contemporary Southeastern Indian Art. The exhibition has traveled widely across the Southeastern United States and through Oklahoma. It’s been inspiring to see how their efforts have provided opportunities for artists and shaped perceptions of Southeastern Indian art.
Historic & Contemporary Navajo Rugs
Tree of Life Pictorial by Alice Ray Circa 1965 36 x 68" Alice had a similar weaving published in the July 1974 Arizona Highways
VISIT OUR ENTIRE COLLECTION
CharleysNavajoRugs.com 559 259-9482Â | Hanford, CA | Charley@CharleysNavajoRugs.com APPOINTMENTS AVAILABLE
News
Dallin Maybee stepping down from SWAIA SANTA FE, NM
At the beginning of 2018, Dallin Maybee will step away from his role as the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts’ COO. Maybee joined the organization in 2014, a turbulent time for SWAIA, and later signed a three-year contract. He has stabilized the
organization in the run-up the 100th anniversary and leaves it on solid footing. Maybee will move to Phoenix, where his wife and children currently reside, and focus on his law career.
Dallin Maybee will relocate to Phoenix with his family. Photo by Daniel Nadelbach.
North America’s largest tribal art show takes place in San Francisco SAN FRANCISCO, CA
February 8 through 11, the San Francisco Tribal & Textile Art Show will take place at the Fort Mason Center Festival Pavilion. The show includes top-tier works from tribal Africa, Asia, Australia, Oceania and the Americas. Works span millenia, with carvings and pottery from prehistoric South America to Wounaan contemporary basketry. A special exhibit curated by Yaama Ganu titled Power and Colour - An Introduction to Aboriginal Art: Celebrating the Artists, Their Communities, and Culture will feature tribal arts of Australia.
Marla Allison (Laguna), Shawls and Pottery, 2017, acrylic.
New paintings on view at King Galleries
Chilkat Blanket, 19th century, Pacific Northwest. Courtesy Kim Martindale, Los Angeles, CA
SCOTTSDALE, AZ
Native film subject of new showcase SANTA FE, NM
In a collaboration with the University of Alaska Fairbanks, IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts presents films that reflect cinematic influences in homegrown Alaskan film and works from UAF students and alumni. Screenings take place daily in the Helen Hardin Media Gallery through May 4. The program aims to promote work reflecting the people, stories, places and viewpoints specific to Alaska, and includes diversity of language, cultural complexities, traditions of Northern peoples and the wealth of the Alaskan landscape.
52
Anna Brown Ehlers: Chilkat Weavers, 2017, film still. Courtesy University of Alaska
In Pueblo Voices and Animal Tactics, King Galleries in Scottsdale, Arizona, will showcase new works in paint by Laguna artist Marla Allison and Jemez/Jicarilla Apache painter Phillip Vigil. The show will run February 8 through 22. Also upcoming from the gallery is a lecture by owner Charles S. King at Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West on March 14, and new works in clay by Susan Folwell on view in April.
News
Maria Samora named Living Treasure SANTA FE, NM
The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture has named Taos jeweler Maria Samora as the 2018 MIAC Living Treasure. She will be honored for her artistic contributions, service to her community at the 14th
annual Native Treasures Art Market, held annually during Memorial Day weekend. Samora is known for her minimalist lines, interdisciplinary approach and modern designs, and she often uses
unexpected materials like diamonds, guava moonstone and African opal in her jewelry. MIAC will present a special exhibition of Samora’s work that opens to the public April 8.
Maria Samora will be honored at the Native Treasures Art Market.
The Coe Center announces land purchase for new building SANTA FE, NM
The Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts has announced a land purchase for a new building on Henry Lynch Road. The larger building will better house the center’s collections and activities. The Coe Center was founded in May 2013 and works directly with artists, curators, student curators, collectors and interns to develop public exhibitions and innovative programs. Its namesake, Ralph T. Coe, was an early champion of North American
IAIA signs agreement with Universidad Intercultural del Estado de México SANTA FE, NM
Joyce Growing Thunder Fogarty (Assiniboine-Sioux), Horse Mask, 2000.
Native art and one of the foremost authorities in the field.
The Institute of American Indian Arts has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Universidad Intercultural del Estado de México. The agreement means that students from each institution will be able to par ticipate in semesterlong exchange programs as well as providing opportunity for faculty exchanges and other collaborative projects. T he memorandum, which has been
An aerial view of IAIA in Santa Fe.
under development for a number of years, will strengthen promote and develop cooperation through education and research based on the principles of equality.
Collector focus of museum exhibition WICKENBURG, AZ
Native art collector Steve Getzwiller is the subject of an exhibition at Desert Caballeros Western Museum, on view through June 3. Titled One Trader’s Legacy, the exhibition marks the first time that Getzwiller’s personal collection of rugs, paintings, pottery, baskets and guns will be on public view. Getzwiller began his lifelong passion for collecting as a teenager, and is well known for his work with weavers from the Navajo Nation. He and his wife Gail operate the Nizhoni Ranch Gallery in Sonoita, Arizona.
Steve Getzwiller stands among items from his personal collection. Photo by Guy Atchley.
54
JOHN C. HILL ANTIQUE INDIAN ART GALLERY 6962 E. 1st Ave., Ste 104 Scottsdale, AZ 85251 (480) 946-2910 johnhill98@yahoo.com Visit our New Website Johnhillgallery.com Open Tues - Sat, 11 to 5
Volz Kachinas 1899-1901 Kipok, the Warrior Kachina and Haaniiya the Ogre
SPIRITS IN
Wood Native American Art magazine presents our ďŹ rst-ever special section devoted to Katsina dolls
57
K A T S I N A I S S U E
D e CipherinG
Katsina How to identify vintage katsina dolls By Mark Sublette
Whipper katsina, 1930, appears in the Bean Dance.
58
H
opi katsina imagery has been an iconic symbol of the Southwest ever since the railroads first made their way across the region in the 1880s. Not long after the arrival of the trains, tourism geared toward Native American culture followed and the Hopi and the Zuni began carving dolls not only for self-use, but also for sale or trade. Native American trading posts like Keams Canyon (founded in 1875) near Hopi carried a large inventory of Hopi katsina dolls, pottery tiles and jars adorned with painted katsinam. Numerous well-known artists in the early 20 th century traveled to the region to capture the people and their dances. Maynard Dixon first visited Hopi in 1902 and came back often. In 1923, Dixon made a fourmonth trip to Hopi to capture the katsina societies in pencil and paint. Dixon’s Kachina Maker depicts a male carver putting the final touches on a katsina doll at Walpi. Dixon also captured the mundane daily life of the people, which can be seen in his piece Hopi Woman Cutting Meat. Dixon felt he needed to not only understand the spiritual side, but also how people lived. Contemporary artists continue to be inspired by the katsina doll and Hopi culture. Ed Mell and Francis Livingston both draw on this imagery occasionally, and it’s reflected in their paintings of individual dolls and the dancers themselves. The Zuni and Hopi pueblos are associated with dolls made in the early 20th century, but many of the Rio Grande pueblos also made flat or altar dolls mainly for ceremonial purposes. Most collectors associate katsina dolls with those made by the Hopi, as they had the most active carvers. There are still numerous katsina carvers at Hopi who make exquisite, intricate dolls and sculptures, which are often made out of a single cottonwood root. Dolls created by these well-known carvers can bring thousands of dollars. Unfortunately, you will often also see so-called “katsina dolls,” which are made to resemble crude Hopi dolls, in tourist traps, gas stations along I-40, corner road stands and unreputable galleries. Instead of the intricate carvings, these replicas are crudely formed, nondescript, decorated with copious amounts of chicken feathers and glued to a base displaying a non-Hopi sounding name. These so-called “katsina dolls” are, at best, produced in an assembly-type fashion using Native employees so the dolls can be legitimately sold as Native American katsina dolls. Worse, they are sometimes imported
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
from out of the country and sold as “katsina style dolls.” These have no intrinsic value other than as a dust catcher to fill an empty space. The Navajos do carve sculptures, which are collectible. There are artistic wood sculptures depicting Navajo ceremonies, such as Yei Bi Chei dancers, or ones done in a large format with whimsical imagery. The most notable Navajo carver is Charlie Willeto (18971964), whose carvings are very collectible. Contemporary Hopi katsina dolls are highly soughtafter, with a single large doll taking months to create, often to be sold within the first week of completion to either a high-end Indian art gallery or a collector who commissioned it. The Eddie Basha Collection in Chandler, Arizona, has a wonderful collection of some of the best contemporary katsina dolls. The Heard Museum in Phoenix also has a large collection of both vintage and contemporary dolls for viewing, as well as some contemporary Hopi dolls for sale. It is a must-see for those interested in the subject. Originally, Hopi dolls were made as gifts to young Hopi girls from initiated male katsina dancers during the Bean Dance to help them be a part of the katsina methodology, spirit and ritual of their tribe. The dances performed by men and boys are an integral part of Hopi life and culture. There are close to 1,000 different types of katsinam, many of which are no longer known or danced; some of these earliest dolls cannot be identified. Not all katsina carvers from the early 20th century represented specific katsinam; a famous example is Wilson Tawaquaptewa’s (1871-1960) work. Wilson’s katsina dolls are unsigned, but are identifiable as an artist by his unique characteristics. These include exaggerated rabbit ears, lines of black dots along the body parts and vivid primary colors. Tawaquaptewa dolls are highly collectible and can bring a thousand dollars for a small piece to many thousands for a large, intricate piece. There are numerous examples of “Old Style dolls,” which can be legitimate Hopi katsina dolls done in a simple style reminiscent of the early dolls. Unfortunately, there are also unscrupulous nonNatives who try and pass off Old Style carvings as vintage. Elements to look for in the determination of authenticity, value and the dating of katsina dolls include wear, body style, coloration, species of wood and provenance.
K AT S I N A
I S S U E
59
K A T S I N A I S S U E
WeaR W Inspect the doll for wear in places that make sense. Ethnographic use mainly occurs around the side of the doll and head or any place normal human handling would occur over time. Regions of broken or chipped appendages (which are typically found in vintage dolls) should have areas of oxidation where the damage occurs. Exposed cottonwood will turn a honey color over time versus a whiter wood, which would be consistent in its coloration. Katsina forgers often use coffee grounds to enhance and give their carvings an overall darker appearance throughout. You may even see brushstrokes where the color has been applied. Fine scrape marks made from sandpaper along the face or areas that would not normally occur from handling are red flags, especially if the so-called damage has a consistent appearance.
Hehey’s Uncle katsina, 1890, appears in pairs with Soyoko.
60
Style The earliest dolls, from the 1880s to around 1900, are often very simple in structure and design. The arms are close to the body with no fingers (referred to as tummy warming in the trade). These are rare dolls and can be quite expensive. A late-19th-century Pah’lik Mana in 2017 brought $20,000 at auction. This price range is not unusual, and rare or large katsina dolls in good original condition can bring into the low six figures; exceptional examples have brought over a $100,000. The evolution of the orientation of the dolls’ arms went from around the stomach, to the sides and finally straight out or in action with each decade.
Powamui katsina, ca. 1910-20, dances at the Bean Dance.
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
K AT S I N A
I S S U E
61
K A T S I N A I S S U E
Color Early coloration of katsina dolls include natural mineral paints of a dark sage green, pink, yellow and red ochre. A good way to help date early katsinam is to use examples that are well documented agewise and found in museums, and compare these examples to pieces being offered for sale. The Heard Museum, the Museum of Northern Arizona and the Millicent Rogers Museum all contain quality examples of early katsina dolls. The Amerind Museum in Arizona also has two excellent examples of early katsina dolls. Historic mineral pigments are extremely difficult and sometimes impossible to reproduce, so they are an excellent objective marker for older dolls.
Nuvak’chin or Snow Maiden katsina, ca.1890-1900, appears in Snow Dance or Niman Katsina Dance.
62
Wo Wood, Clothing Clot and an Condition Condi Historic Hopi katsina dolls will almost always be made out of cottonwood root, which is a very lightweight wood. Occasionally juniper was used, which is a dense wood, but its use is mainly a rare exception. Wood with cracks, as if dried, split and then painted over, can be a warning sign if the doll is supposed to be vintage, as the wood used historically did not have cracks. Ears, noses, mouthparts and eyes are usually carved in separate pieces and then put into the katsina with a wooden peg. Close examination of where these insert may reveal white pegs, which means the appendage may have been repaired or replaced. Blacklight examination will often reveal fluorescent areas, which indicate a newer source of paint, usually overpaint. Often the nose, ears or bug eyes will have chips or scrapes, as they protrude and are susceptible to damage. Feet and arms are often broken and reglued. This kind of wear shouldn’t deter you from collecting a katsina doll, in my opinion, as it simply confirms what is expected in a vintage doll. Clothing adornment on Hopi dolls is uncommon, although it does occur. However, clothing is characteristic of Zuni dolls. Early clothing can be hand spun cotton, calico cloth or Bayeta trade cloth. Zuni dolls will have articulated arms using metalheaded nails. Early dolls may have nails with square heads. These last two characteristics of articulation and clothing are typical Zuni attributes.
Wilson Tawaquaptewa (Hopi, 1871-1960), portraying a wolf or coyote, Â ca.1930.
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
K AT S I N A
I S S U E
63
K A T S I N A I S S U E
ValuatiOn Determining the value of vintage katsina dolls (1880-1940) is dependant on many variables. One factor includes pieces created before the 20th century, which are rare and generally the most valuable. Dolls from around 1900 to 1920 are the second most valuable, followed by 1930 to 1940 age group in terms of the collectability hierarchy. Contemporary dolls are valued more by the carver and the intricacy of the doll/sculpture. Katsina types are equally important as age and can sometimes outweigh age. Rare types, large examples or dolls with a tableta, headdress or an interesting/ pleasing form visually can bring a premium. Original, untouched condition is desirable, especially if the piece is in excellent condition. It is not uncommon to see some restoration in these early pieces. Breaks, wear and missing parts are common in a wooden doll handled by loving children. Dolls that have zero wear may represent a restored or a later doll that is in a “vintage style.� Remember, there were not that many katsina carvers in the early 20th century, so dolls are uncommon.
Left: Hopi Nuvak’chin or Snow katsina, cradle doll katsina (flat doll) ca. 1900-2. Right: Hehey's Uncle katsina, 1920, appears in pairs with Soyoko.
64
“Buy with your heart, but do so only after you have taken the time to educate yourself. Native American Art magazine is a good place to start.”
ALL IMAGES COURTESY MARK SUBLETTE MEDICINE MAN GALLERY, TUCSON, AZ.
ProvEnance nance A well-documented history regarding the doll can add a huge premium in terms of value. Always get the provenance in writing as part of the history of the doll. Collecting vintage katsina dolls can become a lifelong obsession. I have been collecting and selling early Hopi dolls for over 25 years, and I have seen and learned much during that time span. Here are two pearls of wisdom: If you are being offered multiple old dolls from a single collection, look to see if any of the dolls have identical color usage and carving style that would indicate the same carver’s hand. I have only seen dolls by the same carver in a supposed early original collection if they were done as a pair, such as representing snake dancers. Those trying to fake old dolls figure if one doll is valuable, then two or even three is even better; the greed factor reveals itself and helps undermine the forger. Always make sure wear is consistent with human usage and not from mechanical aging, which is a common practice in making Old Style fakes, sandpaper being the most common tool. Museums and documented early examples in books are great references for learning. When you’re ready to start collecting, buy from an ATADA (Antique Tribal Arts Dealer Association) dealer. The ATADA website is a great resource to find dealers who are very knowledgeable, love what they do and will guarantee what you buy. Wood and stone objects are the easiest types of materials for forgers to work with, so katsinam are a good target; though most forgers are rarely historically correct with materials and simply look for an easy mark.
Zuni Many-Colored Warrior of Zenith katsina, ca. 1930.
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
K AT S I N A
I S S U E
65
K A T S I N A I S S U E
Decades of K at s i n a Dolls
An iconic Southwestern art form moves from cultural artifact to ďŹ ne art. By Debra Utacia Krol
66
K
atsina dolls have fascinated collectors, scholars and fans of Southwestern Native cultures for decades. Carved by initiated Hopi men for centuries, the dolls represent the katsinam, the supernatural beings who bring life-giving rain to the dry Hopi mesas, and whose virtues are taught to children as the path to a good, rich life. Although the katsina dolls are an essential component of an ancestral cultural tradition, they’ve only been known to non-Hopis for a bit more than a century. People who want to learn more about one of the best-known arts in the Southwest can see hundreds of them dating from the late 1800s to the 21st century at Phoenix’s Heard Museum.
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
“The Heard has two major katsina doll collections— the Goldwater and Fred Harvey collections,” says Dr. Ann Marshall, director of research at the museum. Harvey obtained many dolls from H.R. Voth, a Mennonite missionary; Indian trader Frederick Volz; and others. Originally, the dolls were simply carved and painted with natural pigments. As teaching tools for Hopi girls grasping the nuances of their ancestral culture, they were meant to be hung on a wall, and so lack a stable base. However, once Hopi carvers learned the dolls could be turned into cash or trade goods, they endeavored to create pieces that would appeal to tourists traveling along the Atchison, Topeka and
From left: Hopi cradle doll; Willis Kewanwytewa (Hopi), 1st Mesa Cloud katsina doll; Willie Qumyintewa (Hopi), War God katsina doll; Anthony Briones (Hopi), White Bear katsina doll; Peter Shelton (Hopi), Snake Dancer katsina doll; and Von Monongya (Hopi), Great Horned Owl katsina doll. Photo by Megan Richmond, Heard Museum.
K AT S I N A
I S S U E
67
K A T S I N A I S S U E
1
68
Santa Fe Railroad. One example of an early touristtrade doll is a Tungwivkatsina, or Whipper, which Volz purchased for Harvey. The late-19th-century doll is seated on a stand and dressed in a kilt repurposed from a crocheted doily. Another early example of katsina dolls carved for the traveling public: a Honànkatsina, or Badger, dated to the turn of the 20th century, also acquired by Volz for the Harvey Company. The doll sports a tiny concho belt crafted from tin, poster paints and a cloth sash complete with fringe. “These were made with the idea of selling,” says Marshall. One of the Heard’s earliest katsina dolls came from the collection of two remarkable Arizona men. The 1890s-era Sa’lakwmana, or shalako, doll was given to the museum by the late Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater near the end of his 1964 presidential run. Much of the Goldwater Collection, though, was assembled by John Rinker “Rink” Kibbey, a noted Phoenix architect. Kibbey, a friend of the Goldwater family, introduced the then-7-year-old boy to the high mesas and ancient villages of Hopiland during a 1916 collecting trip. “On that first visit to Hopi, I recall that Rink purchased a large mudhead nearly 24 inches high for about $3,” Goldwater wrote in the introduction to the 1975 Heard catalog of his collection. Goldwater was entranced—and hooked. As a young man, Goldwater endeavored to assemble his own collection; however, as he noted, “The war came along and intervened.” After returning home from his World War II service, Goldwater learned that Kibbey wished to sell his collection. “He asked me what I could offer,” Goldwater wrote, “and I said I will give you what I have in my savings account, which was $1,200.” The deal was struck, and Goldwater’s life savings became the core of his collection. Goldwater continued to visit the Hopi villages regularly, where he was welcomed into homes and kivas. He learned more about the religious aspects of the katsina spirits and the dolls that teach the Hopi about the proper way to live. While there, he was granted the opportunity to observe katsina dances. “The few katsina dances I have seen in my life left me with about the same feeling I have when I attend communion in my own church or mass in the Catholic Church,” Goldwater wrote. That same sense of respect and awe informed Goldwater’s continued collection efforts; ultimately,
2
the collection grew to 437 dolls spanning the late 18th century to the early 1960s, including 70 dolls commissioned by Oswald White Bear Fredericks. But, the time had come to pass on the collected history of the Hopi carving art to new stewards, and the Heard accepted the gift. The Goldwater Collection also showcases the continuing evolution of katsina doll carving. Bruce McGee, the director of the Heard Museum Shop, was literally raised around katsina dolls. He’s a member of the McGee trading family, and grew up on the Hopi Reservation. “These dolls are like books in wood,” says McGee. “But, when I was a kid, [the carvings] are nothing are like what we see today.” McGee recounts that dolls made for tourists, which included skirts made from tablecloths, real feathers, poster paints and more “action” oriented figures, came into the trading posts through the 1950s. They also started to appear more human, and were mounted on stands. “In the 1960s, dolls became more refined, but they still used lots of feathers,” he says.
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
1. Wilson Tawaquaptewa (Hopi, 1871-1960), carving with stuffed snake and clothing of painted cloth and commercial leather, and jewelry with several different kinds of shells, 1930s-40s, 333/25". Heard Museum Collection, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Henry S. Galbraith, 3309-228. Photo by Craig Smith. 2. Manfred Susunkewa (Hopi), Hiilili, ca. 1990, mineral pigment paint, 13". Ht. 13 inches. Heard Museum Collection, gift of Joann Phillips, 4374-1. Photo by Craig Smith. 3. Ryon Polequaptewa (Hopi), Hòo‘e, 2007, 16¼". Heard Museum Collection, 4605-1. Photo 3
by Craig Smith.
K AT S I N A
I S S U E
69
K A T S I N A I S S U E
Nata’aska (Black Ogre), ca. 1900, 18". Heard Museum Collection, gift of Sen. Barry M. Goldwater. NA-SW-Ho-F-126. Photo by Craig Smith.
70
Ahรถla, early 1900s, 28". Heard Museum Collection, gift of Sen. Barry M. Goldwater. NA-SW-Ho-F-127. Photo by Craig Smith.
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
K AT S I N A
I S S U E
71
K A T S I N A
That ended in the early 1970s, when the federal government began restricting the possession of eagle feathers by non-Indians, and prosecuting dealers who sold works with migratory feathers. Alarmed that he and other dealers would get caught in the legal crossfire, McGee worked to ensure that he could continue legally selling dolls—and that his carvers could continue to make a living, or at least supplement their incomes, with carving. “I knew that Brian Honyouti carved one-piece dolls,” McGee says. “I
I S S U E
told him that we need to carve feathers now,” or face possible fines, jail time or both. “Brian started showing others how to carve and groove feathers.” In addition to realistic-appearing feathers, the 1970s saw carving moving away from craft and toward fine art. “Alvin James from the Third Mesa started the foray into the art world,” McGee says. “I paid $200 for his first doll. My dad thought I’d lost my mind.” Chastised, McGee hid the carving in the back of a case, intending to purchase it himself. But, “a lady came by, looked in the case and admired it. I told her it was $275. ‘I’ll take it!’ she said.” And, the rest is history. These dolls are painted with acrylic tints, are posed as if they’re dancing, and can range to more than 24 inches tall. In addition to Honyouti and James, the latter 20th century saw the rise of talented artists such as Cecil Calnimptewa, Neil David, Dennis Tewa and other such carvers. And, the art continues to evolve. Aaron Fredericks and Mike Jenkins are noted for their ultra-realistic dolls. “We’re seeing carvings coming out that would blow elders’ minds,” says McGee. “It’s like turning the pages of a book to see the progression of the carving art.” But, just as the earth turns around the sun, katsina
72
4
doll carving also runs in cycles. Led by artists such as Manfred Susunkewa, some carvers are creating “retro” style dolls—with flat carvings, no bases and natural pigments. “In particular, Tayron and Ryon Polequaptewa are pushing the envelope,” McGee says. “They even treat their natural pigments to make them appear older.” And, of course, carvers still create pieces for their original use—teaching Hopi children about their heritage and reinforcing life lessons. “Even my sister got a ‘grandma’ doll,” which is a flat doll with sugarinfused natural pigment paints for babies to chew on, McGee says. Carvers like Wally Grover and Kevin Secakuku continue the tradition of creating art from the humble cottonwood root. Grover, who lives in Tewa Village on First Mesa, has carved contemporary dolls since 1987. “I got started right out of high school,” says Grover. “I like to make animal katsina dolls, like Owl and White Bear, and Badger for healing.” He sells at the Heard’s Katsina Doll Marketplace each spring, and also has a spot at the Hopi Cultural Center. “I’d rather meet the people and know where my art is going,” says Grover. “The dolls are like my family.” Grover prefers to make realistic-appearing dolls. “The wood talks to me,” he says. Grover, who works full time as an artist because it allows him time to volunteer, also creates rattles and bows and arrows for boys as well as full-size dolls for older girls. “I do it for myself, my children and grandkids,” Grover says as he prepares to coach a basketball game. Secakuku, on the other hand, makes more Old Style works. “My most requested works are Soyoko clowns,” says Secakuku, who lives in the Phoenix area, but whose home community is Kykotsmovi. “But people
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
5
were asking for Old Style so I just started doing it.” But, Secakuku had to first unlearn some things. “Philbert Honanie taught me how to carve in the Old Style,” says Secakuku, the nephew of acclaimed artist Alph Secakuku. “‘Don’t be such a perfectionist on the Old Style dolls,’ Philbert told me,” says Secakuku, who normally works with painstaking details. McGee says that the katsina doll carving art will continue to change. But, whether creating Old Style, action figures or ultra-realistic carvings from the cottonwood roots that bring life just as water brings life to the people, he says that one thing will always remain the same: “They will follow their hearts.”
4. Cecil Calnimptewa Jr. (Hopi), Kwaakatsina or Eagle katsina, 1992, 21¼". Heard Museum Collection, gift of Ruth and Sid Schultz, 4513-5. Photo by Craig Smith. 5. Honànkatsina or Badger katsina, pre-1901, 13½". Fred Harvey Fine Arts Collection at the Heard Museum, 850CI. Photo by Craig Smith.
K AT S I N A
I S S U E
73
T
K A T S I N A
he story of the life of Wilson Tawaquaptewa is familiar to many ardent katsina collectors but foreign to many others. This version will emphasize a different theme in his life, that of “turning the power,” according to Matthew Sakiestewa Gilbert in his Education beyond the Mesas: 1902-1929. Hopi Students at Sherman Institute, 1902-1929 Tawaquaptewa was born in 1873 in the ancient village of Orayvi on the Hopi reservation in North Central Arizona. At the time of Tawaquaptewa’s birth, Orayvi was the largest and most important Hopi
I S S U E
Turning the Power
The life and katsinam of Wilson Tawaquaptewa By Barry Walsh, Ph.D.
1
74
village. Tawaquaptewa was born into his mother’s Bear Clan, the most religiously significant group. After a youth immersed in traditional Hopi culture and religion, in 1904, Tawaquaptewa assumed the most prominent religious and political position in the village, that of Kikmongwi, or Village Chief. He remained in this position until his death in 1960, with a few interruptions related to political imprisonment or health challenges. In assuming the position of Kikmongwi, Tawaquaptewa entered center stage in a major controversy. The conflict involved a split between two Hopi groups, recently referred to by Hopi scholar Gilbert as “Resisters” versus “Accommodators.” Tawaquaptewa was the leader of the Accomodator faction, and, as the name implies, he and his followers supported limited cooperation between the Hopi people and representatives of the United States government (primarily the Bureau of Indian Affairs, BIA). In contrast, the Resisters were adamantly opposed to any assimilation or compromise with “the White man’s way of life.” As one example of the conflict, the Accommodators supported the attendance of Hopi children at schools run by the
BIA. The Resisters were adamantly opposed to such school attendance in part because Hopi students were required to adopt Anglo names and dress and to speak only English while in school. Tawaquaptewa’s position as an Accommodator was that the influence of Anglo culture was inevitable and, in some cases, advantageous (e.g. literacy, Western medicine and agricultural tools), and that the wisest course was for the Hopi to pursue a strategic cooperation. In contrast, the Resister group accused Tawaquaptewa and his followers of abandoning traditional Hopi ways and selling out Hopi children and culture for the material advantages offered by the Anglos. As with most bitter conflicts, there may have been reasonable and irrational elements to the positions assumed by both sides. Fueled by the escalating intrusiveness of the U.S. government, the conflict between the Accommodators and the Resisters reached an explosive crescendo in 1906. In September of that year, the two factions engaged in a ritualized pushing match near Orayvi, which resulted in the expulsion of the Resisters from the village. Over the next several years, the Resisters established new villages at Hotvela and Paaqavi, which survive to this day. Ostensibly the “winner” of the long-standing conflict, Tawaquaptewa must have been shocked and outraged when two months later, in November 1906, the U.S. government insisted on shipping 71 Hopi, including Tawaquaptewa and his family, to the Sherman Institute in Riverside, California. The Sherman Institute was one of many BIA schools designed to eradicate Indian culture and transform Natives into homogenized U.S. citizens. This decision was intended to punish Tawaquaptewa for behaving in an “un-American way” by forcing the Resisters to leave Orayvi. Remarkably, Tawaquaptewa adjusted very well to his “schooling.” He was said to have learned English in less than five months and was frequently cited as a positive role model for Hopi children and other Native students. He encouraged the young Hopi students to take advantage of the positive aspects of their education, but he also consistently fostered their learning about Hopi religion and culture in a remote place. For example, he organized performances of a traditional Eagle Dance, which helped sustain Hopi culture in the Anglo school setting. Moreover, in 1907,
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
1
he and his students provided the dance at an annual meeting of the National Education Association in Los Angeles. As Gilbert noted, Tawaquaptewa “helped preserve the Hopi way through an institution designed to destroy it. Tawaquaptewa exerted great agency and succeeded.” Tawaquaptewa was said to have “turned the power.” And it was not to be the last time. After three years of “schooling,” Tawaquaptewa was allowed to return to Orayvi. The Tawaquaptewa of 1909 was apparently a changed man. As noted by BIA Indian Agent Leo Crane, “As his Indian agent, I tried for eight long years to make a sensible human being of him, but failed, for lack of material. After having tried him as an Indian judge, and then as an Indian policeman, in the hope of preserving his dignity and authority as hereditary (sic) chief, he was found to be the most negatively contentious savage and unreconstructed rebel remaining in the Oravyi community.” In this racist rant, it is indeed striking that Crane failed to refer to Tawaquaptewa’s three-year
1. Three “mixed up type” katsinam
K AT S I N A
I S S U E
75
K A T S I N A I S S U E
2
incarceration as impacting his subsequent conduct and lack of cooperation with the government. Be that as it may, it is clear by 1910 that Tawaquaptewa could no longer be considered an Accommodator in relation to the U.S. government. This was by no means surprising given the treatment accorded him by the authorities in response to his cooperation and spirit of compromise. By consistently resisting, he had again turned the power. On his return, Tawaquaptewa found himself presiding over an ever-shrinking number of subjects. With the departure of the Resisters, Orayvi lost its status as the most populous and religiously important of the Hopi villages. Instead, Orayvi increasingly became an under-populated town of deteriorating sandstone structures. In Tawaquaptewa’s later years, some Anglos viewed him as an embittered loner, a tragic figure who had attempted to lead his people into the 20th century only to be abandoned by his own people and the government he had attempted to appease. But as indicated in the following, there is much more to the story. Sometime after his return to Orayvi, perhaps in the 1920s, Tawaquaptewa began to carve and sell Katsina dolls. This initiative became another example of Tawaquaptewa “turning the power.” He became a familiar figure to the ever-increasing numbers of Anglo tourists. He offered tours of the village which culminated at his doorstep in Orayvi, where he sold his carvings for 50 cents or a dollar or two. In the past, many other Hopi had sold katsina dolls to Anglos, but Tawaquaptewa’s were unique. What made Tawaquaptewa’s carvings utterly different was that he made sure
76
each of his carvings was not an accurate portrayal of a katsina. He again “turned the power,” by selling what the customers believed to be “authentic Hopi katsina dolls,” which, in fact, were anything but. Instead, his carvings were strange combinations of characteristics from different katsinam in addition to features from his own fertile imagination. His dolls are immediately recognizable in that they are decorated with weird, often bizarre, amalgams of oversized ears, crossed eyes, jagged jailhouse stripes, stinger-like snouts and frenetic patterns of polka dots. If one looks carefully at the photos of his carvings in this article, it would be hard to conclude that Tawaquaptewa became an embittered nihilist. His carvings are frequently comic, even hilarious, in their execution. Why did Tawaquaptewa carve in this fashion? As I was preparing an earlier article on his work in 1997, I met with Tawaquaptewa’s adopted son, Stanley Bahnimptewa, in Orayvi (Bahnimptewa was then in his 70s and is now deceased). During our long conversation, Bahnimptewa explained he used to sit with his father on his doorstep as he was carving his
dolls. Asked if Tawaquaptewa had any favorite katsinam that he carved, Bahnimptewa replied, “Well, he didn’t do them the right way, the way the katsinas really looked. He didn’t think they should be made like the ones given to the girls by the katsinas at the dances.” Barton Wright, author of 13 books on Hopi and Zuni culture, confirmed Bahnimptewa’s opinion, in saying, “As Kikmongwi, Tawaquaptewa had a special relationship to all the Katsinas. He had a knowledge of and responsibility for the Katsinas that no one else had…With that privilege went a duty and a responsibility, and a traditional proscription, that the Kikmongwi do nothing in relation to the Katsinas that would be improper or disrespectful. Therefore, to use katsinas, or the carved representations of them, in any way that was commercially exploitive or opportunistic would be unthinkable.” Therefore, the conclusion is that Tawaquaptewa deliberately distorted all his carvings in order to be consistent with his religious convictions and role as Kikmongwi. He gave the Anglos what they wanted, but also turned the power, made a few dollars to support his family and maintained his religious integrity. One can classify his carvings as falling into two categories: 1) dolls that resemble actual katsinam, but which have been deliberately distorted or modified, and 2) dolls which bear little or no resemblance to any actual katsina, and are the product of Tawaquaptewa’s idiosyncratic imagination. I refer to these two types as “mixed up” versus “made up.” In turning to the carvings in this article, it is easy to find prominent examples of both types. More specifically, consider the katsinam in Figure 1. These three are excellent representatives of Tawaquaptewa’s distorted or mixed up type. On the left is an approximation of a cicada, in the middle is a carving that resembles a chipmunk and, on the right, a Hooli. With all three examples, Tawaquaptewa has been careful to make modifications that render the figure “not a real katsina.” More specifically, he has added polka dots on all three carvings that do not occur on accurate versions of the katsinam. In addition, on all three, the body paint designs do not exist on any real Hopi katsina. And as another example, it is quite nonsensical for a “chipmunk” to have bear claws on his face! This is Tawaquaptewa being playful. Examples of the entirely “made up” katsinam are well represented in Figure 2. On the left is a figure with
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
2. Three “made up type” katsinam 3. A “made up type” katsina
3
multicolored ears of corn on his head, along with amoeba-like figures on his face. No such katsina exists. The same can be said for the carving in the middle, a hilarious figure with scalloped ears and stunted koshare-like horns. He also bears an amusing undulating serpent on his chest. And on the right is a katsina with slender antennae and spools for ears. None of these figures exist in the Hopi pantheon. Another example of a made-up assemblage is shown in Figure 3. This carving has Hopi rabbit sticks for ears, unusual hash marks on his cheeks and a long, striped snout. The “katsina” carvings depicted in this article are entirely representative of Tawaquaptewa the artist, the man and the historical figure. Tawaquaptewa was an individual of complex contradictions and intriguing incompatibilities. He was a traditional Hopi chief of the prestigious Bear Clan, yet he was also an assimilationist, an “accommodator.” In the past, he has been viewed by some as a sellout to the U.S. government and by others as a selfless, strategic protector of the Hopi way. A more current view is to recognize his strategic acumen in “turning the power.” He encountered massive challenges to Hopi culture, deflected their impact, and facilitated survival. He did this during his time at the Sherman Institute, after his return to the reservation, and via his unique katsina carvings. Tawaquaptewa’s katsinam are now valued by collectors, art dealers and museums for their distinctiveness, their aesthetic humor and charisma, and their symbolic meaning and significance.
K AT S I N A
I S S U E
77
K A T S I N A
The transformations of Manuel Denet Chavarria
Dramatic
Evolutions
I S S U E
By Barry Walsh, Ph.D.
M
anuel Denet Chavarria is a Hopi man who was born in 1964. He lives east of Polacca near First Mesa, Arizona. He was born into his mother’s Butterfly clan and he often signs his work with a butterfly symbol. Manuel has been making katsinam since he was 11 years old. What is especially remarkable about his work is that his style has evolved dramatically over the years. Some trends have been radical departures from the previous. And as he told me recently, his artistic style continues to be a work in progress. But let’s start at the beginning. Manuel is someone who attributes artistic influence to many people whom he speaks of with great respect.
78
1
He shared that his earliest katsina influences were his grandfather, Fred Denet, and his grandmother, Otille Jackson. He noted that Otille was one of the first women to make katsinam and he emphasized that she taught him something especially important: the business side of the art world. She cautioned him, “Never leave home without your tools, because one can make art and generate income no matter where you are.” Manuel says he’s never forgotten this advice so his carving tools and paints are his constant companions. He added that another grandmother, Susan Denet, was also an influence. She was a renowned potter who inspired him to strive to be an artist. And he points to
1. Yunya or Prickly Pear Cactus katsina, 18 x 11". Barry Walsh Collection. Photo by Dan Vaillancourt, Patrick O’Connor Photography. 2. Atosle katsina and Soyoko katsina. Peg DeMouthe Collection. Photo by Peter ffoulkes.
2
Walter Howato, the legendary master katsina carver as another key influence. He recalled in the 1980s going to the Heard Museum trying to sell his early work with little success. He would walk around the Heard gift shop and see Walter’s work and be in awe. At the time he was attempting to carve in the realistic style that had become popular in the 1970s. That all changed in the late 1980s with some encouragement from trader Joseph Day, who had just opened Tsakurshovi on Second Mesa with his Hopi wife, Janice. Manuel notes that this was so early in the existence of Tsakurshovi that their signature “Don’t Worry, Be Hopi” T-shirt only came in red. At the time Joe
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
had a few dolls by Manfred Susunkewa, the originator of the traditional style movement. Joe urged Manuel “to try something different” and make something in the “old style.” So one day Manuel “stayed up all night and made a Koyala” (or Koshare). Joe bought it immediately and the rest is history. Manuel has been carving in some version of the old style ever since. Note examples of carvings from the early 1990s in Figure 3. These are left to right, Hahai’i Wuhti, Hilili, and a Koyemsi. Work from this era had bright colors. The execution was notably fresh, clean and crisp without being fussy. The body types were linear and simple and resembled the katsinam from 1890 to 1920.
K AT S I N A
I S S U E
79
K A T S I N A I S S U E
3
Work from this era was well received. Manuel’s carvings were included in Arizona Highways, and later in Jerry and Lois Jacka’s book, Art of the Hopi. He also won prizes during this time at shows at the Museum of Northern Arizona and the Heard Museum. Manuel was realizing his dream of being a full-time, self-supporting artist. During this period, Manuel received his first invitation to have a booth at Santa Fe Indian Market— which he refers to as the “Super Bowl” for young artists. He recalls the first time he attended watching Arizona Living Treasure Manfred Susunkewa from afar. Manuel said he was too intimidated to approach him but he observed how Manfred arranged his booth, interacted with customers, and discussed his katsina carvings. He said he watched Manfred all day, adding that “this is how we Hopi learn. We don’t read texts or manuals. We observe.” He added that as he became more confident he eventually shared this story with Manfred and they had a good laugh. While Manuel was having some success during this period, not all was healthy and well. As Manuel shared with me, he had developed a problem with alcohol. He dates this challenge to his time in the U.S. Army at Fort Knox from 1986 to 1989. He added that after discharge
80
he brought his alcohol abuse back with him to the reservation. There were some positives to his return to Hopiland as he renewed his relationship with an old girlfriend, Marlinda Kooyaquaptewa. She eventually became his wife and mother of their three children. But Manuel notes that he struggled with alcoholism on and off for 20 years. By 2009 Manuel had had been diagnosed with diabetes and weighed as much as 250 pounds. He was in an extremely unhealthy place. This is when one of his transformations occurred. Manuel explained by 2009 he realized he was “becoming a diabetic who would waste away and die.” He was able to get sober with a great deal of family support. When he reached one year of sobriety he began working for the Detox Stabilization Center in Holbrook, Arizona. He became a peer support worker helping others in their recovery. Early on he found this work meaningful and found that it supported his own recovery as well. He noted that this was his “first real job.” But even so he said, “My identity as an artist was calling me back to my heart.” He also noted that working at home as a carver allowed him to be closer to family (which now includes 13 grandchildren).
3. Hahai’i Whuti, Hilili and Koyemsi katsinam, ca. 1990s. Barry Walsh Collection. Photo by Dan Vaillancourt, Patrick O’Connor Photography. 4. Large Qoqlo katsina carrying a mini Qoqlo, a Matya and a drum with pounder. Peg DeMouthe Collection. Photo by Peter ffoulkes.
4
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
K AT S I N A
I S S U E
81
K A T S I N A I S S U E
5
A major help in Manuel getting healthy has been his involvement in cycling. He rides 3 to 5 days per week and has even done long-distance races. In recent years he has ridden twice in the Tour de Sih Hasin (Navajo for “hope”). This is a seven-day tour involving 300 miles each summer. Manuel has since joined the board of directors for this event. In addition, Manuel has started, with others, a biking program for Hopi youth in four of the nine villages. Because of his emphasis on fitness he has lost 40 pounds and does not need to take insulin. Having come back to the life of a full-time artist, Manuel carves three to five days a week. Since his return, his style of carving has undergone a profound change. Note the katsinam shown in Figure 5. These are a Soyoko (Ogre) on the left, followed by a very large Qoqlo, and a smaller Qoqlo. The style of these carvings is radically different from his work from the early 1990s. The paints are muted and subtle. And he explained that he now uses what he calls “a distressed style.” Asked how he arrived at this style, he said it came from visiting museums and seeing antique dolls. He said he loved how they look and decided to try to
82
“replicate it.” He also noted the influence of his old idol, Walter Howato, yet Manuel has made the style his own. Two other recent examples in this style are the Ogres shown in Figure 2. On the left is the rarely seen Atosle and on the right, a Soyoko. One aspect that differentiates his work from Walter’s is his tendency to add miniature dolls and other items to his carvings. For example, the Soyoko in Figure 5 is holding a small Heheya and the large Qoqlo is really well equipped with Hahai’i Wuhti and Qoglo cradle katsinam, and a full-figured mini Qoqlo. Another development in Manuel’s newer style is making very large carvings. An especially fine example is shown on Figure 1. This is a Yunya or Prickly Pear Cactus katsina. It is a whopping 18 inches tall by 11 inches wide. The cacti on its head bear over 500 inserted toothpick spikes! Another example in this oversized trend is shown in Figure 4. This is another large Qoqlo— but a very different version—which is carrying a mini Qoqlo, a Matya and a drum with pounder. While Manuel has worked in this distressed style for several years, he says he originally made two prototypes in this manner as early as 1990. And he indicates, “Even
6
now I’m not set in one place; I’m still evolving.” A case in point is the very recent carving shown in Figure 6. He described this remarkable piece as a “mixture of the contemporary and old style.” Note the exceptional detail on this work of art: The Soyoko is holding a crook and knife with a copper blade. Also carved in bas relief are four mini Heheya katsinam. Three of these are holding twine lassos. The movement of this large figure is undulating and the shaping of the hair and garment are synchronous. This sculpture is 18 inches tall by 7 inches wide and it is secured to a base—unlike almost all his other work. It is clear that Manuel’s artistic development is ongoing.
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
Manuel notes that he has learned to work in a healthier manner. He used to carve in a frenzy getting ready for shows or competitions. He wouldn’t take a break to rest and would eat candy bars, chips and soda to keep going. He said, “I was like a car running too hot.” One night several years ago while working in this manner, he said he “almost flipped out.” “I went to a dark, scary place and when I came back, I decided to change things.” So now Manuel paces himself, takes a break, eats healthily, rides his bike, reads a book, and spends time with the grandkids. These are all part of the transformations of Manuel Denet Chavarria. We can all look forward to his next artistic directions.
5. Soyoko katsina, large Qoqlo and smaller Qoqlo. Barry Walsh Collection. Photo by Dan Vaillancourt, Patrick O’Connor Photography. 6. Soyoko katsina with four mini Heheya katsinam in bas relief, 18 x 7". Barry Walsh Collection. Photos by Dan Vaillancourt, Patrick O’Connor Photography. Steve Fischer Collection.
K AT S I N A
I S S U E
83
K A T S I N A I S S U E
Katsina Buying
101 Heard Museum katsina buyer James Barajas offers some do's and don’ts when it comes to collecting the popular doll carvings.
84
W
hen it comes to collecting anything—from baseball cards and vintage lunchboxes to fine art paintings and Fabergé eggs—informed buyers will always have an advantage over uniformed buyers. This rings especially true for Native American katsina dolls, which have layers of symbolism, a rich history and a variety of styles that the artists carve in. Going into any gallery, market or artist studio prepared will set the stage for a rewarding experience and what could be a lifelong interest in katsina dolls For James Barajas, assistant shop manager and katsina doll buyer at the Heard Museum Shop in
Phoenix, the dolls are terrific entry points into Native American art, particularly because of their low-dollar access point. “First thing I ask collectors is what kind of collection they are looking for. We have 11-year-old artists that sell works that are under $20, and then we have also sold pieces that are $20,000. So there are lots of ways to enter the market,” he says. “One thing that’s important to remember, whether the artist is 11 years old or a great great grandparent, is that katsinas represent a living culture. It’s not something that only exists in history books. It has a living presence.” Barajas also offers a piece of advice that will help collectors in all fields: “Buy from somebody you trust.
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
Stick with a dealer who has a reputation to protect,” he says. “Once you familiarize yourself with the dealer, or the artist, you can learn so much more, more than you can in any book.” This leads to another point, which is to meet the artist. Dealers are sometimes told by the artists about their work, or sometimes speculation or educated guesses are made, but most often the artist themselves will have the most accurate information. And once in their presence, a whole new world opens up as collectors can ask questions, learn about the artists’ history, the style of the work, the meaning of the symbols and can also engage with them on a personal
A katsina doll by Susie Long (Hopi) among other dolls at the Heard Museum Shop in Phoenix.
K AT S I N A
I S S U E
85
K A T S I N A I S S U E
Hopi dolls representing a range of katsina figures.
level. These conversations aren’t always about dolls either, and they can easily transition into other art forms, interests or hobbies. “It never hurts to develop a rapport with people,” the doll expert says. “Learn from them and let them learn from you.” One aspect that often comes out in discussions with artists will be about the meaning of the dolls. Every doll is representative of a katsina, a supernatural being that symbolizes aspects of the world. “There are katsina that are associated with moisture and for bringing the rains, and also ones for healthy crops, fertility to the people, dances, animals…they all interrelate because they all are in communication with the creator,” Barajas says, adding that asking about symbols, objects in the dolls’ hands, colors and other details will open up a dialogue between the artist and the collector that most buyers feel is deeply rewarding
and mind opening. Barajas says that once collectors are in the door they have some questions to ask themselves. For starters, which tribes should they examine? Several tribes use and sell katsina dolls today, but the big two are Hopi and Zuni. Many great katsina carvers are Hopi, and the Heard Museum Shop carries hundreds of varieties. The other question is a big one: Old Style or contemporary? Old Style—sometimes, though rarely, called traditional—katsina dolls are considered the classic example for the dolls. Many Old Style dolls have a similar look: short arms, cylinder-like torsos, flat feet that jut out beneath carved regalia and larger-thannormal heads. Using that very rough template, Old Style katsina artists can then decorate their dolls with feathers, elaborate headdresses, exaggerated facial features or carved objects. Most Old Style dolls are
CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS Michael Dean Jenkins (Hopi/Pima) Arthur Holmes Jr. (Hopi) Aaron J. Fredericks (Hopi)
86
Ronald Honyouti (Hopi) Ed Seechoma (Hopi) Stetson Honyumptewa (Hopi)
Mark Taho (Hopi/Navajo) Aaron Honanie (Hopi) Marlin Pinto (Hopi)
Contemporary katsina dolls of all varieties at the Heard Museum Shop.
painted with mineral pigments, which give the works an authentic coloration directly from the soil of the Hopi people. On the other side of that coin is the contemporary style. These dolls are almost always more realistic, with many dolls that are carved to show detailed facial features, muscles in the arms and legs, fingers and toes, exquisite regalia and objects, and they are posed in dramatic positions to show movement, dance, ceremony and celebration. Because of the elaborate nature of these designs, contemporary dolls are often carved onto bases so they won’t fall over and also so the artists can control how the doll sits in relation to the viewer—some dolls are tipped downward with arms raised and without a base it would be difficult to get the doll to balance on its own two feet. Contemporary dolls also are painted with a range of paints, including
oil and acrylic paints. Contemporary dolls are often, though not always, more colorful and vibrant than Old Style dolls due to the intensity of the paints. According to the Heard expert, the differences between Old Style and contemporary are vast, but many collectors enjoy acquiring from both styles, and even some artists work in both styles. “When the recession was ongoing, and there wasn’t as much money being spent on these items, we started to see some of our contemporary artists carving in the Old Style simply because collectors were purchasing lessexpensive art. And Old Style is more affordable than contemporary, which often sell for $6,000, $8,000 and $10,000,” Barajas says. “It was exciting because once the recession ended, some of those artists kept painting Old Style. Now you see many of them who work in both styles.”
Old Style ARTISTS Ed Seechoma (Hopi) Ryon Polequaptewa (Hopi) Tayron Polequaptewa (Hopi)
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
Randy Brokeshoulder (Hopi/ Navajo/Shawnee) Raynard Lalo (Hopi)
Augustine Mowa III (Hopi) Charles Chimerica (Hopi)
K AT S I N A
I S S U E
87
K A T S I N A I S S U E
James Barajas, assistant shop manager and buyer at the Heard Museum Shop, in front of Old Style dolls.
When it comes to displaying the works, there are no special instructions, although Barajas says that many artists recommend not keeping them in glass cases. “They don’t breathe well,” he says. “It keeps dust off of them, but it also closes them off.” He adds that there is nothing wrong with showing dolls from different styles or tribes together. “You can have a dog katsina and cat katsina together and they don’t get into trouble,” he says, adding that some collectors like to arrange their dolls by ceremonies. While most Old Style dolls have feet and can be displayed standing, many collectors and artists display them by hanging them from the wall. The contemporary dolls, which almost always have bases, usually have to go on a shelf. When it comes to cleaning and maintaining them, a quick blast with a canned air is usually enough to eliminate dust. One thing that is nearly universal among dolls, but is still worth asking by collectors, is the material of the piece. Katsina dolls are almost always carved from cottonwood root, which has no discernible grain and allows artists to carve elaborate shapes both horizontally and vertically into the wood without fear of the wood splitting. This aspect leads to another area of katsina carving: the one-piece katsina doll, which is a doll that has been carved from a single piece of cottonwood root. Barajas says that the term is kind of a myth, a holdover from the 1980s when carvings were often sold as “one-piece dolls” and the term captivated buyers. “Most of the time the term was used erroneously, not necessarily deceptively,”
88
he says. “Most artists are adding a carved feather, a bell, ears or noses to their works and there’s nothing wrong with adding those features. The rest of the piece—particularly the head, torso, legs and arms—are often carved from one piece of cottonwood.” Barrajas is quick to point out that although the term “one-piece” is often used mistakenly, there are some artists who are carving every single element from one uncut and unbroken piece of cottonwood. Some of those artists are Michael Dean Jenkins, Arthur Holmes Jr., Stetson Honyumptewa and Aaron Fredericks, to name a few. Another important aspect of the dolls is their prices. Most Old Style dolls start anywhere from $150 to $350, and then larger works or works by respected carvers tend to add significantly to that price point. Contemporary dolls usually start at $1,200 and then fluctuate wildly upward depending on how elaborate the work is. These prices, particularly those of Old Style dolls, are especially attractive to first-time collectors. Another market altogether is historic dolls by deceased or unknown artists. Barajas reiterates how important it is to buy from respectable collectors in large part because of older dolls often have eagle feathers, which are illegal to sell and own, particularly by non-Native people. Barajas says that dolls are a rich medium within Native American art, and that collecting them is a rewarding experience. “The neat thing about it is with hundreds of different kinds of katsinam it can be fun and fascinating,” he says. “There are just so many great stories out there to explore once you get into this.”
BUYERS Checklist Buy from trustworthy sources — Stick with a dealer who has a reputation to protect. Ask questions from the dealer or artist — They know the most about the work, so pick their brains to learn more. The art is meant to be discussed and questioned. The artists want buyers to have a conversation about the work and what it means to them. Old Style or contemporary? — Old Style works use mineral pigment paint, often feature classic katsina portrayals and usually have lower price points. Contemporary dolls have much more detail, are painted with oil and acrylic paint, often are shown on bases, and have a higher price point. One-piece carvings — This is a term used to describe a doll carved from a single piece of cottonwood. The term can be confusing to new collectors because it is normal for a doll to have parts such as ears or objects carved separately and added later. True “one-piece” carvings can command $10,000 and up. Multiple figures — Some artists carve multiple figures within one piece. As long as they represent katsina figures, they are still katsina dolls. Pricing — Many great, professionally made katsina dolls can be acquired for under $1,000, with a wide variety available at prices as low as $350 to $500. More affordable works are often Old Style dolls, while contemporary works often start at $1,200 and can go as high as $30,000 and $40,000. Displaying the dolls — Old Style dolls are often hung from a wall, while contemporary dolls, which often have elaborate bases, are shown on a flat surface.
Herb Talahaftewa (Hopi), Pagua doll
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
K AT S I N A
I S S U E
89
K A T S I N A I S S U E
Hopi and their World of Spirits The
“I am as old as the memory of my people and as young as my children yet unborn.� By Patsy Lowry | Photography by Daniel Nadelbach
90
S
ometimes we dream dreams that we aren’t aware of until they come true. One of my unknown dreams came true in May of 1963. I had only been married for three months when my husband, Ed, asked me if I would like to go to the Hopi Mesas and attend a katsina dance. Immediately, I said “Yes.” Perhaps it was a return to my ancestral homeland. These are things that we may never understand. Watching my first katsina dance at the mesas changed my life forever. Little did I know that one of the warmest chapters in my life was being written. Today, over half a century later, my Hopi friends, their philosophy and the katsina ceremonies continue to write wonderful and meaningful chapters in my life’s story. I have had the opportunity to journey back in
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
time. It was a time of ceremony; a ceremony of time. An inner landscape of memory! The Hopi Reservation is located in Northeastern Arizona in parts of Navajo and Coconino Counties, about 250 miles from Phoenix and about 100 miles from the nearest town. It is smaller than the state of Rhode Island. It encompasses 4,000 square miles and is completely surrounded by the 25,000-square-mile Navajo Reservation, which is about the size of New England. The Hopi are an ancient people who have lived on three mesas—First, Second and Third Mesa— for over 1,000 years. Old Oraibi dates back to 1100 and is regarded as the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in the United States. Since time
K AT S I N A
I S S U E
91
K A T S I N A I S S U E
immemorial, women have trudged up the 600-foothigh escarpments to the mountaintop villages, carrying jugs of water on their heads. Today, people drive their cars up to the centuries-old villages. The Hopi live in multi-joined houses with a plaza in the center of each village. Since attending our first katsina dance, life has changed in many ways, but not the focus and importance of the Hopi beliefs and religion. Their ceremonies remain enduring and unchanged. Their life represents a continuity that is highlighted by strength and subtle beauty, which gives one an affinity of time. The Hopi continue to follow the divine prophecies that they received from their caretaker of this world, Massau. The katsina spirits live on—in the Hopi people, in the katsinam dancing in their plazas, in the katsinam themselves, in the katsina dolls—in our minds and hearts. Most of the reservation is open land and is used for farming, business and livestock purposes. The most important Hopi crop is corn, but they also grow squash, beans, fruits, gourds and a variety of vegetables. Hopi shrines, sacred natural features and
92
ceremonial gathering areas are located throughout the reservation. Ceremonial cycles tie the Hopi to their land in a deeply religious manner. A scholar writing at the turn of the century termed the Hopi, “the most religious people in the world.” Many Native Americans consider the Hopi to be “the oldest of the people.” They have a worldview of life which is dominated by their religion and prophecies. The word Hopi means “peace and harmony.” The Hopi people must learn to live in peace and harmony with nature and each other. This enhances their prospects for a long and happy life. The Hopi extend rational control over things in this world by giving spiritual meaning and periodic concrete expression through ritual ceremonies and traditions. Their ceremonies are deeply rooted in the soil of this continent. Their culture remains intact. Today, there are approximately 12,000 Hopi people. Life on the reservation is very different than when Ed and I first started going there. We often camped out on the edge of ancient mesas on star-drenched nights with our two children, Ace and Rachel, in the 1960s and ’70s. We loved looking at the magical night sky,
full of mystery and millions of stars. During those years, there was no electricity in the villages, no indoor plumbing, no grocery stores, no gas stations—only thousands of acres of surrounding dry, arid, barren land. The first motel, the Hopi Cultural Center, was built in the early 1970s. I had my first art show there. I sold all of my paintings. I loved that show. What truly connects me to the Hopi is their reverence for the forces of nature and their belief in the spirit world and the sacredness of Mother Earth. Their art, their ceremonies, the importance and love of laughter and their sweet, kind, open, happy, relaxed and loving natures speaks to my aesthetic and artistic soul. The Hopi have their own way, distinct from that of other peoples, yet one that has much to offer. We have much to learn, share and exchange. They’re positive life and beliefs persist, as life goes on. To the Hopi, the cornstalk, the talking stones, the great breathing mountains—all things—are significant and alive. A basic concept of the Hopi belief is that all things have two forms: the visible object and
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
a spiritual counter point: two worlds, the spirit world and the non-spirit world. Everything has energy and spirit. A dualism that balances mass and energy. This makes total sense to me and influences all my life’s decisions, choices, art and connections to my family, friends and all those people with whom I come into contact. Spirit is everything to me! Ed and I have amassed quite a wonderful collection of Hopi artifacts, including over 300 katsina dolls. We did not intend to become collectors. While attending numerous katsina dances over the years, often Hopi men would come up to us in the parking lot and ask us, “Would you like to buy a doll?” In the 1960s and ’70s, many of the katsina dolls sold for between $15 and $40. Fortunately, that was within our budget at that time. Often, when we were at the mesas, we were approached by Hopi carvers, hoping to sell us their latest katsina doll. We bought numerous katsina dolls. All of a sudden, we had hundreds of katsina dolls. We became collectors without our knowing that was what we were doing. We learned an ancient Hopi truth: “There is no such thing as having just one katsina doll.”
K AT S I N A
I S S U E
93
K A T S I N A
In today’s world, our collection is interesting because we have many dolls that were carved in the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. They are all approximately 12 inches tall and painted with acrylic paint. Each doll has its own historical significance and spirit. They live on the shelves and walls in our home. We are surrounded by history, art, beauty and spirit. There are three types of katsinam: the katsina spirits or messengers, the katsinam themselves and katsina dolls. The katsina spirits are the inner forms, the spiritual components of the outer physical forms of life, the spirit essence of everything in the real world. They are the invisible forces of life—not gods—but rather intermediaries or messengers to the gods. Hopi religious belief emphasizes man’s dependence on nature. Their chief function is to bring rain, good health and fertility, insuring the abundance of crops and the continuation of life. Through the katsinam, the Hopi maintain a mystical connection between their life and the forces of nature. The second kind of katsina is the katsinam themselves. Only men who are initiated in the clan can be katsinam. The katsinam who perform in the public dances are sacred to the Hopi people and have specific codes of conduct surrounding their appearances. With the placing of a mask on their heads, the impersonators are believed to take on supernatural qualities. The spirit of their particular Katsina takes over their body and becomes a representation of the masked dancer, who for a moment in time occupies both halves of the Hopi word. It brings the benefits of the real world to the spirit world and those of the spirit world to the Hopi. They dance and beseech the gods for rain, bountiful crops and a peaceful and harmonious life. It is fascinating to sit on a rooftop and listen to the sounds of the katsinam, coming up from the underworld and into the plaza. The ancient sounds of turtle shell rattles, bells, drums echo in our hearts, minds and spirits. The sounds of ancestry, antiquity, memory, traditions. Mysteries creating a bond between the known and the unknown, across time and cultures. The katsina dolls are made in the image of katsina spirits. A good katsina doll has the following characteristics: It is carved from the dried root of the cottonwood tree. It has proper body proportions. Details are delineated meticulously. The doll is
I S S U E
94
portrayed accurately, and the carving, painting and added objects are precise and represent each particular katsina. They should exhibit fine detail in color, form, symbols, body paint and ceremonial adornments. Katsina dolls represent the spirit of a particular force of nature that it honors. These include ancestors, deities, animals, the sun, the moon, the stars and the natural and spiritual world. There are more than 350 different katsinam that we know of. There are some that the non-Hopi have never seen. Each doll is supposed to teach a virtue in life. They are often given to young Hopi girls to remind them of how the katsinam looked while participating in the katsina dances and to identify the subtleties between each katsina spirit. In a different manner, the young boys are given bows and arrows as gifts by the katsinam. These symbols represent their future role in life as hunters and warriors. Ed and I have been fortunate to have shared an extraordinary adventure with an ancient culture that still maintains its relevance and magic today. I feel very blessed that Ed invited me to go with him to the Hopi Mesas and attend a katsina dance. “Yes,� was one of my best answers.
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
K AT S I N A
I S S U E
95
K A T S I N A
Cloud Carvings
I S S U E
Katsinam, the spirit messengers of the Hopi, come in the form as clouds, giving rain. The cottonwood-carved figurines in the pages of this section are more than just dolls. They are infused with the history and culture of the Hopi spirits, as well as that of their creators. For this special buyer’s guide, we have reached out to some of the leading Native artists, dealers and gallery owners and asked them to send in the most remarkable katsina dolls currently in their inventory, accompanied by detailed descriptions of the work. All of the katsina dolls on display in this guide are currently available for purchase, so if a particular item holds your attention, reach out to the seller and ask about how you can make it a part of your own collection.
Alongside the contemporary and Old Style dolls that are currently available for purchase, we’ve sought out opinions from experts on what information buyers should know when they are adding a katsina doll to their home. “Remember, these valuable artifacts grow in value, just by the passing of time,” notes Dennis June, owner of Dennis June Gallery in Scottsdale on the experience of collecting. “Moreover, you are your katsina’s caretaker, with the responsibility of its care and condition. Do your own due diligence in shopping and enjoy the fruits of Native American art. Enrich your life!” Alexander E. Anthony Jr., owner of Adobe Gallery, adds, “The collecting process can be as great a joy as the artwork itself.”
From the Experts:
THOUGHTS ON COLLECTING & ADMIRING KATSINA DOLLS “My advice to beginning collectors is to become familiar with the subject. Purchasing authentic Hopi and Zuni katsinas from qualified and knowledgeable dealers is the ideal way to begin collecting. Navajo-made copies of Hopi katsinas are often passed off as the real thing, but are not considered authentic...I advise new collectors to inform themselves, enjoy themselves and buy the pieces that speak to them personally.” — Alexander E. Anthony Jr., owner, Adobe Gallery
96
Adobe Gallery
Bischoff’s Gallery
Otto Pentewa, whose Hopi name Sikovaya translates to “Pumpkin Flower,” created works that are instantly recognizable to most collectors of Hopi katsinam. Two excellent carvings—a Bear Katsina and Great Horned Owl Katsina—date to the 1930s and are made of wood, fur, hair, leather and shells. The ominous Bear Katsina is unusually large, elaborately adorned and marked with the pumpkin flower that served as Pentewa’s signature. The Great Horned Owl, featured, is seated with his legs in an odd position, has a yucca whip in one hand and a bow in the other. Both of these rare and highly collectible carvings come from prominent New Mexico collections.
Chester Poleyestewa, a Third Mesa Hopi artist and Medicine Man from the Hopi village of Hotevilla, has been making katsinam since boyhood. He makes only traditional katsinam using cottonwood roots, hand carving them with a flint knife and a potter’s polishing stone. His style is more similar to that of katsinam of the early 1800s: arms tucked close to the body and well thought-out adornment. Using old techniques, he makes natural vegetable dyes and mineral paints made of copper, chokecherry berries, alkaline, jet and coal ash for color. With Angora goat hair, doeskin and duck feathers, he completes the katsina.
221 Canyon Road » Santa Fe, NM 87501 (505) 955-0550 » www.adobegallery.com
3925 N. Brown Avenue » Scottsdale, AZ 85251 (480) 946-6155 » www.bischoffsgallery.com
“Make absolutely sure your katsinas are Hopi, and are of cottonwood root. Avoid Navajo folk art look-alikes. Look for katsinas that are well carved, smooth to the touch, balanced, detailed and something you think a Hopi artisan would be proud to offer. The Hopi carvers’ self-examinations and peer approval assure you of authenticity, but replicas are otherwise rampant. Ask questions of origin, [and if they were] signed by the carver.” — Dennis June, owner, Dennis June Gallery
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
K AT S I N A
I S S U E
97
K A T S I N A I S S U E
The Dancing Rabbit Gallery
Our collection of katsinam includes the Crow Mother by the late, great Earnest “Ernie” Moore, purchased from a Santa Fe gallery. It also contains three Hisot, or “ancient” katsinam by Ryan Gashweseoma, purchased from the artist directly, and a Shalako, pictured, in the distressed style by Neil David Sr., purchased from an auction, among others. All three are by Hopi makers.
This katsina is Ngayayataqa ‘Swaying Man,’ named for the way he moves, and is commonly referred to as a Rugan katsina. Rugan refers to the rukunpi instrument. The basic body, legs and head were carved from a single cottonwood root with the ears and mouth added, as was typical of the carving period. He characteristically has turkey feathers on the top of his head, red ears and a tubular mouth. This carving has elaborate accoutrements with a turquoise necklace, a bandolier and a dance rattle. The chain and medallion in his left hand is a gallery marker.
(508) 631-2703 » www.buffalobarry.com
(817) 337-8576 » www.thedancingrabbitgallery.com
Buffalo Barry’s Indian Art
“First of all, be sure to buy either Hopi or Zuni katsina carvings. Navajo katsina carvings are not legitimate. They are much less expensive but the Navajos do not believe in the katsina religion and there is no legitimate link between their belief system and the carvings made. Navajo katsinam are usually made in assembly-line fashion. There are many other legitimate Navajo art forms such as weavings, paintings, and jewelry...” — Barry Walsh, owner, Buffalo Barry’s Indian Art 98
Dennis June Gallery Katsinam are primarily an art form of the Hopi. Other Pueblo tribes also have a katsina culture, but it largely remains underground—a consequence of Spanish invasions centuries ago. Each weekend in growing season, katsina dances are held in the Hopi villages. Village leaders create sacred costumes and dance the spirits. Featured here is a one-piece carving by the late Leonard Selestewa. Notice the natural stance and movement of the Warrior Mudhead. Under-cutting and in-cutting, with flowing fabrics and full action dancing help advance the world-class skills of Hopi carvers. No single group in the world carves better figurals than the Hopi. 7056 E. Main Street Suite B » Scottsdale, AZ 85251 (480) 500-1000 » www.americanindianart.us
Nizhoni Ranch Gallery Delbert Sewemaenewa’s Wildcat Kachina, circa 1970s, is a katsina from Steve Getzwiller’s private collection. Sewemaenewa’s attention to detail is what caught Getzwiller’s eye when he collected it. Standing 13 inches tall, it is wearing a super fine Heshi necklace with Jaclas and the small seashells on his halter. Getzwiller is the first owner. Sonoita, AZ » (520) 455-5020 » www.navajorug.com
“The Hopi people are not the only ones who make katsinam. The Zuni make them, but tend to frown on selling them to the general public. The Navajo also create katsina for the tourist trade. These are not true katsina, but have only very general representations of actual katsinam...Know what you are purchasing and from whom. Make certain the carving is Hopi, that you like it and that it speaks to you.” — Katie Richarme, owner, The Dancing Rabbit Gallery www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
K AT S I N A
I S S U E
99
K A T S I N A I S S U E
Roadside America: Gallery of the West
Territorial Indian Arts & Antiques
Jimmy Kewanwytewa (1889-1996) was the first katsina carver to sign his work. This example, with the initials “JK” on the bottom of the feet, depicts Ho’ote, a popular katsina due to his well-liked songs. The symbols between his eyes and those on his forehead are said to be flowers, and his dance forecasts the flowers of spring. We recommend that new collectors buy the best that they can afford as quality always stands the test of time.
Territorial Indian Arts is known for showcasing the Hopi artists carving in the Old Style: simple body types carved from a single dried cottonwood root and lightly decorated with paint, feathers, corn husks and occasional cotton sashes. The gallery was an early promoter of this style, which allowed new collectors to get a real Hopi carved katsina for a nominal price. Pictured above is Kevin S. Chavarria with his Left Hand Kachina.
1219 Cerrillos Road, Suite 2 » Santa Fe, NM 87505 (505) 983-5050 » www.roadside-america.com
7100 E. Main Street #3 » Scottsdale, AZ 85251 (480) 945-5432 » www.territorialindianarts.com
Toby Herbst Antiques These two katsina maidens are of the earlier “traditional” style with the head (mask) large in proportion to the body. They date from 1900 to 1920 and are about 10 inches tall. Katsina are spirits of animate and inanimate things, and the Hopi have a tradition of carving representations of katsina dating back to at least the early 19th century. They are closely associated with ancestors, water and moisture, the key to life in the arid southwest. As spirit beings, they can cross the boundaries between the natural and supernatural worlds and so serve as vehicles for prayers to the deities who control natural phenomena, such as rain. (505) 983-2652 » tobyherbst@cybermesa.com
100
“Hopi people do not have a Hopi religion in the same way most European-Americans think of religion. Hopi life is Hopi religion. There is no separation of the religious life from all other activities of the Hopi. For most traditional Hopi, it would be literally unthinkable not to have faith in what they see as their unbroken relationship with the Creator that extends back through the history of four worlds and will continue for three more worlds and beyond.” — Mark W. McGinnis, author
Western Trading Post This extra-large Hopi katsina is by Chester Poleyestewa. Poleyestewa makes old-school katsinam from cottonwood root and natural paints. He is known for his extra-large pieces, and this is one of his earlier works. 403 N. Florence Street » Casa Grande, AZ 85122 wtpinfo@yahoo.com » www.westerntradingpost.com
K AT S I N A
I S S U E
101
Gallery Previews
Nathan Youngblood (Santa Clara), tri-color jar with lid. On view at King Galleries.
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
104
Dynamic Clay
108
Family Histories
112
Precision in Stone
Contemporary pottery works on display at King Galleries.
Faust Gallery brings together a variety of artists before the Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market.
Contemporary and historic jewelry is on view at Waddell Gallery.
103
Gallery Preview: KING GALLERIES
1
Dynamic Clay SCOTTSDALE, AZ
In Dynamic Clay, King Galleries showcases new pottery works from Nathan Youngblood, Tammy Garcia, Al Qoyawayma, Les Namingha and Juan Cruz. The show opens Thursday, March 1 with a reception from 5 to 9 p.m. and remains on view through March 15. All of Cruz’s pottery is based on Pueblo mythology. One of the pieces in the King Galleries’ show is inspired by the story of Turkey Girl, and he depicts the scene where Turkey Girl receives gifts from the turkeys that she has tended to and cared for. “Striking story elements, such as this, provide rich visualization soil for my imagination,” Cruz says. “What I strive for in my pottery is to present Pueblo narrative content in the spirit of Grecian amphora scenes along with a visual style of the ancient kiva murals.” Though he does detailed sketches of the stories he wants to tell before he begins his work on the pot, Cruz admits that his ideas often change dramatically once
104
2
1. Al Qoyawayma (Hopi), Two Kiva Mesa Verde Bowl, 2017 2. Juan Cruz (Santa Clara), Grandmother Spider and Blue Corns Sisters, 2017, jar
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
» Gallery Preview 105
Gallery Preview: KING GALLERIES
3
he begins work on the clay. “The wonderful curvature of the pottery allows for design embellishments that never really occur to me when working on the flat surface of the sketchbook. It’s always fun and surprising to watch the design I planned out change right before my eyes!” Garcia, who will show a pot adorned with a dragonfly, also says her pieces evolve as she works on them. “I just love working with clay,” she says. “It goes through numerous changes as I create a piece, and it’s not until the piece is finished that I can tell the story.” In a polychrome vase with alternating tan and red designs, Youngblood uses symbols for water and rain. He says, “While I may have an idea of the story I want to tell with the designs, the pottery always tells me what designs I will use and how they will fit on the pottery.” He will also showcase a black teardrop plate that was influenced by shields from other cultures, with a mixture of stone burnished surface and finger burnished mica surface that dramatically sets the designs apart. For an architectural vessel, Qoyawayma creates a scene with two kivas and a spiral staircase to a
106
4
5
3. Nathan Youngblood (Santa Clara), tri-color jar with lid 4. Les Namingha (Hopi-Tewa/Zuni), Lair, 2017, acrylic on Native clay 5. Tammy Garcia (Santa Clara), Dragonfly Canteen, Native clay 6. Juan Cruz (Santa Clara), Blue Corn Maidens and Warriors, 2017, storage jar
6
door in the tower. “The stepped stonework designs are often located in cliffs or canyon alcoves where the sun’s choreography gives rise to endless dramatic dance of light and shadow. The vertical walls of our still-standing prehistoric towers oppose gravity, imposing a striking contrast to nature’s silhouettes of weathered sandstone,” Qoyawayma describes. When creating, he thinks back to the deep roots he has in places like Mesa Verde and Chaco complex, where his ancestors lived with nature at its best.
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
King Galleries March 1-15, 2018 4168 N. Marshall Way, Scottsdale, AZ 85251 (480) 481-0197, www.kinggalleries.com
» Gallery Preview 107
Gallery Preview: FAUST GALLERY
1
108
2
Family Histories SCOTTSDALE, AZ
With the annual Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market bringing thousands of Native art enthusiasts to Phoenix, local galleries like Faust Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona, take advantage of the increased audience, showcasing highlights from their artists and collection. Navajo artist Monty Singer and his father Ed Singer will have their first ever show together at Faust on March 1. “When I was little, he used to buy me pencils and sketch pads,” Monty says of his father’s influence on his art. “I was constantly drawing as a kid and do not remember a time I was not drawing.” He took a
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
1. Siyanige Phoya (Left Hande), drawing, ca. 1950s, 16 x 22" 2. Kweo (Wolf), drawing, ca. 1950s, 16 x 22"
» Gallery Preview 109
Gallery Preview: FAUST GALLERY
3
4
110
roundabout path to a full-time art career, with stints in law school, the Marine Corps, and call centers, before his wife, Peggy, encouraged him to take up painting again. After coming to the conclusion he wanted to be a painter, he again consulted his father for advice. Ed recommended Wolf Kahn’s Pastels as an introduction to the push and pull of color in paintings. Between talking to his father, studying artists like Kahn and Hans Hoffman, and taking classes at 3rd Street Arts in Albuquerque, Monty says, “There is no other way to be a painter than to get out every day and paint. Inspiration is for suckers and discipline is the path to freedom.” Monty will demonstrate his work on Saturday, March 3, and Sunday, March 4, from 1 to 3 p.m. Also on view at Faust will be a special showing
5
of Kachinas in the Classroom, a collection of katsina portraits painted by Hopi school children shortly after World War II. They were created during a watershed period for the tribe, when, in the 1950s, more progressive policies began to recognize Hopi religious practices. The collection of paintings came from a retired teacher from the Second Mesa Day School, who recently came forward and presented her collection of katsina faces painted by students, which she had preserved from her classroom for more than 50 years. “These paintings are exceptionally expressive,” says Anna Silas, curator at the Hopi Museum located at the center of the Hopi reservation. She was the first to identify and evaluate the newly rediscovered paintings. “The kids who painted these images were
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
part of the first generation of Hopis who were, in a sense, liberated. They didn’t have to feel ashamed of by identifying their sacred katsinas.” Other artists will also have new works on view at Faust, including wearable art by Charles Loloma’s niece Sonwai, Yei sculptures and paintings by Sheldon Harvey, and contemporary paintings by Orlando Allison.
3. Monty Singer (Navajo), Iyanbito III, oil on linen, 6 x 12". Photo by Kerry Gallagher. 4. Monty Singer (Navajo), Sandia Shroomin, oil on panel, 6 x 9". Photo by Kerry Gallagher. 5. Monty Singer (Navajo), Church Rock II, oil on linen,
Faust Gallery
9 x 12". Photo by Kerry Gallagher.
March 1, 2018, 5-9 p.m. 7100 E. Main Street, #4, Scottsdale, AZ 85251 (480) 200-4290, www.faustgallery.com
» Gallery Preview
111
Gallery Preview: WADDELL GALLERY
Precision in Stone SCOTTSDALE, AZ
Big art shows have a way of boosting the art economy around them in wonderful ways, and that can certainly be seen with the Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market. The show brings thousands of collectors to Phoenix to walk the hundreds of booths and browse the artwork available from artists around the country, but the show only runs two days and closes in the afternoon, leaving lots of opportunities for nearby galleries to present exhibitions of their own. One venue doing just that is Waddell Gallery in Scottsdale, which will open a stunning new jewelry exhibition on March 1, from 6 to 9 p.m. The show will feature more than 50 works of the highest-quality jewelry pieces including rings, bracelets, pendants, necklaces, buckles and bolos. Works include new designs from the top artists such as Jesse Monongya and Richard Chavez, as well as historic pieces by Charles Loloma. “We started putting this show together months ago and quickly realized we had a wonderful selection of jewelry to present to our collectors,” says gallery owner Gene Waddell. “We are bringing the best of the best, including several artists who we represent, as well as some artists who will be at the opening. The work is exquisite and we’re happy to have it for what is going to be an exciting weekend.” One of the highlights of the show is a meticulously crafted gold pendant by Navajo and Hopi jeweler Monongya, who has used a rare and massive piece of gem-quality Bisbee turquoise that measures in at more than 700 carats. “This is the largest Bisbee specimen of this quality that I’ve ever seen,” Waddell says. “The turquoise is amazing.” In addition to the stunning Bisbee turquoise, the Monongya piece also has an elaborate 14-karat gold design, with flowers and a teeth-like wave pattern, around one side of the stone. The dealer says that the piece was made for a good friend and collector
112
1. Jesse Monongya (Navajo/Hopi), large rare gem-quality Bisbee turquoise stone pendant in 14-karat gold, 3¼ x 2½"
1
in San Francisco who promised to sell the jewelry to Waddell when the time was right. The California collector eventually brought a dozen pieces for the gallery owner to sell. A second Monongya piece is a 14-karat gold coral necklace with dragonfly charms. The main dragonfly
2. Jesse Monongya (Navajo/ Hopi), 14-karat gold necklace with dragonfly charms, 28½" 3. Charles Supplee (Hopi), 18-karat gold bracelet inlaid with black jade, Morenci turquoise and gel sugilite, 5/ x 1¾"
charm has intricate inlay on the wings and body and provides a motif that echoes in gold around the rest of the necklace. Another work that will be available is San Felipe jeweler Richard Chavez’s 18-karat gold bolo inlaid with black jade, Morenci turquoise and coral. “Richard is very modern and very contemporary and he’ll use coral and turquoise, of course, but in some pieces he’ll also use Wyoming black jade and other rare materials,” Waddell says. “He comes up with interesting things for sure.” Hopi jeweler Charles Supplee will be represented in the show by an 18-karat gold bracelet inlaid with black jade, Morenci turquoise and gel sugilite. The bracelet showcases Supplee’s careful design, with abstract forms arranged at intervals around the gold band.
2
3
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
An older piece that will be available is a bracelet by Hopi master jeweler Charles Loloma, whose works brought great national and international attention to Native American jewelry beginning in the 1950s. The bracelet Waddell, who was friends and did business with Loloma, is offering is done in 14-karat gold with inlay on the inside done in lapis and turquoise. On the outside of the bracelet is a keyhole-like cutout that reveals the intricate inlay on the inside. “The beauty is on the inside, not on the outside. The beauty can be hidden away so only the owner knows it’s there,” Waddell says. “We actually have two of these bracelets, a gold one and a silver one.” Waddell’s gallery, long known as a go-to source for high-end Native jewelry, not only brings collectors to top-quality jewelry, it also brings some of the best
» Gallery Preview 113
Gallery Preview: WADDELL GALLERY
turquoise to its artists, who can then use it in pieces they create for the gallery. Waddell, who owns a stake in the Lone Mountain Mine in Nevada, says the gallery show will highlight several major works that demonstrate the beauty of Lone Mountain. “You’ll see some great Lone Mountain turquoise, but also some beautiful Bisbee and Lander Blue, which was only mined for a very short amount of time and only about 100 pounds of it came out of the ground,” Waddell says. “These are prized stones and you’ll see them presented beautifully in some incredible works.” Other artists in the show include Navajo jeweler Lee Yazzie, who is known for his incredible silverwork and intricate buckles with turquoise, and Navajo artist Michael Roanhorse, who works in a more modern style with elaborate pieces that are more sculptural in nature. Last year Roanhorse won top honors in the jewelry division at the Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market.
4. Charles Loloma (Hopi, 1921-1991), 14-karat gold bracelet with inner inlay of lapis and turquoise, 5¼ x 1½" 5. Richard Chavez (San Felipe), 18-karat gold bolo inlaid with black jade, Morenci turquoise and coral, 3¼ x 1/"
5
Waddell Gallery Opens March 1, 2018, 6-9 p.m. 7144 E. Main Street, Scottsdale, AZ 85251 (480) 755-8080, www.waddellgallery.com 4
114
Events/fairs
116 120 124 126
The Historic Toadlena Trading Post booth at the 2017 American Indian Art Show | Marin.
Diamond Anniversary
The Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market celebrates 60 years.
Crossing Generations
The February American Indian Art Show | Marin brings together traditional and contemporary artwork.
Festive Feel
The annual SWAIA Winter Market took place December 16 and 17 at Santa Fe’s historic La Fonda Hotel.
Native Spirit
This March, downtown Scottsdale’s galleries come together for the annual Native Spirit ArtWalk.
115
Event Preview
Diamond Anniversary
The Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market celebrates 60 years.
1
PHOENIX, AZ
After six decades, the Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market is an institution. With more than 600 artists hailing from Maine to Alaska, the event boasts established and emerging artists in 10 categories of art. Over 10,000 visitors will flock to the Heard Museum’s campus, making it the second-largest event of its kind. In the weeks leading up to the fair, the Heard Museum will again host the “Prepare for the Fair” lecture series. The theme of this year’s series is “Celebrate Excellence,” and each Thursday morning in February different Native artists will teach sessions at the museum’s Steele Auditorium, including the Gaussoin family; three generations of the Folwells, a family of Santa Clara potters; interior designer Mary Meinz; and the Pruitt family. At the Best of Show reception on March 2, the night’s prize has been doubled from $5,000 to
116
2
1. Visitors watch performances on the Heard Museum lawn. 2. Teri Greeves (Kiowa), beaded pictorial cuffs. 3. Kenneth Shirley performs at the 2017 fair. 4. Olin Tsingine (Hopi), collection of tufa-cast cuffs 5. Keri Ataumbi (Kiowa), buffalo ring. Photo by Underexposed Studio.
3
$10,000 to celebrate the fair’s 60 th anniversary. The night is the first opportunity to see the winning art and preview the fashions designed for the museum’s catwalk. “One of my favorite things about the opening ceremony is that it’s a true coming together,” says Anna Flynn, marketing chair for the event. “With the presentation of colors, and the blessing performed by Crystal Littleben, Miss Navajo, it’s the first chance everyone gets to reconnect and celebrate.”
4
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
5
» Event Preview 117
Event Preview
6
With the show celebrating its diamond anniversary, volunteers and staff members are looking back at its origins. “In the early years, guild members hosted artists in their homes and they did a huge potluck with all the families,” Flynn explains. “Now, hospitality is still a very big part of our fair. People take snacks around and do booth relief.
118
6. Marla Allison (Laguna), Three Deer in Green, acrylic on canvas, 10 x 10”
We’ve managed to keep a closeness and hominess to the event.” An exhibit will explore the event’s long history beginning in January and continuing through March 11. Works from the permanent collection that was purchased at the fair or created by the honored or award-winning artists. The museum will remain
open during the fair weekend so that visitors will have the opportunity to experience the trends and enduring classics of American Indian art over the decades. “I always look forward to meeting new people who appreciate Native art, talking about my work, and seeing all my friends and family in the beautiful Heard Museum setting,” says participating artist Angela Babby. Her booth will display her glass mosaic Ode to Maynard Dixon among other works. Fortune Huntinghorse cites the Heard market as one of her favorite events for the year because of the support that comes from everyone involved. “The staff and volunteers are incredible, they make sure that the artists have everything they need from offering a dinner before the market, a well-
7
8
7. Mateo Romero (Cochiti), Deer Dancer Series, mixed media on canvas, 30 x 40" 8. Fortune Huntinghorse (Wichita), silver and turquoise cuff 9. Angela Babby (Oglala Sioux), Ode to Maynard Dixon, glass mosaic on tile board, 20 x 24"
supported hospitality tent and booth coverage for artists that need to step away,” she says. “This market is big enough to attract major art collectors, yet small enough to visit current friends and make new ones.” The Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market opens Saturday, March 3, from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, March 4, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. For Heard Museum members, the fair opens an hour early at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday.
March 3-4, 2018 Heard Museum Guild Indian Market & Fair 9
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
Heard Museum, 2301 N. Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85004, (602) 252-8840, www.heard.org
» Event Preview 119
Event Preview
1
Crossing Generations
The February American Indian Art Show | Marin brings together traditional and contemporary artwork.
SAN RAFAEL, CA
More than 100 dealers of Native American art will convene in San Rafael, California, for the 34th annual American Indian Art Show | Marin held at the Marin Civic Center. Referred to by many as the Marin Show, the event brings together both traditional and contemporary works of art and provides an array of material for the serious and emerging collector alike.
120
1. More than 100 dealers gather annually at the Marin Civic Center for the American Indian Art Show | Marin.
2
2. Jesse Monongye (Hopi/Navajo), White Woman Moccasins, 18k yellow gold, reversible inlaid with stones from all over the world, diamonds and precious stones used with matching reversible earrings. 3. The Historic Toadlena Trading Post booth at the 2017 American Indian Art Show | Marin. 4. Preston Monongye (Hopi, 1927-1987), cast silver pendant with turquoise, ca. 1975. Courtesy Turkey Mountain Traders. 5. Mid-19th-century Santo Domingo dance kilt with traditional bag used in Pueblo social dances such as the Buffalo Dance. Courtesy Cowboys & Indians Antiques.
3
The assortment of categories represented in the show is also strong with examples of textiles, pottery, jewelry, basketry, paintings and historic objects being just some of the items coming to market. “With over 100 exhibitors, the show’s treasures portray not just the deep traditional and historic design elements as used in functional and ceremonial art, but how they are incorporated into the best of today’s fashion and décor,” the show explains. “The distinctive artistry of the Alaskan and Northwest Coast peoples will also be for sale, including ancient
4
5
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
» Event Preview 121
Event Preview
wood and stone carvings, weavings and paintings, as well as pottery works, fabrics and jewelry. “The often more subtle colors, beadwork and lighter basketry and decorated hides of the Plains people capture stories of the nomadic life, which reemerge in the works found at the show by today’s Native sculptors, painters and weavers,” continues the Marin Show. “Echoes of old California, before the arrival of Europeans, are mostly apparent in the intricate basketry, always a major element of the show.” Dealers participating in this year’s show hail from all around the United States, from California to Arizona, to New Mexico, to Montana, Idaho and Pennsylvania, to name a few. Among them are Buffalo Barry’s Indian Art, Cowboys & Indians Antiques, Faust Gallery, Four Winds Gallery, Historic Toadlena Trading Post, Jesse Monongye, John C. Hill Antique Indian Art, Natalie Linn Indian Baskets and Turkey Mountain Traders. “I look forward to seeing longtime customers, who have become old friends, and making new acquaintances,” says Barry Walsh, owner of Buffalo Barry’s Indian Art. “All of us will be focused on the inspirational beauty and meaning of Native American art.” As in years prior, Walsh will present antique and traditional style katsinam, Plateau beaded bags, Navajo and Zuni jewelry, and contemporary and antique
6
6. Baskets on display at the 2017 American Indian Art Show | Marin. 7. Tlingit Herron Bowl. Courtesy Curtright & Son Tribal Art. 8. At the Marin Show collectors can discuss works with dealers firsthand. Photo by Rob Turner.
7
Native American paintings. One of the items found at his booth this year will be a two-sided figure by Hopi carver Walter Howato called One Horned Priest that has an Omaw or Cumulus Cloud katsina with a frog on the back. Coming to the show from Albuquerque is Cowboys & Indians Antiques, which will present a mid-19thcentury Santo Domingo dance kilt with traditional bag. The item was used in Pueblo social dances, such as the Buffalo Dance. “The Marin Show is always one of the highlights of our year,” says Turkey Mountain Traders owner Steve Begner. “We have been part of the show for more than two decades and look forward to it as much 8
122
9
now as we did in 1995. It is the best show of its type on the West Coast, and a great place to see the finest material available.” Among the items Begner will have at his booth is a cast silver pendant with turquoise by Preston Monongye from around 1975. Kicking off the American Indian Art Show is a $35-per-person preview on Saturday, February 17 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. benefitting MarinLink, a community resource and nonprofit incubator. The show opens to the public immediately following from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is open Sunday, February 18, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are $18 at the door, with special discounts available through the show website.
February 17-18, 2018 9. Native American art enthusiasts explore booths at the 2017 show.
American Indian Art Show | Marin Marin Civic Center, 10 Avenue of the Flags San Rafael, CA 94903
10. Walter Howato (Hopi, 1921-2003), One Horned Priest, 21½". This two-sided figure features an Omaw or Cumulus Cloud katsina on the back with a frog. Courtesy Buffalo Barry’s Indian Art.
www.marinshow.com
10
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
» Event Preview 123
Event Report
Festive Feel
The annual SWAIA Winter Market took place December 16 and 17 at Santa Fe’s historic La Fonda Hotel. SANTA FE, NM
The SWAIA Santa Fe Winter Market is a beautiful event. If you haven’t been in the last two years, then make a plan to go next year. What has changed in this time? Well, the entire Winter Market with its 150 artists in all mediums has been moved from the Santa Fe Convention Center to the La Fonda Hotel. Held this year December 16 and 17, the Winter Market took place amongst the cozy confines and rooms of the 100-year old hotel. Christmas trees brighten the lobby, decorations hang on each floor and the smells from the New Mexican cooking going on in the hotel restaurant combine with the roaring fireplaces to create a feeling of comfort and home. As we said, it is a lovely event. “I had a splendid time at the beautiful La Fonda Hotel,” says Timothy Tate Nevaquaya, a Comanche painter who came from Tulsa, Oklahoma, to participate in the show. “The live performances were excellent and created a festive atmosphere for the artists and art patrons. Sales went very well. Winter Market is a marvelous event and I look forward to attending next year.” Unlike the bustling summer market, the Winter
1. Visitors browse the booths at SWAIA Winter Market at La Fonda on the Plaza. 2. Penny Singer and Kathleen Wall
124
Market is cozy and intimate and provides buyers a chance to not just buy but also visit with some of their favorite SWAIA artists such as Maria Samora, Kathleen Wall, Kenneth Johnson, Keri Ataumbi and Shane Hendren. Many of the ceramic artists make smaller objects than what is typically displayed during the summer market, including beautiful Christmas ornaments and the ever-popular Nacimientos, Pueblo nativity scenes. These just add to the charm of the weekend event and its festive nature. Roughly 2500 visitors came to the Market this past December. Entertainment was provided by Lane Jensen and Family, Shelly Morningsong and Fabian Fontanelle, Robert Tree Cody, and the Cliff Fragua Band. In addition, a silent auction featuring work donated by participating artists gave visitors the chance to get great deals on art while also supporting SWAIA.
3
4
6
7
10
11
14
18
5
15
19
8
9
12
13
16
17
20
21
3. Yellowman Fine Art’s booth 4. Upton S. Ethelbah Jr.’s booth. 5. Renee Allen at her booth. 6. Prudy Correa and Susan Hudson. 7. Pam and Antonio Grant 8. Norbert Peshlakai at the show. 9. Jessica and Justin Lomatewama 10. Michael Rogers 11. LeJeune Chavez 12. Judy Tafoya 13. Kathleen Wall with some of her work. 14. Elizabeth and Marcellus Medina. 15. Ishkoten Dougi. 16. Ellouise Padilla and Lorraine Gala Lewis. 17. Donovan Yazzie with his auction donation and winners. 18. Antonio Grant with some of his pieces. 19. Lyn A. Fox, Ira Lujan and Josh Rose 20. Sterling Fender, Leah Kolakowski and Lauren Clausen. 21. Kathleen Wall and Maria Samora.
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
» Event Report 125
Event Preview
Scottsdale’s Native Spirit This March, downtown Scottsdale’s galleries come together for the annual Native Spirit ArtWalk.
1. Tammy Garcia (Santa Clara), Dragonflies and Quail, native clay, native clay slips and turquoise. Courtesy King Galleries. 2. Contemporary katsina dolls. Courtesy River Trading Post. 3. Yasutomo Kodera in his shop in Karuizawa, Japan. CourtesyTerritorialIndianArts. 1
SCOTTSDALE, AZ
In celebration of the rich history of Native American culture and art, the Gold Palette Native Spirit ArtWalk will be held March 1 in Old Town Scottsdale, Arizona. The event hosts artists and celebrates the many themes of Native art, food and music. Tribes from around North America converge in the Southwest to share their diverse cultures with each other, art collectors and Native American enthusiasts. For 14 years, River Trading Post has been a gathering place for Native American artists and collectors to relax, enjoy a little fry bread and visit with each other before
126
the Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market. This year, River Trading Post’s annual Arts of Native America Show and Sale will run from Thursday, March 1 through Saturday, March 3. The artist’s reception Thursday evening will feature awardwinning Native American art and artists, great food and live entertainment by Hopi drum group, Thunder Boy. During the event, King Galleries open their show Dynamic Clay, featuring new works by acclaimed Native pottery artists Nathan Youngblood, Les Namingha, Tammy Garcia, Al Qoyawayma and Juan Cruz. Qoyawayma, who often bases the designs of his vessels on ancient forms, creates works in clay that possess a smooth, sophisticated style. His piece Large Wide Jar with Dancers and Jaguar is a testament to this dedication to depicting old souls.
2
3
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
Inspired by the forms of the Gila River, a line of clay dancers wraps around the jar, which are pushed out from inside the clay. The final boy in the procession of dancers is pursued by a jaguar, adding some subtle humor to the piece. Namingha’s “4th World” Jar is also inspired by times gone by, pulling from Zuni stories as a source of inspiration. Through his use of layered abstract designs, the artist alludes to the underworld from the creation story of the Zuni people. He says, “The idea for this body of work stems from my observations of layered designs in graffiti art. I am fascinated, in particular, with the bold colors used in modern graffiti. I use that as inspiration for my color palette in this new series of work. In my process of applying color to the surface of the jars, I am concentrating on layering motifs, patterns and shapes similar to the layered overpainting of walls and subway tunnels.” Santa Clara potter Garcia, whose creative clay, bronze and glasswork can be found in museums worldwide, adds dimension and movement to create narrative in her work. Her piece Melon Jar with Dragonflies and Quail is carved with melon ribs, which are then carved with dragonflies and quail. The jar is then inset with a single piece of turquoise.
» Event Preview 127
Event Preview
4
During the evening’s festivities, Territorial Indian Arts Gallery presents Meet Yasutomo Kodera of Skystone Trading. Celebrating the work of acclaimed Japanese turquoise artist and silversmith Yasutomo Kodera, the show exhibits the artist’s jewelry and his process of creation. Born in 1970, Kodera began making jewelry while studying as an exchange student at university in Ohio. He is self-taught, and began working with Native
4. Assorted katsina paintings on view at Faust Gallery. 4. Jesse Monongya (Navajo/ Hopi), 14k gold coral necklace with dragonfly charms, 28½". Courtesy Waddell Gallery.
American jewelry just after graduating. Back in Japan, the artist opened Skystone Trading in 1999—“an elegantly curated gallery in northern Japan featuring the finest selection of top Native American jewelers.” In 2013, Kodera began working with Barney’s and debuted Sky Blue Hawk, a collaboration with the New York-based retailer that offers affordable versions of his bespoke designs. The Native Spirit ArtWalk will be held March 1 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. in downtown Scottsdale, Arizona, and admission is free. This destination event that will coincide with the annual Heard Museum Guild Indian Market & Fair in Phoenix.
March 1, 2018. 7-9 p.m. Native Spirit ArtWalk 5
128
Old Town, Scottsdale, AZ www.experiencescottsdale.com
Museum Exhibitons
Chiricahua Apache quiver, ca. 1886, brain tanned leather, glass seed beads and flannel wool cloth. Gift of Mr. Grover B. Minser 44379/12. Photo by Addison Doty. Courtesy Museum of Indian Arts and Culture.
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
130
Sacred Lives
134
Generational Art
138
Life Ways
Douglas Miles’ exhibition of photograph blankets now on view at the Arizona Capitol Museum in Phoenix.
Western Spirit showcases family traditions in contemporary Hopi art.
An exhibit at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture tackles Apache history.
129
Museum Preview
Sacred lives
1
Douglas Miles' exhibition of photograph blankets now on view at the Arizona Capitol Museum in Phoenix.
PHOENIX, AZ
As the founder of Apache Skateboards, Douglas Miles ends up traveling all over the Southwest with his skate team and he sees Native American communities from the ground level. What he finds isn’t romanticized, but it also isn’t the Hollywood version—it’s not all destitution and misery. What he finds is genuine people leading real lives. And that’s when he takes out his camera. Miles (San Carlos Apache/Akimel O’odham) has a new photography show now on view at the Arizona
130
1. Artist Lynnette Haozous wrapped in one of Douglas Miles blankets. 2. Douglas Miles in front of a portrait he took of his son. 3. Rebekah Miles in front of her portrait. 4. India Miles, 13 years old, in front of a Douglas Miles blanket that she appears in. (She is on the right.) 2
“Every day is sacred. Sacredness is not something we should hold onto only during ceremonies, but everyday things should be sacred. Whether it’s family get-togethers, moms making lunch for their kids, young men working together, people making art…these things are sacred, too.” — Douglas Miles
3
4
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
Capitol Museum, the 118-year-old historical building that was once the state’s capitol. The exhibition, titled The Blessing, will showcase 10 images from Miles travels. The images are presented on woven blankets. “I got the inspiration from a lot of these pictorial blankets I was seeing in and around swap meets. They featured Elvis or Bob Marley or Tupac or Marilyn Monroe. I began to think about how these pop culture figures are important, and then also think about the meaning and importance of the blanket to Native American people,” Miles says. “Blankets were given at significant times: the birth of a child, a wedding, a birthday party, graduations…the blanket represents a blessing, but I’m also using a photograph, which shows the Native people I meet.” The photos certainly have a fine art aesthetic to them, but they also have the hallmarks of a photojournalist, someone who has sat with their subjects, spoken with them and is attempting to show who they are with an image. There is a truth and honesty that can be seen in Miles’ subject faces. They are serious, but also vulnerable. It’s a kind of sacred reverence. “Every day is sacred,” Miles says. “Sacredness is not something we should hold onto only during ceremonies, but everyday things should be sacred. Whether it’s family get-togethers, moms making lunch for their kids, young men working together, people making art…these things are sacred, too.” The exhibition features 10 images, but Miles hopes that the full 25-image series will be able to be shown at another venue, specifically because these are images that Native American audiences need to see. “It is something that I would call reality—real images of real
» Museum Preview 131
Museum Preview
Native people in real time are all but missing in the Native art continuum,” he says. “Very few people show it today, and even when they do it’s a little too glossy, it’s overly lit, or the people are done up too much, or just overdressed. I think the pictures need to be more honest and real.” Miles says that a large part of Native photography was established early on by white photographer Edward S. Curtis, who turned his camera and research onto Native American subjects around the country. He admits
the images are so iconic they can be hard to move away from—“They’re so poetic, and so filled with pathos,” he adds—but that Curtis was assuming Native Americans were
5
132
a vanishing people, 5. Douglas Miles getting which sits at odds with ready to hang his work Native people living for the exhibition. normal lives today. Miles 6. Douglas Miles Jr. stands likes to think of two in front of an image of himself taken by his father, premises when he thinks photographer Douglas of Curtis: “What if he Miles Sr. gave us the camera and 7. Kris Chee in front of the let us take the pictures Apache Skateboards Team blanket. and document our own history? The second premise involves our own phone, which all have cameras now. We all can be the chroniclers of our own life.” Remarkably, Miles shoots many of his own photos from his iPhone and even admits, embarrassingly, that he used a second-generation iPad and an old Blackberry for some of the photos. Viewers certainly won’t notice what the images were shot on, just that they feel authentic because they are authentic. Subjects of the images include teens standing in Monument Valley, Miles’ own son posing in front of a Bureau of Indian Affairs sign, women in traditional dresses and several images of teens holding skateboards, which is Miles’ other passion, along with some other subversive forms of art and culture, including street art, be it hand-cut stencils, murals
6
or graffiti. Part of his motto on his website reads: “Innovate / Originate / Skate / Sublimate / Liberate!” These aspects of his work tends to bring him younger viewers, which he sees as a teaching opportunity. “Apache Skateboards has always been about more than skateboards. When we started we wanted to de-colonize skateboarding and it happened pretty much automatically,” he says. “And then it became about film, about youth empowerment, building up Native youth in Native communities, selfactualization, encouraging kids to follow their dreams. I put it all together, but everyone has grown with it.” The Blessing continues through January 22 in Phoenix. A closing ceremony will take place January 10 before the exhibition comes down.
Through January 22, 2018 Douglas Miles: The Blessing Arizona Capitol Museum, 1700 W. Washington, Phoenix, AZ 85007
7
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
(602) 926-3620, www.azlibrary.gov/azcm, www.apacheskateboards.com
» Museum Preview 133
Museum Preview
Generational
Art
Western Spirit showcases family traditions in contemporary Hopi art.
1
134
2
SCOTTSDALE, AZ
Family traditions are strong among Native American artists. The names of generations of great potters of the pueblos along the Rio Grande have become familiar among admirers of the art of the southwest. An exhibition at Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West is bringing attention to the contemporary work of Hopi artists and their place in pueblo tradition. A Spotlight on Contemporary Hopi Ceramicists and Kachina Doll Carvers opens February 13 and features more than 55 ceramic works and nearly a dozen katsinam. Among the carvings of katsinam are Koshare Clowns by Neil David Sr. and his nephew Kerry David. Neil David is of Hopi/Tewa heritage. The Tewa settled among the Hopi in 1680 after the Pueblo Revolt along the Rio Grande. His mother’s ancestors were among those people. He is best known for his paintings and his drawings and carvings of Koshare, the sacred clowns of the Hopi. Neil, who was born in 1944, sold his first katsina when he was a freshman in high
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
school and in 2005 was named a Living Treasure by the Arizona Indian Living Treasures Awards. Kerry uses only hand tools for his carvings and attributes his skill to the influence of his grandfather and father, as well as his uncle. The exhibition includes an unusual Polychromed Tea Set, including clay spoons, by Gloria Mahle (Hopi/ Tewa). She has been a potter since 1980. Garrett Maho is Mahle’s nephew and is represented in the exhibition by a Polychromed Solstice Jar. He has been making pottery since 1976 and was taught by his aunt and his mother, Marilyn Mahle. He has won numerous awards at both the Santa Fe and Heard Indian markets. Stetson Setalla writes about his and other artists’ connection to his material. “As I work on my pots, I clear my mind of all bad thoughts by concentrating and praying to my clay. Good thoughts and a good heart are essential in working with your clay because you are creating yourself in each pot as you coil, and
1. Preston Duwyenie (Hopi), Shifting Sands Seed Pot. Acquired by the collectors in 2010. 2. Left to right: Kerry David (Hopi), Koshare Clown. Acquired by the collectors in 2017; Neil David Sr. (Hopi/Tewa), Koshare Clown. Acquired by the collectors in 2015; Elmer Adams (Hopi), Koshare Clown. Acquired by the collectors ca. 1977; Neil David Sr. (Hopi/Tewa), Koshare Clown. Acquired by the collectors in 1988; Neil David Sr. (Hopi/Tewa), Koshare Clown. Acquired by the collectors in 2003.
» Museum Preview 135
Museum Preview
3
136
4
3. Stetson Setalla (Hopi), Polychromed Bowl. Acquired by the collectors in 2006. 4. Helen Naha (Hopi, 19221993), Jar. Acquired by the collectors in 2014; Bowl. Acquired by the collectors in 2016; Pot. Acquired by the collectors in 1977. Artwork courtesy a Friend of the Museum. Photos by Loren Anderson Photography.
when you are ready to paint the pot, a clear mind and good heart is crucial in assisting you with your painting because the designs flow through your mind into your hand and onto your pot without difficulty.” He recognizes his mother, Pauline, as his mentor. He is represented in the exhibition by an intricately patterned Polychrome Bowl. Preston Duwyenie’s elegant pots often have inlays of silver cast against cuttlefish bone to give them the appearance of ripples in the sand. Shifting Sands Seed Pot repeats the sand motif in the eggshell finished pot made from white Hopi clay. He is from Third Mesa at Hopi and now lives at Santa Clara Pueblo with his wife, potter Debra Duwyenie. He comments on his family heritage, “Everyone has an art. My mother was a basket weaver, my father a Katsina carver. You grow up learning how to make art.” He has earned two Best of Show awards at the Colorado Indian Market and one Best of Show at the Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market. Duwyenie speaks for many contemporary native artists when he says, “Although my art has broadened through educational opportunities, I have not lost the
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
ambition to represent my heritage. Hopi people have produced some of the finest aesthetic in the country, this tradition, to a great extent, motivates what I do. In my art, spirituality weighs heavily in both content and style. My aim is to bring the best from my multicultural influences into this society.”
Opens February 13, 2018 A Spotlight on Contemporary Hopi Ceramicists and Kachina Doll Carvers Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West 3830 N. Marshall Way, Scottsdale, AZ 85251 (480) 686-9539, www.scottsdalemuseumwest.org
» Museum Preview 137
Museum Preview
Life Ways
An exhibit at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture explores Apache history. SANTA FE, NM
By Iris McLister
of an umbrella category that includes over 50 dialects, which, though unique, share characteristics stylistically and conceptually. Athabaskan languages are spoken by indigenous people in Oregon, Alaska and the Canadian Yukon, among other areas, but this exhibition focuses primarily on more regional, Southwestern tribes. By exploring these connections, the Lifeways of the Southern Athabaskans acts not only as a visual display but also as an educational, anthropological endeavor. “The most interesting part of this exhibition,” says Begay-Foss, “was working with different tribal consultants from Jicarilla, San Carlos and Mescalero. They told me information that I would never have learned even by doing research on certain objects or tribal communities.” Many items on view have never been publicly shown. Particularly striking were a pair of what looked like large, open-sided cloth moccasins. These were horse hoof coverings, which would obscure the clip-clopping giveaway of a stolen horse, muffling tracks and sounds so the theft would go undetected. “The show came about because I was concerned about the lack of information in schools or textbook material
For many years, Apaches—and many Native American tribes for that matter—have been associated with war and pillaging. At Lifeways of the Southern Athabaskans, a new exhibition at Santa Fe, New Mexico’s Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, visitors will find nary a tomahawk on view; one can however, expect to discover intricate woven baskets, ceremonial robes and well-loved dolls. On opening night, curator and MIAC’s education director Joyce Begay-Foss introduced herself as a member of the Navajo Nation, and said she had a deep curiosity about other tribes; it makes sense then that she found herself at the helm of a show as thought-provoking as Lifeways of the Southern Athabaskans. Begay-Foss acknowledged the word “Athabaskan” is one most of us are largely unfamiliar with. Athabaskan is something
1
138
2
about the Apachean groups,” explains Begay-Foss. “In academic and historical documents the Apachean history is portrayed in a very negative context. Most visitors and school groups that come to the museum know maybe a few Pueblos, Navajo and very few know about the Apaches. “ The show is oriented around artifacts, or what Begay-Foss calls “material culture” from the 19th century, during a period when the Apache tribe was largely nomadic, hunting and foraging in the harsh environs of the Southwest. Instead of organizing artifacts according to tribe association, Begay-Foss grouped things together based on what they were used for and by type. With sensitivity and elegance, Lifeways of the Southern Athabaskans deftly demonstrates its subjects’ deep relationship with the natural world. Large-scale, black-and-white photographs serve as dramatic backdrops for a range of objects, from small purses to arrows. Alongside ceremonial attire, elaborately decorated mantels and heavily beaded
1. Chiricahua Apache quiver, ca. 1886, brain tanned leather, glass seed beads and flannel wool cloth. Gift of Mr. Grover B. Minser 44379/12. Photo by Addison Doty. Courtesy Museum of Indian Arts and Culture. 2. Mescalero Apache moccasins, ca. 1860-1900, buckskin, beads, yellow ochre. Courtesy of John and Linda Comstock and the Abigail Van Vleck Charitable Trust 1705/12. Courtesy Museum of Indian Arts and Culture. 3. Dana B. Chase (1848-ca. 1920), Apache runner, New Mexico, ca. 1884-92. Courtesy Palace of the Governors Photo Archives (NMHM/DCA), Neg. No. 110506. 3
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
» Museum Preview 139
Museum Preview
leggings are more poignant artifacts, like well-loved dolls and an especially tiny pair of green-beaded moccasins. Homes were ingeniously designed to be portable or else entirely disposable. Jicarilla and Mescalero Apache used animal hides to make teepees, while the Chiricahua instead constructed tree branch and mud huts called wickiups. Homes were built by women, a somewhat surprising division of labor between the sexes, until you learn that Apache tribes have largely matrilineal family structureswomen were hugely important to the weft and weave of the tribe’s dayto-day life. One of the most beguiling aspects of the show was the detail and ornament applied to things we might consider everyday—such as a brightly colored, meticulously beaded knife sheath. Patterning on a man’s work shirt incorporated esoteric symbols: loosely depicted stars and moons and swirled, astral-like forms. “As the curator,” Begay-Foss notes, “I wanted to
4. Carl Werntz (1874-1944), White River Apache woman dressing young girl’s hair, Arizona. Courtesy Palace of the Governors Photo Archive (NMHM/DCA), Neg. No. 037417.
4
5. Jicarilla Apache women’s cape, ca. late 19th or early 20th century, deerskin, bone beads, brass bells, glass seed bead, ochre dye and sinew. Gift of Helen Blumenschein 7461/12. Courtesy Museum of Indian Arts and Culture. 6. Mescalero Apache Burden Basket, ca. late 19th or early 20th century, willow and tin tinklers. Courtesy of John and Linda Comstock and the Abigail Van Vleck Charitable Trust 23255/12. Courtesy Museum of Indian Arts and Culture.
5
portray the Apachean groups based on their material culture and call attention to their language and lifeways. I am glad to have been given this opportunity to curate the exhibition, and I hope visitors come away with a better understanding of Apachean peoples.” It’s no small feat to put on a show of this scale and duration; for Begay-Foss, the most challenging aspect “comes down to funding and also the type of objects that are in our collections. It also takes a team effort from the other departments within the museum system to come together and make exhibitions happen.”
Through July 7, 2019 Lifeways of the Southern Athabaskans Museum of Indian Arts and Culture 710 Camino Lejo, Santa Fe, NM 87505 (505) 476-1269, www.indianartsandculture.org 6
140
Auctions
Tibetan Bead Necklaces, amber, coral, pearl, 27". Sold for $62,500 at Heritage Auctions’ ethnographic art sale.
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
142
Solid Response
144
Trading Up
Katsina dolls and textiles are among the standouts of Bonhams’ December 4 sale of Native American art.
Collector who traded spurs for Chumash coiled jar wins big at Heritage Auctions’ ethnographic art sale.
141
Auction Report
Solid Response
Katsina dolls and textiles are among the standouts of Bonhams’ December 4 sale of Native American art. SAN FRANCISCO, CA
At 11 a.m. on December 4, Bonhams hosted its second Native American Art auction of 2017, seeing a strong interest from bidders across a multitude of categories. The sale, which garnered $884,844, was one that department head Ingmārs Lindbergs says “did well on a number of levels,” citing attendance and items from collections being of interest with bidders. “We were pleased to offer items for a couple of really good collections and although our sale was one the smaller side, the conservative pricing helped drive interest,” he elaborates. “The sale was well attended with 10 percent of lots going to first-time buyers. Interestingly, more than 50 percent of the winning bids came from online, which shows that while buyers may not travel as far for sales, they are still actively participating.” The top lot of the sale was a Navajo Germantown weaving (est. $40/60,000) that sold squarely within its presale estimate at $50,000. Of the piece, Lindbergs says, “This was an exceptional example from the period. Although by an unknown artist, you could clearly see that they were a master of their craft. The design and colors are classic Saltillo, which were finely woven textiles worn by wealthy landowners. This was also the first time weavers were using commercially dyed and spun wools, which allowed them to do things they had never been able to do before with their weaving.” The second highest achieving item of the day was an important Pomo oval basket that had previously been published and was displayed in museums. Estimated at $15,000 to $25,000, the basket brought in $35,000. Lindbergs adds, “the size and presence as a whole was a big factor in driving the price.” Other notable performers were a Navajo Bisti pictorial rug (est. $7/10,000) that sold for $27,500 and a Kenneth Begay sterling silver and wood chess set (est. $20/30,000) at $22,500. Of the latter piece, Lindbergs explains, “We aren’t sure if this was a
142
1
1. Navajo Bisti pictorial rug. Estimate: $7/10,000 SOLD: $27,500
2 3
commissioned piece or something that [Begay] simply made and sold, but it had never before been to market and was previously displayed at the White Hogan Shop as one of their ‘not for sale’ items.” A collection of Hopi and Zuni kastina dolls also were of note in the sale, with five of them landing in the top 10 lots of the sale. “Well-curated collections that are assembled over time prove to be one of the driving forces behind the market, and the kachina dolls were the perfect example of this,” Lindbergs notes. “The collection was assembled over 20 years and the quality of material was certainly what motivated the marketplace.”
Top Ten Sales Item
4
2. Kenneth Begay (Navajo), sterling silver and wood chess set. Estimate: $20/30,000 SOLD: $22,500 3. An exceptional Navajo Germantown weaving. Estimate: $40/60,000 SOLD: $50,000 4. An important Pomo oval basket. Estimate: $15/25,000 SOLD: $35,000
Bonhams, Native American Art, December 4, 2017 (including buyer’s premium)
Low/High Estimate
Sold
An exceptional Navajo Germantown weaving...................................................................................................................... $40/60,000 .....................$50,000 An important Pomo oval basket .................................................................................................................................................. $15/25,000 .....................$35,000 A Navajo Bisti pictorial rug ................................................................................................................................................................$7/10,000 .....................$27,500 A Kenneth Begay sterling silver and wood chess set ......................................................................................................... $20/30,000 .....................$22,500 A Hopi kachina doll ............................................................................................................................................................................ $20/30,000 .....................$20,000 A Hopi kachina doll ...............................................................................................................................................................................$8/12,000 .....................$20,000 A Hopi kachina doll ................................................................................................................................................................................. $5/8,000 .....................$18,750 A Zuni kachina doll ............................................................................................................................................................................. $10/15,000 .....................$16,250 A Zia polychrome storage jar ........................................................................................................................................................ $15/20,000 .....................$16,250 A Hopi kachina doll ...............................................................................................................................................................................$7/10,000 .....................$13,750 www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine.com
» Auction Report 143
Auction Report
Trading Up
Collector who traded spurs for Chumash coiled jar wins big at Heritage Auctions’ ethnographic art sale. DALLAS, TX
One of the top lots at Heritage Auctions’ ethnographic art sale had not only been sitting on a TV stand for 25 years, but it had arrived there after its owner had traded a pair of “old Texas spurs and a few dollars” for it. When the dust had settled at the Dallas sale, the item, a 1700s coiled Chumash jar, had fetched $55,000, more than double its high estimate of $25,000. The collector, Dr. James Bryan was shopping at a mall bazaar in central Texas where a variety of items were bought, sold and traded. The tightly woven basket, he says, repeatedly drew his attention. “I just admired it,” Bryan says. “That one and another similarly woven Indian bowl—I really liked them. It just struck me as being such a beautifully woven basket. That just drove my attention to it. I [recane] chair seats, and understand the intricacies of creating a pattern, and repeating a pattern in such a tight space is amazing to me.” Twenty-five years after it was acquired, Heritage auction specialists were thrilled to discover the woven
1. A Rare Chumash Coiled Jar, ca. 18th century, natural and dyed juncas, sumac, 10½" Estimate: $20/25,000 SOLD: $55,000 2. A Mississippian Polychrome Head Pot, ca. 1400-1550, Pemiscot Co., Missouri, clay, red and white mineral pigments, 4¾" Estimate: $5/7,000 SOLD: $21,250 1
item was extraordinarily rare and from the Chumash Tribe that had lived historically on the California coast. When Bryan found out that the piece could be worth as much as $25,000, “You could have knocked me over with a feather,” he said at the time. Other top lots at the November 15 sale were two Tibetan bead necklaces made of amber, coral and pearl, estimated at $800 to $1,200, that sold at 52 times their high estimate when they closed at $62,500. Additionally, a Crow beaded hide war shirt from around 1900 sold below its $40,000 low estimate at $27,500. The shirt was made with metallic and glass beads, red wool trade cloth, horse hair, sinew and thread and was accompanied by a photo of Bell Rock wearing the shirt. A Teotihuacan stone mask likely from between the fifth to seventh century sold within its $20,000 to $30,000 estimates when it sold for $22,500. The mask, carved from translucent cream-colored tecali stone, was in fair condition with visible signs of where an inlay had once been. Coming in at $21,250, more than triple its high estimate of $7,000, was a Mississippian polychrome head pot, circa 1400 to 1550. The pot came from Pemiscot County, Missouri, and is made of clay, and red and white mineral pigments.
144 2
TOBY HERBST
Hopi Snake Dancers Early 20th Century Height 15�
Buying and Selling Museum Quality Native American Art 505-983-2652 by appointment tobyherbst@cybermesa.com
Ivan J. Howard
Custom Jewelry
(505) 203-8578 | Email: dinejewelry@yahoo.com Website: navajocreation.com | Instagram: ivanhoward1251
SHOWING AT THE:
2018 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market
I D Y L LW I L D
51 Atlantic Highway, Thomaston, Maine 04861
INUIT Art & Artifacts
February 16, 2018 - 2nd Session Featuring more than 300 lots dating from prehistoric times to late 20th century
A R T S
Native American Workshops and Festival 2018 June 18 through July 2
All sold without reserve
Idyllwild Arts Summer Program - The summer tradition that began in 1950 to bring the best artists in their fields to teach under the pines continues today. The Native American Arts Program and Festival includes exhibits, lectures and performances, as well as intensive hands-on workshops in Cahuilla & Hopi Pottery, Tohono O’odham & Cahuilla Basketry, Hopi Jewelry, Navajo Weaving, Beadwork, California Native Plants; as well as music, dance, theater, visual arts, writing and filmmaking, for ALL AGES - from age 5 to 105! SCHOLARSHIPS for Native American adults and kids available for all workshops!
Part of Our Winter Auction Weekend February 16 - 18, 2018
Kids and Teens Register Now! Adult Registration Begins February 1, 2018
Bid In Person | By Phone/Absentee | Online
View catalog: thomastonauction.com info@thomastonauction.com 207-354-8141 Kaja Veilleux (ME AUC #902) • John Bottero (ME AUC #1237) • Carol Achterhof (ME AUC #1517)
951.468.7265 • summer@idyllwildarts.org www.idyllwildarts.org /nativearts
ABBE MUSEUM INDIAN MARKET MAY 18–20, 2018
Downtown Bar Harbor, Maine Market • Film Festival Fashion Show Not just Vacationland. Homeland. Maine is a Wabanaki place. abbemuseum.org/indianmarket
Abbe Museum Indian Market Wabanaki baskets by Gerald “Butch” Jacobs, Passamaquoddy.
FEBRUARY 17-18, 2018 Marin Center | 10 Avenue of the Flags, San Rafael, CA San Francisco Tribal Art Week | February 8–18, 2018
ObjectsOfArtShows.com
ENVER FROM DENVER FINE RUGS & RESTORATION
Many Horses Trading Co. Native American Jewelry & Art
C o l l e c t o r s o f F i n e N a t i v e A m e r i c a n Je w e l r y f o r M o r e T h a n 2 0 Ye a r s
3420 South Brady Ct. | Sheridan, CO 80110 enversfinerugs@gmail.com ENVERFROMDENVER.COM 720-242-8513
manyhorsestrading@gmail.com 520-455-5545 • 3254 Highway 82 • Sonoita, AZ 85637
BUYING OR SELLING INDIAN ART?
KNOW THE LAW
Under the Indian Arts and Crafts Act, all American Indian and Alaska Native art and craft products must be marketed truthfully regarding the tribal enrollment and Indian heritage of the artist or craftsperson. TAKE HOME A TREASURE FROM INDIAN COUNTRY-BUY WORKS PRODUCED BY MEMBERS OF FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED TRIBES. For a free brochure on the Indian Arts and Crafts Act, including how to file a complaint, contact: U.S. Department of the Interior Allan Houser, Chiricahua Apache, “Apache Fire Dancer” © 1961, Collection of the Southern Plains Indian Museum, USDOI, IACB
Indian Arts and Crafts Board Toll Free: 1-888-ART-FAKE or 1-888-278-3253 Email: iacb@ios.doi.gov Web: www.doi.gov/iacb
NATIVE AMERICAN ART APPRAISALS, INC.
SCOTTSDALE
ARTWALK
Every Thursday Night 7pm – 9pm
SINCE 1936
Western Spirit February 8, 2018
6:30 pm to 9:00 pm Scottsdale is famous around the world for its rich Western heritage. The Scottsdale Arts District’s fine art galleries, award-winning restaurants, museums, unique retailers and leaders in the fashion and design world celebrate this heritage during the Gold Palette ArtWalk, “Western Spirit.” Come celebrate with a night of great art and music along Main St. and Marshall Way. Sponsored by the Scottsdale Gallery Association, City of Scottsdale
CALL EMAIL VISIT
(855) NAAA-INC INFO@NAAAINC.COM WWW.NAAAINC.COM
www.scottsdalegalleries.com
E s ta b l i s h E d 1 9 6 1
The Native American Art Magazine
American Art Appraisals.indd 1
You've Been Waiting For
8/31/16 7:19 PM
TRADING CO. & MUSEUM
•
•
Navajo Rugs Native American Jewelry and Pottery Old Pawn Jewelry Visit our trading post and museum in Cortez, open 6 days a week. Notah-Dineh features the finest in Native American arts and crafts in the Four Corners. www.notahdineh.com 345 W. Main St. | Cortez, CO 81321 | 1.800.444.2024 | 1.970.565.9607
D e d i c at e d t o t h e M a r k e t f o r H i s t o r i c & C o n t e m p o r a r y N at i v e A r t
For subscriptions, visit our website at
www.NativeAmericanArtMagazine .com
F E B RUA RY 8 – 11, 2 018 FORT MASON CENTER SAN FRANCISCO, CA FEBRUARY 8 I OPENING NIGHT GALA F E AT U R E D C O U N T R Y: A U S T R A L I A
ObjectsOfArtShows.Com San Francisco Tribal Art Week I February 8 –18, 2018 I The American Indian Art Show Marin I February 17–18 I Marin Center, San Rafael
Index
Artists in this issue Adams, Elmer
135
Allison, Marla
52, 118
David, Kerry
135
Miles, Douglas
David, Neil Sr.
135
Monongya, Jesse
Ataumbi, Teri Babby, Angela Begay, Kenneth
117
Duwyenie, Preston
134
Monongya, Von
119
Fogarty, Joyce Growing Thunder 54
Monongye, Preston
121
Susunkewa, Manfred
143
Garcia, Tammy
Naha, Helen
137
Talahaftewa, Herb
106
Tawaquaptewa, Wilson
Briones, Anthony Calnimptewa, Cecil Jr. Chase, Dana B.
Greeves, Teri
116
Namingha, Les
73
Howato, Walter
123
Polequaptewa, Ryon
Huntinghorse, Fortune
119
Qoyawayma, Al
78
Kewanwytewa, Willis
Chavez, Richard
114
Loloma, Charles
Cruz, Juan
105
Long, Susie
66
Shelton, Peter
67
Singer, Monty
108
Supplee, Charles
113
67
67 139
Chavarria, Manuel Denet
106, 126
130 112, 120
Qumyintewa, Willie
69 89 63, 68, 74
69
Tsingine, Olin
117
104
Werntz, Carl
140
Youngblood, Nathan
106
66
114
Romero, Mateo
119
85
Setalla, Stetson
136
Advertisers in this issue Abbe Museum (Scottsdale, AZ)
147
Four Winds Gallery (Pittsburgh, PA)
Abby Kent Flythe Fine Art (Spotsylvania, VA)
38
Great Southwest Gallery, The (Sedona,, AZ)
Adobe Gallery (Santa Fe, NM)
12
Heard Museum (Phoenix, AZ)
Allard Auctions, Inc. (St. Ignatius, MT)
147
Antique American Indian Art, Inc. (Bothell, WA) 47 Bischoff’s Gallery (Scottsdale, AZ) Blue Rain Gallery (Santa Fe, NM)
2 Cover 4
Cover 3 40 32, 42
39
River Trading Post (Scottsdale, AZ)
11
IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (Santa Fe, NM)
101
Roadside America–Gallery of the West (South Pasadena, CA)
Idyllwild Arts (Idyllwild, CA)
146
Sanderson, Cody (Santa Fe, NM)
Jesse Monongye Studios (Scottsdale, AZ)
36-37
Buffalo Barry’s Indian Art (Holden, MA)
27
John C. Hill Antique Indian Art Gallery (Scottsdale, AZ)
55
Charley’s Navajo Rugs (Hanford, CA)
51
John Malloy Gallery (New York, NY)
20
King Galleries (Scottsdale, AZ)
17
Chipeta Trading Company (Denver, CO)
19
Cowan’s Auctions (Cincinnati, OH)
26
Cowboys & Indians Antiques (Albuquerque, NM)55 Dancing Rabbit Gallery, The (Southlake, TX)
29
Dennis June Gallery (Scottsdale, AZ)
43
Enver from Denver’s Fine Rugs & Restoration (Sheridan, CO)
149
Faust Gallery (Scottsdale, AZ)
8-9
Fighting Bear Antiques (Jackson, WY)
13
Fortune Huntinghorse Jewelry (Marana, AZ)
40
152
148,151
145
Howard, Ivan J. (Albuquerque, NM)
16
30
Objects of Art Shows, LLC (Venice, CA)
150
Potomack Company, The (Alexandria, VA)
Brian Lebel’s Old West Events (Santa Fe, NM)
Chickasaw Nation Arts & Humanities Division (Ada, OK)
& Museum (Cortez, CO)
Lyn A. Fox Fine Pueblo Pottery (Santa Fe, NM) 25 Many Horses Trading Co. (Sonoita, AZ)
149
31 102
Scottsdale Gallery Association (Scottsdale, AZ) 150 Sherwoods Spirit of America (Santa Fe, NM) Steve Elmore Indian Art (Santa Fe, NM)
5 38
Sunwest Silver Co. (Albuquerque, NM)
34-35
Territorial Indian Arts (Scottsdale, AZ)
18
Thomas Nygard (Bozeman, MT)
1
Medicine Man Gallery (Tucson, AZ)
23
Thomaston Place Auction Galleries (Thomaston, ME) 146
Miles & Miles Trading (Pacifica, CA)
22
Toby Herbst (Santa Fe, NM)
Museum of Northern Arizona (Flagstaff, AZ)
28
True West (Santa Fe, NM)
Mystic Warriors (Evergreen, CO) Native American Art Appraisals, Inc. (Santa Fe, NM)
Cover 2 150
Tsingine Trading Company (Phoenix, AZ) Turkey Mountain Traders (Evergreen, CO)
145 21,53 102 3
Native American Collections, Inc. (Denver, CO) 41
U.S. Department of the Interior Indian Arts And Crafts Board (Washington, DC) 149
Nizhoni Ranch Gallery (Sonoita, AZ)
Waddell Trading (Scottsdale, AZ)
6-7
Western Trading Post (Casa Grande, AZ)
49
Notah-Dineh Trading Co.
24
FOUR WINDS G A L L E R Y
Black
Pantone 424 C
Pantone 425 C
Pantone 7540 C
Pantone Cool Gray 10 C
new website fourwindsgallery.com 10% off YO U R F IRS T PU RC HAS E. CO D E W EL COM E1 0 . PRO MOTIO N VA L ID U N TIL 7/ 1 / 2 0 1 8 FOLLOW US @FOURWINDSPITTSBURGH
Four Winds Gallery seeks to buy single pieces or entire collections.
5 5 1 2 WA L N U T S T R E E T , P I T T S B U R G H , PA 1 5 2 3 2
|
412.682.5092
|
WWW.FOURWINDSGALLERY.COM
P R E S T O N S I N G L E TA RY and DA N T E M A R I O N I
Chilkat Fire Vase Blown and sand-carved glass 17" h x 8.75" d
544 South Guadalupe Street, Santa Fe, NM 87501 | 505.954.9902 | www.blueraingallery.com