Art Without Reservation in Santa Fe

I made it to the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts on my last day in Santa Fe. It's one of my favorites of a number of good museums here and I try to see the current exhibitions whenever I'm in town. I have examples of two current exhibits to share.

In the main gallery is Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation 3, the concluding exhibit of a cycle that was "conceived and organized to present a comprehensive and in-depth cross section of innovative and groundbreaking work by contemporary Indigenous artists." The exhibition catalogue goes on to say, "These creative individuals express a new vitality and spirit of experimentation in Native art, often embracing tradition while moving forward and looking towards the future." For a more thorough description go to Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation 3/Contemporary Native North American Art from the Northeast and Southeast, Selected Works.

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Jordan Bennett, Re:Appropriating the Wheel

Peter B. Jones, Portrait Jar-New Indian

Kent Monkman, Dreamcatcher Bra & Raccoon Jockstrap

Another compelling exhibit is called STEREOTYPE: Misconceptions of the Native American. In it Cannupa Hanska Luger uses the motif of the boom box to examine and deconstruct stereotypes imposed on indigenous Americans. For more about it, click here.

The Indian Princess

The text explains in detail that there is no such thing as an "Indian Princess" since the concept of princess is Western in origin.

The Plastic Shaman

Similar to the above, the term "shaman," which originated in Central Asia, has been inappropriately applied to Native American culture.

The Curtis

This last one, of course, refers to Edward Curtis, the photographer who set out to "document" the passing of the "noble savage" before they were all gone.

Finally, the image below is one of a pair by Debra Yepa-Pappin that were hung in the hallway and identified as "recent acquisitions." The title is "Live Long and Prosper (Spock was a Half Breed).

Art according to John Gossage

Review Santa Fe closed in overtime at about 1 pm. this afternoon. The final event was a panel discussion that included photographer John Gossage as featured artist.

Gossage, who eschews social media and proudly proclaims he doesn't have a website, made a number of pithy remarks that I jotted down and herewith share:

On art: its primary reason for being is to be viewed repeatedly.

On being an artist: keep your own counsel; do the work because it's what you love to do.

Corollary to above: get a day job to support your work so you are not indebted to anyone. (Although he proudly admitted that he'd never held a job in his life and was a high school drop out.)

On artistic integrity: if on first view the reaction of a viewer of your work is "huh?" then you've succeeded; pictures should not "empty out their information on first viewing."

On his own process: "I don't work in projects; I work with an ongoing sensibility."

Gossage went a bit against the prevailing notions, as he readily admitted, if not being downright iconoclastic - especially regarding his antipathy to social media. I need to let some of these ideas percolate a bit longer before I decide whether or not I agree with them. (Although I definitely like the first one about art deserving repeated viewing.)

To conclude on a more personal note, I believe I've been working with an ongoing sensibility myself. Here is an image I made in Albuquerque, before heading up here to Santa Fe.

Fire Danger Very High Today!

Photo-Eye opening in Santa Fe

Photo-Eye is Santa Fe's premier venue for photography. In addition to a physical gallery they have a significant online presence and well-respected publications.

I went to the opening of their current show last night.

New York photographer John Delaney is showing Golden Eagle Nomads, portraits of Kazakh hunters in Mongolia. (Delaney explained that his subjects had been driven out of Kazakhstan by the soviets.)

LA photographer Svjetlana Tepavcevic is showing Means of Reproduction. She calls the images of seeds portraits to express her personal connection with the subjects. She captures the images directly on a flatbed scanner without using a camera.

I found both bodies of work fascinating as well as beautiful in their own ways. The prints are stunning and both photographers stressed the importance of the physicality of the printmaking for them, despite obvious differences. Delaney, who works as a darkroom technician and has printed for the likes of Richard Avedon, is using traditional wet darkroom methods. Tepavcevic whole process is digital, with archival ink jet prints as the final outcome.

To see more of their work and read their artist statements, go to Photo-Eye.