Our Next Guest Needs No Introduction
The School for Advanced Research cultivates casual conversation and in-depth discussion through a series of live artist talks on Instagram.
Step into the artist’s studio, take a look around. What catches your eye? Remnants of dried clay and mineral paints from a recent pottery session, a large palette of intermixing oil paints near a canvas that’s ultimate vision has yet to be realized. A block of wood waiting to be carved, or threads on a loom. And what of the artist occupying the space? What would they divulge to you—in what ways might they open up about their unique artistic processes, and about their lives?
This year is different in a lot of ways. The sorts of in-person interactions we’re used to having, especially around Indian Market and Santa Fe in August, are not possible in our current environment, and we’ve had to adapt. The School for Advanced Research in Santa Fe has created a series of informal interviews that will take place in a virtual format through Instagram Live with 10 esteemed Native artists who are both past SAR artist fellows and are affiliated with the 2020 Virtual Indian Market. “As we were developing the program, we realized we couldn’t do all the other programs we’d normally do in person, the outreach we’d normally do. We became increasingly aware of the obstacles the artists would be facing,” says Elysia Poon, Indian Arts Research Center director at SAR. “Artists Live on Instagram,” which begins August 3 with jeweler Nanibaa Beck, will be held on a weekly basis through September 28, capping off with multi-faceted artist Jason Garcia.
“We’ve entered an era of informality...having the opportunity to have this really informal casual conversation with artists seemed like a really fun idea, while also giving artists the chance to [let people know where their work can be purchased],” says Poon. “Audiences can also interact with artists in real time. It’s an inside look at the artist’s studio that you really can’t get with a typical artist talk.”
The other participating artists in the series, of which Native American Art is a media sponsor, are Gerry Quotskuyva, Dawn Dark Mountain, Mateo Romero, Adrian Wall, Marlowe Katoney, Jonathan Loretto, Franklin Peters and Randy Chitto. The interviewers will alternate between Poon and SAR curator of education Felicia Garcia, who also conducts interviews for the institution’s general “Artist Live” series that officially started back in late May. These talks normally take place every other week.
“I have been isolated for almost three months. I’m just looking forward to catching up with people and having conversations with people,” says Poon. “I look forward to seeing if anyone’s art processes have shifted.”
Follow SAR on Instagram at @schoolforadvancedresearch. And not to worry if you miss the live broadcast, videos will be posted to SAR’S Youtube channel shortly afterward.
Nanibaa Beck (Navajo) AUGUST 3
Second-generation Navajo metalsmith Nanibaa Beck is the owner of Notabove Jewelry, founded in 2013. Her hand-sawn minimal jewelry collections capture a unique niche within the world of Native art, focusing on Native Indigenous languages. Beck’s designs are “a reflection of vibrant Native creative expressions and the growth of an ‘Asdzaa Diné’ (Diné woman) as a metalsmith,” with dazzling earrings crafted from lapis and coral, turquoise and sterling silver pendants and more. “It is my favorite mispronunciation of my name from 2007,” Beck says of Notabove. “It is also a beautiful way of working and collaborating with others—not above but beside you.”
Gerry Quotskuyva (Hopi) AUGUST 7
Hopi artist Gerry Quotskuyva works primarily in sculpting and carving, but also works with acrylic on canvas, winning awards at prominent museum competitions in both categories. He also dabbles in bronze and glass and is preparing to venture more into fusing the two using Hopi motifs. “My journey began as a teen when I did beadwork as a hobby, but a Jemez Pueblo friend encouraged me to sell my work, which provided a little income while in high school,” Quotskuyva says of his beginnings. “College, however, took me away from creating, and it wasn’t until I ran short of funds one year that I picked up doing artwork again. I found it rewarding and quit my educational pursuit to become a full-time artist with no knowledge nor education on how to pursue such a career. The only thing I had was a lot of ignorance regarding the art field with a desire to succeed, and passion.”
Dawn Dark Mountain (Oneida) AUGUST 10
“I am a painter, primarily a watercolorist,” says Dawn Dark Mountain. “I use true, transparent, watercolor applied in layers in a very controlled technique.” She also works in mixed media, combining cut and layered watercolor paper with beadwork or wampum (Quahog shell) beads sewn into the paper. And at times, you’ll find Dark Mountain working in printmaking, relief prints with watercolor, and monoprints.
“My inspiration comes from both traditional stories of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) along with our beadwork designs and also contemporary topics such as the DAPL pipeline controversy and immigration issues,” she says. “I have also created a series of work about the Treaty of Canandaigua of 1794, which guarantees the sovereignty of the Six Nations.”
Mateo Romero (Cochiti) AUGUST 17
“I’ve been seduced by bold dripping colors, slashes that move across the surface,” says Mateo Romero. “Turgid muscular paint passages juxtaposed with thin ephemeral washes of color. Warm against cold, light into dark...i’m a relational painter.”
Romero creates his works using both palette knife and paint brush. His contemporary paintings evoke various art styles—some impasto, others expressionist in nature, all existing within some realm of abstraction.
“Every mark I make is balanced against the whole as a symphony of marks emerges to tell a story. Native lovers recline in old rag tops as turquoise cloud people float by. Water protectors huddle beneath sheets of metal as police gleefully pepper spray them. Plains riders stand vigil in the watery reflections of their world. I paint the in-between, the unknowable, the moment in which we all hold our breath before the lightning strike hits...ineffable.”
Adrian Wall (Jemez) AUGUST 24
A renowned sculptor from Jemez Pueblo, Adrian Wall’s affinity for creating three-dimensional forms has roots going back to his late teens. Known for his abstract forms, the artist largely crafts his works from stone, but also works in clay, bronze, metal and glass. Wall’s art can be found in institutions like the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis, the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center Museum in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as well as the School for Advanced Research.
Marlowe Katoney (Navajo) AUGUST 31
Marlowe Katoney, who was originally trained in painting, is establishing himself as a prominent Navajo weaver. His father, an aspiring artist, initially set him on his creative path. “Everyone always told me I’d be an artist, [but] I wasn’t sure,” he says. “At a very young age I would peruse my dad’s art magazines. I got really drawn to Charles Loloma. I studied his history and went through the same steps. I thought I would be a jeweler. I went into painting and was pulled into textiles. It was my grandmother who suggested it and set my first loom up.”
He continues, “There is something about it though, a satisfying gratification of creating something whole cloth. There is a gravity about beauty. I know some art can be tragic and rough-looking, but it is essential to the human condition.”
Jonathan Loretto (Jemez/cochiti) SEPTEMBER 7
The diversity of work produced by Jemez/cochiti artist Jonathan Loretto is vast. The multimedia artist creates everything from jewelry (see shadow box pendants and shimmering dragonfly and tear drop pendants) to pottery, charcoal drawings and bobblehead figures.
“I know this year, 2020, will go down in the history books like no other,” says Loretto. “All I can do is have faith in humanity finding the right attitude to set things right for everyone involved… When I create art, I create for any person of color, gender, ethnic background, young, old, gay, queer, it doesn’t matter because I want to share my talent and creations with the world.”
Throughout the years, he’s drawn inspiration from creators like Diego and Cara Romero, Roxanne Swentzell and, most of all, his mother, Snowflake Flower. “Of course, Leonardo da Vinci is also one of my favorites.” Franklin Peters (Acoma) SEPTEMBER 14
Franklin Peters comes from the Pueblo of Acoma, belonging to the Sky Clan (Huwaka). He creates traditional Acoma pottery using earth-based materials and clay mined from the natural clay pot of the Pueblo, and has been a potter for the past 26 years.
“The designs on the pottery have very unique meaning—rain, storm clouds, sun, animals and different types of vegetation. Pottery itself is a symbol of Mother Earth being that the clay is all natural and from the earth,” says Peters. “My inspiration [for] my pottery is my grandmother, aunts and mother...also, keeping the tradition of Acoma pottery alive and strong. Acoma pottery is very special...to me. She is who represents me and my family.”
Randy Chitto (Choctaw) SEPTEMBER 21
“I have always had a need to create. Growing up I continuously had a sketchpad with me, and I have tried many different mediums. But the first time I had the opportunity to work with clay I was hooked,” says Choctaw clay artist Randy Chitto, owner of the Red Clay Studio in Santa Fe.
“I just love the whole process. I love the fact the clay is very much alive, and sometimes it can decide to change what you were envisioning at first. The clay usually makes the right decision.”
Chitto’s work can be found in numerous museum collections including The Heard Museum in Phoenix, the Denver Art Museum in Colorado and the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., among others. In addition, the artist shows at the Santa Fe Indian Market and Heard Indian Market.
Jason Garcia (Santa Clara) SEPTEMBER 28
Jason Garcia, son of esteemed Santa Clara Pueblo potters John and Gloria Garcia, has paved an artistic path entirely his own, blending tradition with innovation. His finished works typically consist of clay tiles created in the traditional Pueblo way with hand-gathered clay, Native clay slips and outdoor firings. He then takes these materials and produces a variety of creative works stemming from history and religious icons, as well as pop culture imagery like comic book superheroes and video game characters.