The Verde Valley Archaeology Center and Museum held a grand opening for its new exhibit, “Indigenous Arts,” on Saturday, March 8.
The exhibit features artwork and cultural items on loan from the Tucson Museum of Art’s permanent collection, including items such as hand-carved kachina dolls, pottery and works on paper.
A VVAC statement said that the collection highlights the talents and traditions of individual American Indian artists and tribes while conveying unifying themes applicable to all of humanity.
The works in the collection are mainly by Hopi, Apache and New Mexico Puebloan artists, but it also includes items by artists from outside the region.
“There are artworks and cultural items of varied traditions and different tribal affiliations reflected in VVAC’s installation,” VVAC Executive Director Monica Buckle said in a press release.
“However, there’s a common thread that connects Native Americans and indigenous people, which is reverence for the land, existing in harmony with all living beings and honoring the traditions of those who have walked before.”
The majority of the pieces are from TMA’s James T. Bialac collection. Bialac, a lawyer by trade, was a prolific collector of American Indian artwork, accumulating over 4,000 works between 1964 and his death in 2022, including examples by prominent American Indian artists like Woody Crumbo of the Potawatomi Nation, Pablita Velarde of the Santa Clara Pueblo and Fritz Scholder of the La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians.
The exhibit includes one of Crumbo’s peyote birds, a brightly-colored depiction of an aquatic spirit bird. Peyote birds are a Plains Indian tradition connected with thunder, lightning and visions. Crumbo was a well-known artist and director of art at the Bacone College in Muskogee, Okla., which was an important institution for cultivating contemporary Indian arts. He worked in a variety of media but was best known for his silkscreen prints, which were one of the more accessible forms of his work.
The exhibit also includes three paintings by Velarde, who helped other American Indian women establish careers in the arts and is known for her “Flat Style” technique, which she used to depict traditional Pueblo life, as well as for her use of local minerals and pigments in her earth paintings.
Many of the pieces in the exhibit are related to the themes of ceremony, religion and spirituality, such as a display of Hopi and Zuni kachinas, spirit beings that act as intermediaries between the Hopi and their deities. An untitled painting by Duane Dishta portrays Crow Mother, an important kachina who serves as a maternal guide, while another captures a mixed-animal kachina dance.
Also on display is pottery by Maria Martinez, known for her distinct style of black-on-black pottery. Martinez always involved her community in her work and no piece of pottery was a solo effort. Martinez’s pieces became known as sought-after pieces of art, rather than just utilitarian vessels, giving Puebloan pottery a distinguished place in the art world. An additional case of modern polychrome vessels and pitchers is described as relating to the idea of water as a sacred giver of life.
Makwesa Chimerica, a traditional Hopi kachina carver, gave a talk on kachinas with Buckle during the grand opening.
“It’s very much an intertribal exhibit,” Buckle said. “The overarching theme of this exhibit is interconnectedness. During these times of great change, one thing that’s consistent is our relationship with one another and being kind to one another. This exhibit is very uplifting … If someone wants a nice pick-me-up, this is a beautiful exhibit to view.”
Buckle thanked VVAC’s volunteers for their efforts in putting the exhibit together.
The exhibit will be on display until September. For more information, visit verdevalleyarchaeology.org.
