Native Americans Pick Art to Display in Traveling Exhibition
2022-08-13
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1Art institutions in the United States are increasingly looking to Native American communities to organize public showings, or exhibitions, of ancestral art and artifacts.
2Native American voices and artistry are at the center of one new traveling exhibition.
3Grounded in Clay opened on July 31 at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe.
4It travels next year to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, before taking more stops at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston and the Saint Louis Art Museum.
5Grounded in Clay explores pottery from the Pueblo Indian area of the American Southwest.
6In Pueblo pottery traditions, artists use their hands to form clay into many shapes and sizes.
7Then they fire it inside a very hot stove called a kiln. The process permanently hardens the clay.
860 Native American artists, museum professionals, storytellers and political leaders worked together to develop the public showing.
9Each picked a few of their favorite pieces from collections in New Mexico and New York.
10Personal statements and sometimes poetry appear with the clay works.
11Tara Gatewood - a broadcaster from the daily talk radio show "Native American Calling" - was among the organizers of the exhibition.
12Gatewood discussed the mystery around the works, pointing to one ancestral jar from around 1,000 years ago. Its maker is unknown.
13"Is your blood mine?" she said. "Where else beyond the surface of this vessel do your fingerprints appear on the blueprint of my own life?"
14The exhibit includes about 110 pottery works.
15The Indian Arts Research Center at the School of Advanced Research in Santa Fe loaned most of the pieces.
16The center has long worked to change how Native American art and artifacts are cared for, shown and understood.
17The organizers of Grounded in Clay come from the 19 Native American communities of New Mexico, the West Texas community of Ysleta del Sur and the Hopi tribe of Arizona.
18Brian Vallo, governor of Acoma Pueblo from 2019-21, chose two pieces for the new traveling exhibition.
19Both of the pieces have ties to Acoma, known as a "sky city" for its position on high ground.
20Vallo found the pieces in the New York-based Vilcek Foundation
21He says something beautiful and new awaits experienced museum-goers and other curious visitors.
22"It's Native voices, and it's even the items that are selected by Native people themselves, not the institutions," he said.
23Vallo added that people who go to the showing will "appreciate that these cultures survived and are thriving, and the creative spirit of our people is very much alive."
24I'm John Russell.
1Art institutions in the United States are increasingly looking to Native American communities to organize public showings, or exhibitions, of ancestral art and artifacts. 2Native American voices and artistry are at the center of one new traveling exhibition. Grounded in Clay opened on July 31 at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe. It travels next year to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, before taking more stops at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston and the Saint Louis Art Museum. 3Grounded in Clay explores pottery from the Pueblo Indian area of the American Southwest. 4In Pueblo pottery traditions, artists use their hands to form clay into many shapes and sizes. Then they fire it inside a very hot stove called a kiln. The process permanently hardens the clay. 560 Native American artists, museum professionals, storytellers and political leaders worked together to develop the public showing. Each picked a few of their favorite pieces from collections in New Mexico and New York. Personal statements and sometimes poetry appear with the clay works. 6Tara Gatewood - a broadcaster from the daily talk radio show "Native American Calling" - was among the organizers of the exhibition. 7Gatewood discussed the mystery around the works, pointing to one ancestral jar from around 1,000 years ago. Its maker is unknown. 8"Is your blood mine?" she said. "Where else beyond the surface of this vessel do your fingerprints appear on the blueprint of my own life?" 9The exhibit includes about 110 pottery works. The Indian Arts Research Center at the School of Advanced Research in Santa Fe loaned most of the pieces. 10The center has long worked to change how Native American art and artifacts are cared for, shown and understood. 11The organizers of Grounded in Clay come from the 19 Native American communities of New Mexico, the West Texas community of Ysleta del Sur and the Hopi tribe of Arizona. 12Brian Vallo, governor of Acoma Pueblo from 2019-21, chose two pieces for the new traveling exhibition. Both of the pieces have ties to Acoma, known as a "sky city" for its position on high ground. 13Vallo found the pieces in the New York-based Vilcek Foundation 14He says something beautiful and new awaits experienced museum-goers and other curious visitors. 15"It's Native voices, and it's even the items that are selected by Native people themselves, not the institutions," he said. 16Vallo added that people who go to the showing will "appreciate that these cultures survived and are thriving, and the creative spirit of our people is very much alive." 17I'm John Russell. 18Morgan Lee reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for Learning English. 19____________________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21artifact - n. an object (such as a tool or weapon) that was made by people in the past 22clay - n. a heavy, sticky material from the earth that is made into different shapes and that becomes hard when it is baked or dried 23pottery - n. objects (such as bowls, plates, etc.) that are made out of clay usually by hand and then baked at high temperatures so that they become hard 24vessel - n. somewhat old-fashioned : a hollow container for holding liquids 25thrive - v. to grow or develop successfully : to flourish or succeed 26____________________________________________________________________ 27Who should decide what kinds of art is displayed in art exhibitions? Why? We want to hear from you. 28We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 29Write your comment in the box. 30Under the box, you can see four images for social media accounts. They are for Disqus, Facebook, Twitter and Google. 31Click on one image and a box appears. Enter the login for your social media account. Or you may create one on the Disqus system. It is the blue circle with "D" on it. It is free. 32Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.