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Woven Identities
Basketry Art from the Collections, Oldest Dates to 1200
(Santa Fe, NM—November 1, 2011)—For the first time in over 30 years, the
Museum of Indian Arts and Culture opens a major exhibition of North
American Indian baskets on Sunday, November 20, 2011. The exhibition
runs through May 1, 2014.
All objects tell a story, if you know the right questions to ask. At the
time the baskets in this exhibition were collected little to no
information was recorded; the weaver’s names are largely unknown.
Nonetheless, each basket has an identity, a woven identity. The identity
of each basket—where it was made; when it was made; who made it; who it
was made for; why it was made—by “reading” its individual
characteristics.
To read a basket five principal traits must be taken into account:
material, construction, form and design, and utility. Woven Identities
is divided into five sections representing these essential and
diagnostic Native American basketry traits. If you ever wanted to learn
the language of baskets, begin your journey with this exhibition.
On exhibit are baskets woven by artists representing 60 cultural groups,
today referred to as tribes, bands, or pueblos. The weavers’ ancestral
lands are in six culture areas of Western North America: The Southwest,
Great Basin, Plateau, California, the Northwest Coast, and the Arctic.
Baskets can be functional. Burden baskets were for carrying. The
improbable task of cooking was done in baskets—heated stones were added
to food and liquid contents in meal preparation. Water was carried and
clams collected in others. Baskets also served as hats (especially, but
not exclusively, to the tourist trade).
Yet, function does not trump beauty. Basket making techniques are
inherently attractive. Among the baskets on view are examples of false
embroidery, cross weave, plaiting, and coiling. Materials like wrapped
twine, corn husk, roots, rhizomes, stems, branches, leaves, grass, and
cedar bark add their own good looks.
Of the 241 baskets in the exhibition, only 45 have been attributed to
individual artists. Woven Identities honors those weavers and the many
others whose names we do not yet know.
Woven Identities Opening Events
10am - 4pm, Terry DeWald of Terry DeWald American Indian Art will have a
basket trunk show with more than 75 baskets for sale.
12 - 4pm, Basket Making Demonstration by Haida Weaver Jacinthe Two
Bulls. She will give a short talk on her craft at 12:30pm.
2 - 3pm, Identifying Baskets of the Western United States: Tribes,
Materials, and Motifs, a talk by Terry DeWald on materials used in
basket making.
The exhibit opens Sunday, November 20, 2011 and closes April 14, 2014.
Admission to the opening is free to NM residents with ID on Sundays; all
others $9. Under 18 always free.
For more information about the opening the public may call 505-476-1269.
Located on Museum Hill™, the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture shares the
beautiful Milner Plaza with the Museum of International Folk Art. Here,
Now and Always, a major permanent exhibition at the Museum of Indian
Arts & Culture, combines the voices of living Native Americans with
ancient and contemporary artifacts and interactive multimedia to tell
the complex stories of the Southwest. The Buchsbaum Gallery displays
ceramics from the region’s pueblos. Five changing galleries present
exhibits on subjects ranging from archaeological excavations to
contemporary art. In addition, an outdoor sculpture garden offers
rotating exhibits of works by Native American sculptors.
The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture is a division of the Department of
Cultural Affairs.
Information for the Public
Location: The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture is located on Museum
Hill™, Camino Lejo off Old Santa Fe Trail. Information: 505-476-1269 or
visit
www.indianartsandculture.org
Days/Times: Tuesday through Sunday, 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Between
Memorial Day and Labor Day the Museum is also open on Monday.
Admission: Adult single-museum admission is $6 for New Mexico residents,
$9 for nonresidents; OR $15 for one-day pass to two museums of your
choice (Museum of Indian Arts & Culture, Museum of International Folk
Art, New Mexico Museum of Art, and Palace of the Governors/New Mexico
History Museum) OR $20 four-day pass to the four museums listed above.
Youth 16 and under, Foundation Members, and New Mexico Veterans with 50%
or more disability always free
Sundays: New Mexico residents with ID are admitted FREE, Students with
ID receive a $1 discount.
Wednesdays: New Mexico resident seniors (60+) with ID are free.
Field Trips: There is no charge for educational groups attending the
museum with their instructor and/or adult chaperones. Contact the Tours
office by phone at (505) 476-1140 or (505) 476-1211 to arrange
class/group visits to the Museum.
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