Page 16 - the NOISE February 2014

16 • FEBRUARY 2014 • the NOISE arts & news • thenoise.us
CoNTiNUeD FRoM 15
NAMPeYo, NAMiNGHA AND MNA:
FoRGiNG CoNNeCTioNS THRoUGH ART & TiMe
The Nampeyo::Namingha Tradition & Transition exhibit at the Museum of Northern Arizona consists of an eclectic selection of pottery, paintings, sculpture and conceptual pho- tography stretching five generations to the great Hopi/Tewa potter Nampeyo (1857-1942). Nampeyo gained recognition for reviving a style that drew upon the early 13th & 14th century pot- tery of the nearby village of Sityatki, and for technical skills that elevated the reputation of Puebloan pottery around the world.
While the true focus of the exhibit is the art of her great- great-grandson Dan Namingha, and his two sons Arlo and Michael, the small selection of smooth, earth-toned jars and bowls by Nampeyo and her great-granddaughter Dextra (Mr. Namingha’s mother), keep her descendants’ departure into the modern and abstract rooted to the earth from which they came.
The majority of the 30 some-odd pieces in the exhibit are on loan from Philip M. Smith of Santa Fe, until it becomes a permanent part of the museum’s collection upon his passing. Mr. Smith, sensing the young artist’s talent and promise, be- gan collecting Mr. Namingha’s work in the early 1980s.
“When I looked at Dan’s work I saw the fluidity of his forms and his use of materials,” says Mr. Smith. “I did not see a Native American artist or a Southwestern regional artist. I saw an art- ist! I was not disappointed by my early assessment of Dan’s art. He experiments. His art continues to evolve.”
Mr. Smith had an eye for particularly pivotal moments in Mr. Namingha’s creative evolution, and the selection of works chronicle telling moments in the artist’s progression from more representational works such as Walpi Night Dance to the entire- ly abstract Black Mesa, and the highly graphic South of Hopi. Lat- er works are almost Japanese in their sparseness. In Landscape Study, a series of eight black brushstrokes manage to viscerally convey an undeniable landscape of clouds, sky and earth.
“Phil was struggling with what to do with his 70-piece col- lection,” says museum president Dr. Robert Breunig. “The question was, should he split it up between a lot of different museums so everybody got a little bit of it, or keep it togeth- er as a critical mass so future scholars and researchers could come see it all together in one place.”
Angak’sina by Dan Namingha is among the works exhibited at the Museum of Northern Arizona through May.
Eventually, it was decided that MNA was a natural choice to be the final home of Mr. Smith’s collection because of its close proximity to the family’s native Hopi lands. MNA also hosted Mr. Namingha’s first one-man museum show in 1977. Dr. Breunig, who was curator at the time, purchased Namingha’s Walpi Night Dance, a striking, modernist rendition of a full moon over the pueblo, created out of thick slabs of paint and flagstones of light. In 2007, Dr. Breunig returned to the museum as its presi- dent, and held a 30-year retrospective of Namingha’s work, in conjunction with the sculpture and paintings of his son Arlo, at which time he forged a relationship with Mr. Smith.
“When we were starting out about this exhibit, we talked about how Dan is in a lineage of really important artists — all these female potters who have been off the charts. And here’s Dan, who’s not a potter, but taking things in new directions. His sons are doing the same. The tradition is art: ceramic art- ists, painters, sculptors, and photographers.”
The work of Arlo and Michael Namingha continue the fam- ily’s tradition of transition, but like their predecessors, remain inspired by elements of the land.
Arlo works in stone, bronze and wood, the geometric shapes of his sculptures creating modernistic renditions of Hope/Tewa spiritual figures and symbols, and the rock forma- tions of the Southwest. Michael’s conceptual photography, combining provocative imagery and words, is a more radical departure from his artistic heritage. Heaven? poses that ques- tion over a frame of ominous clouds.
The Namingha legacy will not end with their art-making or this exhibit. Mr. Namingha has fond memories of a teacher on the reservation during his youth who was a huge inspiration. She provided him with pencils, paper and encouragement.
“He and Phil came up with the idea of the Namingha In- stitute, which we hope to launch the summer of 2015,” says Dr. Breunig. “It will offer two-week master classes for emerg- ing artists of all races that Dan and another master artist will teach. That’s Dan’s idea of giving back, having an art educa- tion program that gives up-and-coming artists a boost.”
Nampeyo::Namingha Tradition and Transition runs through May 14 at the Museum of Northern Arizona, 3101 N. Fort Valley Road, Flagstaff. Musnaz.org