"Native Life in the Americas" at Harvard's Tozzer Library has spirit
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Art by Carlos Merida (1891-1984)
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By Chris Bergeron/Daily News staff
GHS
Posted Jul 24, 2011 @ 04:29 PM
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CAMBRIDGE —
Don't expect to find Geronimo or Pocahontas among the prints and paintings displayed in "Native Life in the Americas" at the Tozzer Library Gallery at Harvard University.
Thoughtful and informative, this exhibit provides a rarely seen glimpse of Native American life and culture through richly varied work by artists who deserve to be better known.
Visitors will see long-haired Navajo cowboys resting on the trail, painted by an Apache artist. Stepping into the library, they'll find portraits of costumed Haida, Iroquois and Kaw men from the "People of the South Wind," done by Sioux artist Oscar Howe.
Or they can follow the adventures of sly Coyote, a familiar character in folklore and myth, in vibrant seriographs by Daniel O. Stolpe who has devoted his life to depicting the traditional life of Native Americans.
Organized by Janet L. Steins, associate librarian for collections, this mid-sized show provides often gorgeous and informative images of Indian life, culture and spirituality by Native American and other artists. It runs through Feb. 28.
The exhibit's subtitle, "Artists' Views," reinforces Steins' goal of utilizing the library's collection of about 3,000 works of art to show Native American people and their lives as represented by those who lived it or close to it.
By not featuring works of nationally known artists like George Catlin or Frederic Remington, the exhibit encourages visitors to view works of varied artists who provide revealing looks at a wide spectrum of Indian life.
Several artists in the show, including Howe, received some support from Depression-era government programs.
Founded in 1886, the Tozzer Library holds 275,000 books. It adjoins the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology to which it was formerly affiliated.
During her initial research, Steins said she discovered more than enough exciting prints and paintings to build a strong show. "Our main goal came to bring attention to these worthy but little known artists."
Featuring about 40 paintings, prints and works on paper, the exhibit offers fresh views of Native Americans and their culture from Central America and Mexico to the Great Plains, from the Southwest to the eastern woodlands.
Though modestly sized, "Native Life" will remind visitors of the diversity of its subjects' lifestyles, clothing and history.
Approaching the gallery from the museum, visitors will first see Guatemalan artist Carlos Merida's 10 color lithographs presenting his interpretation of passages from the Mayan creation myth, Popol Vuh.
Combining a Mayan and Zapotec background, Merida juxtaposes his poetic images with stories of the adventures of the Hero Twins, mythological ancestors who recurs in different forms in other Native American stories.
Drawing almost entirely from the library's collection, Steins has found prints, silk-screens and illustrated books that offer often telling glimpses of Indian life and history of more than a dozen tribal groups.
For example, in 1943, Maud Oakes, an ethnologist from New York, captured in paint gorgeous "sand paintings" made during a Navajo ceremony to protect young men going to World War II. The elemental images of figures and symbols evoke the complexity of Navajo ritual and religion.
Adding depth and subtlety, "Native Life" explores myth, religious practice and combat through memorable images and sand paintings by native and non-native artists.
Steins said she hoped the exhibit would bring deserved attention to artists in the show, including two who are still living, Stolpe and Richard Dixon.
She has organized it mostly geographically in small groups in which similar objects or artifacts, such as photos of sand paintings or Indian drawings in ledger books of battles with white soldiers, open a window onto a particular time or place.
Two of the show's most striking images help viewers see the thrill of battle through Sioux eyes.
Originally painted on animal hide, "An Indian Horse Dance" by Kills Two depicts four mounted Sioux, including one in a horned-mask, and their horses, all colorfully decorated and painted, rearing together in a coordinated manner like Native American dressage.
Amos Bad Heart Buffalo, who witnessed the Battle of the Little Big Horn as a 7-year-old, is represented by a thrilling portrayal of nearly a dozen warriors returning from battle, leading the captured horses of their slain enemies.
Depending on their interests, Steins said viewers will appreciate and enjoy "Native Life" for different reasons.
"Different audiences might come to the exhibit with different goals," she said. "Some works in the show are more like documents of Native American life and culture. Others are pure art. There's something to interest everyone."
THE ESSENTIALS:
WHAT: "Native Life in the Americas: Artists' Views"
WHERE: Tozzer Library gallery, 21 Divinity Ave., Cambridge
WHEN: Through Feb. 28, 2012
HOURS: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Thursday and Friday; 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday; closed Saturday and Sunday. Hours will change in September.
ADMISSION: Free
INFO: 617-495-1000, http://hcl.harvard.edu/libraries/tozzer
Copyright 2011 The Milford Daily News. Some rights reserved
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Zoom
Photos
scan21.jpg
Contributed photo
Art by Carlos Merida (1891-1984)
scan21.jpg
scan26.jpg
scan20.jpg
scan2.jpg
By Chris Bergeron/Daily News staff
GHS
Posted Jul 24, 2011 @ 04:29 PM
Print Comment
CAMBRIDGE —
Don't expect to find Geronimo or Pocahontas among the prints and paintings displayed in "Native Life in the Americas" at the Tozzer Library Gallery at Harvard University.
Thoughtful and informative, this exhibit provides a rarely seen glimpse of Native American life and culture through richly varied work by artists who deserve to be better known.
Visitors will see long-haired Navajo cowboys resting on the trail, painted by an Apache artist. Stepping into the library, they'll find portraits of costumed Haida, Iroquois and Kaw men from the "People of the South Wind," done by Sioux artist Oscar Howe.
Or they can follow the adventures of sly Coyote, a familiar character in folklore and myth, in vibrant seriographs by Daniel O. Stolpe who has devoted his life to depicting the traditional life of Native Americans.
Organized by Janet L. Steins, associate librarian for collections, this mid-sized show provides often gorgeous and informative images of Indian life, culture and spirituality by Native American and other artists. It runs through Feb. 28.
The exhibit's subtitle, "Artists' Views," reinforces Steins' goal of utilizing the library's collection of about 3,000 works of art to show Native American people and their lives as represented by those who lived it or close to it.
By not featuring works of nationally known artists like George Catlin or Frederic Remington, the exhibit encourages visitors to view works of varied artists who provide revealing looks at a wide spectrum of Indian life.
Several artists in the show, including Howe, received some support from Depression-era government programs.
Founded in 1886, the Tozzer Library holds 275,000 books. It adjoins the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology to which it was formerly affiliated.
During her initial research, Steins said she discovered more than enough exciting prints and paintings to build a strong show. "Our main goal came to bring attention to these worthy but little known artists."
Featuring about 40 paintings, prints and works on paper, the exhibit offers fresh views of Native Americans and their culture from Central America and Mexico to the Great Plains, from the Southwest to the eastern woodlands.
Though modestly sized, "Native Life" will remind visitors of the diversity of its subjects' lifestyles, clothing and history.
Approaching the gallery from the museum, visitors will first see Guatemalan artist Carlos Merida's 10 color lithographs presenting his interpretation of passages from the Mayan creation myth, Popol Vuh.
Combining a Mayan and Zapotec background, Merida juxtaposes his poetic images with stories of the adventures of the Hero Twins, mythological ancestors who recurs in different forms in other Native American stories.
Drawing almost entirely from the library's collection, Steins has found prints, silk-screens and illustrated books that offer often telling glimpses of Indian life and history of more than a dozen tribal groups.
For example, in 1943, Maud Oakes, an ethnologist from New York, captured in paint gorgeous "sand paintings" made during a Navajo ceremony to protect young men going to World War II. The elemental images of figures and symbols evoke the complexity of Navajo ritual and religion.
Adding depth and subtlety, "Native Life" explores myth, religious practice and combat through memorable images and sand paintings by native and non-native artists.
Steins said she hoped the exhibit would bring deserved attention to artists in the show, including two who are still living, Stolpe and Richard Dixon.
She has organized it mostly geographically in small groups in which similar objects or artifacts, such as photos of sand paintings or Indian drawings in ledger books of battles with white soldiers, open a window onto a particular time or place.
Two of the show's most striking images help viewers see the thrill of battle through Sioux eyes.
Originally painted on animal hide, "An Indian Horse Dance" by Kills Two depicts four mounted Sioux, including one in a horned-mask, and their horses, all colorfully decorated and painted, rearing together in a coordinated manner like Native American dressage.
Amos Bad Heart Buffalo, who witnessed the Battle of the Little Big Horn as a 7-year-old, is represented by a thrilling portrayal of nearly a dozen warriors returning from battle, leading the captured horses of their slain enemies.
Depending on their interests, Steins said viewers will appreciate and enjoy "Native Life" for different reasons.
"Different audiences might come to the exhibit with different goals," she said. "Some works in the show are more like documents of Native American life and culture. Others are pure art. There's something to interest everyone."
THE ESSENTIALS:
WHAT: "Native Life in the Americas: Artists' Views"
WHERE: Tozzer Library gallery, 21 Divinity Ave., Cambridge
WHEN: Through Feb. 28, 2012
HOURS: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Thursday and Friday; 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday; closed Saturday and Sunday. Hours will change in September.
ADMISSION: Free
INFO: 617-495-1000, http://hcl.harvard.edu/libraries/tozzer
Copyright 2011 The Milford Daily News. Some rights reserved
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Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/archive/x633528731/-Native-Life-in-the-Americas-at-Harvards-Tozzer-Library-has-spirit#ixzz1RJJrA7bQ
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Copyright © 2006-2011 GateHouse Media, Inc. Some Rights Reserved.
Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
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Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/archive/x633528731/-Native-Life-in-the-Americas-at-Harvards-Tozzer-Library-has-spirit#ixzz1RJK2GP7n
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