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Heard Museum 2301 N. Central Avenue Phoenix, AZ 85004 Tel.: (602) 252-8848 Web: heard.org Berlin Gallery:www.berlingallery.org POP! Popular Culture in American Indian Art April 16, 20100 through April 2011 Pop culture and innovation collide with traditional art forms and cultures in artwork that reflects contemporary issues and imagery in an often comedic, tongue-in-cheek way. ORIGINS OF POP Pop Art was the defining art movement of the 1960s. It was characterized by bold and vibrant color depictions of images drawn from everyday life such as commercial products, comics and iconic celebrities. Pop Art celebrated popular culture and drew inspiration from the film industry, advertising and popular music. American artists Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Claes Oldenberg were among those artists at the forefront of this art movement. American Indian artists Fritz Scholder and T.C. Cannon also embraced the art form as a means of expression in the ‘60s. Pop Art was firmly rooted in the 1960s, a decade of social change in which questions of identity, civic roles and political authority were paramount. Pop artists reacted to a new social landscape and challenged the accepted canons of the traditional art world through the images chosen, the manner in which they were portrayed and the techniques employed. Warhol championed the use of serigraphy or silkscreen printing to produce art in multiples and make it affordable for a broad clientele. Scholder had lithographs made of a great number of his paintings, allowing many people access to his artwork. POP ART TODAY Pop Art continues as a viable artistic expression, and its broad and enduring appeal   is due in part to the accessibility and familiarity of the subject matter found in popular    culture. Also, mass media — blogs, Twitter, texting, reality TV — have fueled and perhaps intensified the public’s fascination with each other and with celebrities. American Indian artists have depicted popular culture throughout the past four decades. Fashion, prints, paintings, pottery and beadwork are formats for contemporary Indian artists who draw imagery from popular culture. Their materials might include local New Mexico clay slips and vegetal paints, glass beads or acrylic paint. The subtle societal messages about consumerism Pop artists in the 60s conveyed have been supplanted today by more obvious messages of cultural diversity expressed by American Indian artists creating artworks for the 21st century. Jason Garcia, Santa Clara “Corn Maidens #13” Ceramic Tile, 2009 Heard Museum Collection Heard Museum 2301 N. Central Avenue Phoenix, AZ 85004 Tel.: (602) 252-8848 Web: heard.org Hopi Katsina Dolls: 100 Years of Carving February 27, 2010 through September 2010 Traditionally, katsina dolls are used as teaching tools. They are the carved representations of the Katsinam, the spirit messengers of the universe. The Katsinam come to Hopi in the form of clouds, which bear life-giving rain. The Katsinam appear in physical form in Hopi villages between the winter solstice and the beginning of the monsoon season in July. Different Katsinam represent different aspects of life; for example, the Soyoko Katsinam help teach children proper behavior. Misbehaving children are threatened with being given to the Soyoko, a threat that most often instills a great desire on the part of the child to correct his or her behavior! The dolls are given to Hopi girls, beginning in infancy, to help them learn about their responsibilities as women in the community. The dolls are carved by initiated Hopi men using cottonwood roots; in earlier days, all katsina dolls were colored with natural dyes, which made them non-toxic for a teething baby to handle. The dolls created for the open market, however, sport modern dyes and paints. While both the deeper meaning of a katsina doll and the material from which is carved – the root of the cottonwood tree – is unchanged through the centuries, carvers have transformed the outward representation of a katsina doll over time. Over the years, as more non-Hopi collectors became enamored with katsina dolls, and as power tools like Dremel rotary tools became available, Hopi katsina doll carvers also became more creative. The formerly flat doll carvings are now full-figured, with lifelike movement, brighter colors and elaborate regalia. Some contemporary carvers make the cottonwood root from which the dolls are carved seem to move as if it is the drape of a robe or a rain sash. Another facet of katsina doll carving is that young carvers like Ryon Polequaptewa are reviving the carving of more traditional dolls. Some of Polequaptewa’s dolls will be on display during the exhibition. At present time, there are roughly three approaches artists take to creating a figure. One approach is realism and action, representing a figure as it would look and move in ceremony. This approach has been greatly aided by the tools and materials developed since the 1970s. Another approach, begun in the mid-1980s, is to represent the Katsinam as carvers did in the early 1900s but with the contemporary carver’s individual style. The third approach is to carve not an actual katsina doll but a sculptural figure representing that represents the Katsina and may tell a story. Like the changing nature of katsina doll carving, the Heard’s collections come from many different sources and eras. The older collection dates as far back as the early 1900s and contains pieces from the Fred Harvey Company Collection. The company acquired katsina dolls through three major sources including C.L. Owen, an anthropologist with the Field Museum in Chicago. The Heard also has items from five other collections in its possession, including that of Sen. Barry Goldwater. The famous Goldwater Katsina Doll Collection bridges the early years of the 20th century and reaches into the mid-century years, as does the Joann Phillips Collection, which is rich in mid-20th century carvings. Selections from these older collections join the more contemporary carvings of the Sid and Ruth Schultz collection to create a visual history of katsina doll carving. The Schultz collection incorporates the best of recent carvings by artists who fully explore the use of modern carving tools and many distinctive treatments. However, even though katsina dolls created for the public have evolved into more of an artform, the ancient spirituality of the katsina religion still endures and is nurtured in Hopi communities. The ardor of collectors for the dolls that have been used to teach proper behavior and what it means to be a Hopi for millennia also endures.   Museum Hours Daily 9:30am - 5pm Admission $10 Adults $9 Seniors (65+) $5 Students with a valid student ID $3 Children (6-12) Children under 6 Free Public Guided Tours Daily at noon, 1:30pm and 3pm. Heard Museum members and American Indians: free.