The South Riding RV Travels

715

16th September 2012 - Heard Museum - Phoenix AZ

We went to the Heard museum in Phoenix which is the premier museum in the South West for native art and culture.

This is a modern representation of an Aleut (Alaska) Bering Sea chief kayak hunter's hat from the mid 1800s. The base is bent Sitka spruce.

This shirt and leggings from the Jicarilla Apache date from c1880. Their beadwork is wonderful.
The jacket and boots are fairly modern clothes for Apache women but made in traditional styles. Younger women have more ornamentation on their clothes and widows have none.
There are many storyteller legends amongst the Indian nations. This commemorates one of the strongest stories. This is a Tewa Tse Ping which means 'bellybutton' represented by the bowl. We all come from the earth and the bowl reminds us of that. Each home has a hole in the centre to remind us where we come from.
This glass fence is also Tewa art and represents the common natural fencing materials like ocatillo and saguaro cactus. The title is Indigenous Evolution.
This is an example of Zuni pottery. The designs all have meaning which can be quite complex. The hatching on this water jar represents rain.
The Hopi have hundreds of Katsina dolls each of which has a story.
A close-up of a few. They are used in storytelling.
This is a representation of a Katsina village dance. The male elder takes care of the dancers and encourages them in their singing.
The finest basket weavers in the south west are the Tohono O'odham. These are examples of their work from the 1900s.
This bronze depicts two Apache fighters. Geronimo's strategy was to fight in small groups and often as pairs.
Jan would have liked to take this bowl home. It is a modern pot made by Hopi Preston Duwyenie in which he pays homage to 'Clay Woman' for her assistance
These are also examples of Hopi pottery. The Hopi have been potters for hundreds of years.
There is a story that we are now in the fourth world which we entered through a hole in the sky of the third world. This pot follows the story.
A family tree of a pottery family showing the number of Hopi artists who have become noted potters. It also shows how styles have changed.
Representational sculptures in polished stone. There is a real feeling for the natural materials of the earth.
Women play an important role in native society and many of the sculptures depict women.
A collection of early photographs of native Americans dominated one wall. I think these were all leading members of Apache groups..