These identical criteria are what put the finest
contemporary Native American arts on a par with the great antique
Indian pieces in museum and private collections. If contemporary
Native American crafts are judged on their own merits, without
comparing them to the artifacts of the past, one finds vital
and energetic art forms that can be appreciated for their own
individual beauty as well as for their representation of time-honored
traditions. New works make their own statements about centuries-old
cultures. Contemporary Native crafts are not quaint examples
of fading lifeways. They are art works that represent the very
soul of the original American experience, an experience that
has not died.
What elevates craft to art is the inclusion
of part of the inner being of the maker. If an individual reproduces
in exacting detail an existing museum piece, such as a Blackfoot
war shirt, she is practicing a finely honed craft. If she adds
a bit of herself and her modern experience to that shirt, it
becomes her own expression and rises to the level of art. The
highest echelons of contemporary Native American crafts are more
than mere repetition of the old ways produced as souvenirs. They
represent the spiritual values of a people, and provide a glimpse
into the soul of a culture.
What separates much of Indian life from the
majority of mass American culture is that Native Americans have
managed to preserve more spirituality in day-to-day life even
as they evolve with the modern world. For example, Pueblo dances
are more than reenactments of ages-old rituals; they are modern
ceremonies and celebrations that appeal to the same spiritual
beings that have guided the native people of northern New Mexico
for centuries. Through these ceremonies, the old ways are passed
to the young, and the spiritual values that have kept their cultures
viable are celebrated. In the same way, modern Native American
pottery, bead work, basketry, carving and weaving are not just
reproductions of ancient techniques. They have a place within
contemporary culture as an expression of the soul and spirituality
of Native American people.
In Native American arts, as in the fine arts
arena, the marketplace dictates to some extent what an artist
produces. The bulk of Navajo silver work and Pueblo pottery produced
in the early twentieth century was made in response to a demand
from tourists. But most Native American crafts people won't produce
a piece that runs completely contrary to the tradition of their
particular tribe. These artist do not separate art from other
phases of life. Art is part of the whole, an integral element
of the grand scheme of life; tradition and spirituality naturally
guide the production of their crafts.
Today's Native American artists learn the traditional
arts by watching their elders . . . and they add elements that
work in the modern world without abandoning the soul of the past.
In cultures where most information has been passed orally, traditions
fluctuate as part of the great circle of life. There is room
in Native American culture for flexibility while preserving the
essence of tradition.
Some of that flexibility is evidenced in the
materials used in arts and crafts. For centuries, Native Americans
have traded with other tribes and adopted the use of materials
not native to their culture. This practice continues today. Just
as people have abandoned the use of ice houses and horses in
favor of refrigerators and automobiles, a contemporary Indian
artist might use commercial paints on commercially-tanned hides
in place of earth paints on brain-tan. Availability of materials
always plays a role. For some artists, new materials simply work
better; for others, such as Pueblo potters, there is no replacement
for the same materials that have been used for centuries.
What to look for
As in all art work, there are levels of skill
that generally determine the value of a piece. A tighter weave
in a blanket or more symmetrical shape in a pot will partially
dictate price. The buyer should look for mastery of technique
and the extent to which the piece reflects the tradition of the
tribe of the artists, as well as how it represents the modern
Native American experience. The wise collector looks for the
young and up-and-coming along with those who have established
themselves at the forefront of their fields. Younger artists
are those who, for the most part, show innovation and incorporate
new ideas in traditional art forms to reveal the vitality of
contemporary Indian life.
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