New Mexico Museum of Art exhibition highlights exhibition by Native American artists
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Sunday, September 7, 2025


New Mexico Museum of Art exhibition highlights exhibition by Native American artists
Some of the more than two dozen photographs in the exhibition "New Native Photography 2011" at the New Mexico Museum of Art in Santa Fe, N.M. The exhibition is a collaboration between the museum and the Southwestern Association of Indian Arts for its annual Indian Market. AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan.

By: Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press



SANTA FE (AP).- A young Native American boy named Chii stares straight into the camera of Vicki Monks. His long, dark hair is tussled by the breeze as she captures his solemn expression while he waits for his family on the edge of a Yuchi burial ground in Oklahoma.

Monks is telling a story of sorts with Chii's photograph — a story about mixed American Indian ancestry.

An age-old tradition among indigenous people throughout the world, the art of storytelling has transcended words for Monks and the other Native American artists who are part of the "New Native Photography, 2011" exhibition at the New Mexico Museum of Art.

Through a collection of seemingly simple and other more complex photographs, the artists are working to convey their perspective on everything from ancestry and environmental concerns to stereotypes and tribal sovereignty.

"I think photography is an important element in storytelling," Monks told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "You can convey a lot of deeper meaning with photography and that adds to the body of storytelling."

For Monks, a Chickasaw who grew up with the Cherokees in Tahlequah, Okla., portraits of Native Americans of mixed tribal heritage has become a fascination. In the past, many tribes looked quite distinct from one another, she said.

She could see it all blended together in Chii.

"For such a young child, he had a lot of depth of character in his face," she said. "You can also see the ancestry in his face. You can see the Navajo, you can see the Yuchi, you can see the Chippewa. It's there in him."

Monks is one of 19 artists from various tribes, nations and pueblos across the United States featured in the exhibition, which stems from a collaboration between the museum and the Southwestern Association of Indian Arts for its annual Indian Market.

While the photographs in the exhibit are new, photographers have documented Native American life for more than a century. Studios started popping up in western outposts in the mid-1800s, and photographers such as Edward S. Curtis set out to document traditional Indian life before it was forever altered by westward expansion.

In the early 20th century, several Native American photographers also began to emerge, said Hulleah J. Tsinhnahjinnie, director of the C.N. Gorman Museum at UC-Davis and one of the curators for the exhibition.

"Natives and photography is nothing new," she said. "To everyone else, it's a novelty if you have no idea it's out there."

Today, there's plenty out there, with networks of Native American artists sharing their images through Facebook, Flickr and other social media websites.

As for the photographs in the exhibition, what's new is the style. Everything from layered digital images to collages and glitter are used to get the message across.

In one case, the late Kimowan Metchewais mixes photographic elements of an old junked automobile with the text of a traditional Cree language to create an image titled "War Pony 2010."

Da-ka-xeen Mehner's photographs explore the effects of people on the Alaskan environment. His images of the Alaskan oil pipeline and a rock outcropping scrawled with graffiti are framed by close-ups of otter fur, caribou skin and glacial ice.

The largest photographs in the exhibition come from Tiffiney Yazzie, a recent graduate of Arizona State University. She said the portraits of her mother serve as an exploration of the bond the two have as well the matriarchal element that runs through many Native American tribes.

Tsinhnahjinnie said understanding the meanings behind some of the photographs might be difficult for someone who doesn't know much about Native American life. But she said the exhibition offers an opportunity to learn more, even for tribal members from different parts of the country.

Her advice for those expecting stereotypical images of Native Americans: "You need to have an open mind, and you need to leave your cowboy hat at the door."

In the way storytelling has carried traditions for many tribes, Tsinhnahjinnie said the photographs in the exhibition have the power to leave a visual legacy.

"Just because they're not in the shape of the totem pole or they're not in the shape of things that look Indian doesn't mean they're not full of the ability to carry these stories," she said.

For Mehner, photography is a universal language that doesn't always require an understanding of specific cultural norms.

"Talking broadly about the world, I think photography is the language of our society," he said. "Image making is more common and we're bombarded with imagery every day. It's everywhere. It's become the natural language for storytelling."


Susan Montoya Bryan can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/susanmbryanNM


Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.










Today's News

August 31, 2011

New Mexico Museum of Art exhibition highlights exhibition by Native American artists

Michael Dweck gets $100K from Denim Co. for illegal use of iconic "Montauk" image

"In the Beginning Was the Word": Medieval gospel illumination exhibition at the Getty Museum

National Gallery of Australia announces Renaissance: 15th & 16th century Italian paintings

National Portrait Gallery marks the 400th anniversary of the birth of the artist William Dobson

Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University appoints Min Jung Kim as deputy director

Edgar Degas works on paper on view this winter at the Portland Museum of Art

Metropolitan Museum displays Romare Bearden's The Block for centennial tribute to the artist

The Sartin Collection of Asian Art & Fine Japanese Works of Art during Asia week at Bonhams New York

University of Virginia Art Museum selects Jennifer Farrell as curator of exhibitions

Fourth successive Artist Rooms tour announced by Tate and National Galleries of Scotland

Creative Time announces 2011 Leonore Annenberg prize for social change winner

Two Canadian and two Indian photographers shortlisted for $50,000 Grange Prize

Exhibition consisting of faxes submitted by nearly 100 artists opens at the Knoxville Museum of Art

Sotheby's Hong Kong to present the sale of Finest & Rarest Wines in October

Acclaimed International Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Fair in Chicago this November

Cartoonists plan Sept. 11 anniversary tribute

Library of Congress announces agreement with Small Press Expo for acquisition of independent comics and cartoon art

Mead Art Museum at Amherst College has placed on view nine works by photographer Jerome "Jerry" Liebling




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 




Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)


Editor: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful