Hopi Collage of Petroglyph-style painting and Katsina Doll [SOLD]

Talaswaima was a founding member of Artist Hopid in 1973.  His Hopi name, Honvantewa, translates to Bear Making Tracks.  He was from the village of Shungopavi on the Hopi Reservation.  He attended school at the Hopi High School, and then attended the University of Arizona and the University of Northern Arizona.  He was a Museum director, composer, lecturer, storyteller, Katsina doll carver, and a painter. 

Artist Hopid had as its stated objectives the following: Utilize the artistic talents of the Hopi to instill pride and identity; educate the Hopi, non-Hopi and the non-Indians to the aesthetic and cultural values of the Hopi; experiment and test new ideas and techniques in art, using traditional Hopi designs and concepts; control their artistic talents and market; and research and document Hopi history and events through the visual arts for posterity.  By the 1990s, the artists were no longer working as a group.

This collage by Talaswaima is an attempt, I believe, to tie in the pre-history of the Hopi by presenting petroglyphs as the background and a Katsina doll as the center of attraction.  The petroglyphs are history and the Katsina doll is contemporary, even though it is a very old carving.  The artist left the Katsina doll undecorated to let it represent any or all Katsinas, not a particular one.  The painting is signed in lower right and dated 73.

Condition:  original condition

Provenance:  from the collection of Katherine H. Rust