Pueblo Artists: Portraits

Pueblo Artists: Portraits Jacket:
The Modern Pueblo People of New Mexico and Arizona extend a lineage of artists that encompasses some two thousand years, a history before the separation of human beings from nature, a tie when vocabulary that would distinguish artists from other creatures was not yet written. In the Pueblo worldview, as Rina Swentzell so eloquently attests in her essay, the spirit within the clay, wood, and rocks is what is alive to artists and to all who strive for connection in the world. In Pueblo terms, every person is a creator by virtue of his or her sensitivity to the spirit within, and each object of creation speaks of the unity out of which it is made.
Toba Tucker's expressive portraits honoring Pueblo artists were made over a two-and-a-half-year sojourn in the Southwest. These photographs form a record for history and art and the end of the twentieth century and portray Tucker's interest in the individuals and families who pass their artistic traditions from one generation to the next. The portraits reflect the sense of belonging that she so evidently found among the people who welcomed her into their homes, and attest to her abiding respect and deep appreciation for the native traditions that continue to carry the Pueblo spirit.