Georgia O'Keeffe in New Mexico: Architecture, Katsinam, and the Land
February 10, 2013 – April 28, 2013
Hamilton Building - Level 1
The exhibition brings to light a relatively unknown aspect of Georgia
O’Keeffe’s art and thinking—her deep respect for the diverse and distinctive
cultures of northern New Mexico. Georgia O'Keeffe in New Mexico:
Architecture, Katsinam, and the Land features 53 O’Keeffe works including
15 rarely seen pictures of different Hopi katsina tihu, along with examples of
these types of figures. Chronicling her artwork created in New Mexico, the
exhibition explores O’Keeffe’s paintings of New Mexico’s Hispanic and Native
American architecture, cultural objects, and her New Mexico landscapes.
Georgia O'Keeffe (1887–1986) began spending part of the year living and
working in New Mexico in 1929, a pattern she rarely altered until 1949. She
then made northern New Mexico her permanent home three years after the death of
her husband, Alfred Stieglitz (1864–1946), the celebrated photographer and one
of America’s first advocates of modern art. In addition to the astonishingly
beautiful New Mexico landscapes O’Keeffe painted, she was also inspired to paint
some of the area’s churches, crosses and folk art as well as Native American
subjects, such as architecture and katsina tithu, commonly referred to as
kachina or katsina dolls.
Katsinam, plural for katsina, primarily refers to the supernatural beings
that are believed to visit Hopi villagers during half of the year. Katsinam
have the power to bring rain, exercise control over the weather, help in many
of the everyday activities of the villagers, punish offenders of ceremonial or
social laws, and, in general, to function as messengers between the spiritual
domain and mortals. The figures are used to teach children about the different
Hopi katsinam. O’Keeffe was privy to viewing many cultural ceremonies and was
inspired by the beautifully detailed figurines.
The DAM exhibition will showcase American Indian artworks, such as katsina
tithu figurines, to provide viewers with an up-close look at the various
cultural artifacts that O’Keeffe was exposed to during her time in New Mexico.
While the New Mexico landscape remained a prominent part of O’Keeffe’s life
and art, very little has been known or written about her involvement with
Native American and Hispanic art and culture. However, almost immediately upon
her arrival in New Mexico, she responded to the area’s cultural richness.
Between 1931 and 1945, for example, O'Keeffe created numerous drawings,
watercolors, and paintings of katsina tithu. Because she retained and seldom
exhibited most of these paintings, they remain generally unknown to the public.
The exhibition was organized by the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. This
exhibition was made possible in part by The Burnett Foundation and the Georgia
O’Keeffe Museum National Council. Local support is provided by the generous
donors to the Annual Fund Leadership Campaign and the citizens who support the
Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD).
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