NAVAJO TEXTILES: Wearing Blankets and Rugs
NAVAJO TEXTILES - Images by Fabian Lewkowicz
Highlights from California Heritage Museum's NAVAJO TEXTILES opening reception on Thursday, May 16, 2013. The California Heritage Museum is pleased to present two new exhibitions: NAVAJO TEXTILES: Wearing Blankets and Rugs and Edward S. Curtis: Photogravures.
NAVAJO TEXTILES: Wearing Blankets and Rugs
During the 19th century, the Native Americans of the Southwest used colorful hand-woven wool textiles as clothing, cloaks, baby wraps, bedding, furnishings, saddle blankets and trade goods. Featuring 58 blankets made between 1860 and 1960, Navajo Textiles highlights the powerful aesthetics and graphic design trends that characterize the five periods of Navajo weaving. Additionally, the exhibition emphasizes the Navajo blanket weaving process including the materials, functions and design motifs. This exhibition was curated from the Mark and Jan Hilbert Collection.
Navajo rugs and blankets (Navajo: diyugí) are textiles produced by Navajo people of the Southwestern United States. Navajo textiles are highly regarded and have been sought after as trade items for over 150 years. Commercial production of hand-woven blankets and rugs has been an important element of the Navajo economy. Chief blankets and Saddle blankets were in especially high demand. Woven as utilitarian items meant for heavy use, they convey a superior sense of design and craft not seen in other tribal weavings.Dismissed for years by dealers and collectors, and under-represented in museum collections, today they are among the most sought-after collectible Navajo weavings. Their new-found appreciation is long overdue.
Near the end of the 19th century, weavers began to make rugs for tourism and export. Typical Navajo textiles have strong geometric patterns. The original function of Navajo weaving was to produce clothing: shoulder robes, rectangular panel or wrap-around-dresses, semi-tailored shirts, breechcloths and a variety of belts, sashes, hair ties and garters. The Navajo did not produce rugs until export markets expanded at the end of the 19th century, and their textiles served no specific religious or ceremonial function.
EDWARD S. CURTIS: Photogravures
Beginning in 1900 and continuing over the next thirty years, Edward Sheriff Curtis took over 40,000 images and documented the disappearing cultural heritage and history of over eighty Native American tribal groups, ranging from the Eskimo or Inuit people of the far north to the Hopi people of the Southwest. He captured the likenesses of many important and well-known people of his time, including Princess Angeline, aka Kickisomlo—the daughter of Chief Sealth of Seattle, Geronimo, Chief Joseph, Red Cloud, Medicine Crow and others. This monumental accomplishment consisted of more than 2,200 sepia toned photogravures accompanied by written information.
In 1906, J. P. Morgan provided Curtis with $75,000 to produce a series on The North American Indian. This work was to be in 20 volumes with 1,500 photographs. Morgan's funds were to be disbursed over five years and were earmarked to support only fieldwork for the books—not the writing, editing or production of the volumes. Curtis himself would receive no salary for the project, which was to last more than 20 years. Under the terms of the arrangement, Morgan was to receive 25 sets and 500 original prints as his method of repayment.
222 complete sets were eventually published. Curtis' goal was not simply to photograph, but to document as much about Native American traditional life as possible before their way of life disappeared. In the introduction to his first volume in 1907, he wrote: "The information that is to be gathered ... respecting the mode of life of one of the great races of mankind, must be collected at once or the opportunity will be lost." Curtis made over 10,000 wax cylinder recordings of Indian language and music. He recorded tribal lore and history and described traditional foods, housing, garments, recreations, ceremonies and funeral customs. He wrote biographical sketches of tribal leaders and in many cases, his material is the only written records that document their rich history.
This exhibition was funded, in part, by grants from Mark and Jan Hilbert, The Wells Fargo Foundation, The LLWW Foundation, The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, Copyland Los Angeles, the City of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs Department, Tom and Mary Ann Hays, Dawson Design, Pamela Singleton, Helen and L. O. Harding, DLR Electric, Dermot H. McQuarrie, The Victorian/Calamigos Ranch, Grand American Inc., as well as generous corporate, foundation and private individual donations.Located in the 1894 Historic Landmark Roy Jones house at 2612 Main Street in Santa Monica, the California Heritage Museum is a multicultural facility presenting exhibitions, lectures, publications and workshops that promote the history and cultures of the people that comprise our California community.
Hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Parking is free and handicapped facilities are available. On Sundays, the museum hosts a Farmer's Market in its parking lot. Visitors to the museum can find parking in adjacent "quarter metered" parking lots.
Fabian Lewkowicz
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