By BETSY ANDREWS
For the Express
At birth, we are wrapped in blankets; in death, enshrouded in them. In between, blankets comfort us, warm us, and decorate our homes. Renowned artist Marie Watts uses them to explore themes of ritual and community as well as political and personal history.
"As I fold and stack blankets they begin to form columns that have references to linen closets, architectural braces, memorials, sculpture, the great totem poles of the Northwest, and the conifer trees with which I grew up."
Watts's striking wall hangings and sculpture—all using blankets or pieces of blankets—highlight Sun Valley Center for the Arts' new exhibit, "Album: Shifting Native Stories," which places two- and three-dimensional works by contemporary Native American artists side by side with traditional Native basketry in an exploration of what it means to be a Native American artist immersed in both history and a modern artistic community. In conjunction with the visual arts exhibits running Aug. 4 through Oct. 20, in both Ketchum and Hailey, readings by nationally known authors, a musical performance, and workshops will address the interwoven issues of assimilation, identity and innovation.
Watts, a member of the Iroquois Nation, holds an MFA in painting from Yale University, and has gained national attention for her originality and vision. "She was taking very typical modernist forms...but using material that was textured and had soft, worn colors instead of the hard edges and dense colors more typically associated with modernism," said Kristin Poole, The Center's artistic director. "When I found out about her Native background I realized the work had even deeper and richer roots than I had first imagined."
In striking contrast to Watts' multicolored, multidimensional work, Anne Appleby's nature-inspired paintings speak in subtle tones. Appleby, whose work can be found in museum collections including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, apprenticed with an Ojibwe spiritual leader and master craftsman for 15 years. Spare at first glance, her work reveals surprising depth. She creates surfaces composed of up to 30 layers of a translucent oil and wax medium that changes over time, like uncured wood. Seattle Times art critic Robin Updike noted that Appleby "can describe, in oil paint and wax, the difference between the blue gray of aspen bark at one time of year to the silvery, dove-gray it becomes later."
Larry McNeil, a member of the Tlingit and Nisga'a Nations and Associate Professor of Photography at Boise State University, also layers media, but very differently from Appleby. His collages, on display at The Center in Hailey, merge photographs and text in wry and witty combinations reminiscent of journal pages. According to the artist, McNeil's work addresses "how I interact with my own culture, the mainstream culture and the sometimes incongruous and ludicrous intersection of both."
Traditional basketry often reveals surprises of its own: Century-old Aleut baskets made of rye grass that weavers split with their fingernails are woven so tightly they resemble linen cloth; Tlinget basket designs reflect the influence of Russian traders and nineteenth-century tourism on the cultures of early coastal Alaska.
Internationally renowned singer Pura Fe, who has performed with Neil Young, Jackson Browne, and Bonnie Raitt, also explores the intersection of cultures. Joel Selvin of the San Francisco Chronicle calls the singer "astonishing...searing...Tuscarora tribe descendant Pura Fe blends world beat rhythms with Southern blues and her own powerful vocals." Founding member of the celebrated a capella trio, Ulali, Pura Fe will perform on September 16.
"Album: Shifting Native Stories" is sponsored by the Paul G. Allen Charitable Foundation, Jeri L. Waxenberg and the Michael S. Engl Family Foundation.
'Album' activities in August
"Album: Shifting Native Stories," Aug. 4-Oct. 20. Opening Celebration on Friday, Aug. 4, 5:30-8 p.m. Exhibiting artist Marie Watt will do an informal walk-through of her work at 6 p.m.
"Keet H'it, Killer Whale House," Aug. 9--Oct. 27, Sun Valley Center for the Arts, Hailey. An exhibit of multimedia images by Larry McNeil.
"Button Blankets" (for kids ages 6--9), Saturday, Aug. 5, 2--5 p.m. Children will create Northwest Indian ceremonial robes, or "button blankets," with Sarah Lyle.
For details of September and October's scheduled events for this multidisciplinary project visit www.sunvalleycenter.org.
Larry McNeil?s digital stochastic print, ?In True Spirit of White Man,? will be shown at The Center, Hailey, as part of its new exhibition.
