PLAYING FAVORITES
Impressive and Gorgeous Voices of Art & Tradition By Nancy Wiechec
Spoken Through Clay: Native Pottery of the Southwest—The Eric S. Dobkin Collection by Charles S. King (Museum of New Mexico Press)
F
Photo from the Palace of the Governors Photo Archives, courtesy of Museum of New Mexico Press
Nampeyo is pictured in Hano Pueblo, Arizona, ca. 1915–1925.
rom the sphere of coffee-table books comes this gorgeous encyclopedic offering showcasing Pueblo artists, their pottery and stories. Spoken Through Clay is a visual journey through the capacious pottery collection of Eric S. Dobkin, philanthropist and former partner at Goldman Sachs. Personal narratives by the artists tell of their families, traditions, creative struggles and clay collected by hand from the earth. “When I sit down and I make a piece of pottery, I may be alone, but the room is full,” said potter James Ebelacker of Santa Clara Pueblo. “My grandmother and mom are there, as are the songs they would sing. And I can hear my grandfather tapping and can feel the beat of distant drums. They are always right there with me, speaking to me and influencing my work.” Author King points to Hopi-Tewa potter Nampeyo (1859-1942) from the village of Hano in northern Arizona as starting the revolution that gave rise to modern Pueblo pottery. She created a “distinctive style of pottery that projected
her own artistic inventiveness while extolling the history and culture of the Hopi-Tewa people,” King said. “Her impact cannot be overstated.” The section on Nampeyo reveals that she was forward-thinking and utilized modern marketing to sell her works. She demonstrated her art in 1905 and 1907 at the Harvey Company’s Hopi House at the Grand Canyon. In the forward, we learn that Dobkin’s draw to Native American pottery began after seeing a black micaceous clay piece by Nambé potter Lonnie Vigil. Dobkin said he was struck by how the pot was made— not on a pottery wheel, but by rolling long ropes of clay with bare hands. “Its shape, texture, size and beauty were simply overwhelming.” Substantial in content and form, Spoken Through Clay is more than 350 pages bound in an 11.5x14-inch cloth cover. It exhibits more than 300 vessels in large color photographs that reveal detail and intricacy. Pictures of living artists featured in the book were executed by Diné photographer Will Wilson. His arresting portraits made using an early photographic process would make for an excellent book of their own. Spoken Through Clay is available for purchase at museum shops and bookstores. For direct orders, call (800) 249-7737 or visit www.mnmpress.org.
In each issue, the magazine features books, film, music or other media catching our attention. Some favorites have regional affiliations and some are picks we think are just plain worth checking out.
34
Northern Arizona's Mountain Living Magazine