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NEW MEXICO TRAVELER
Cover Story
2004 |
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| Dan Namingha and Arlo Namingha |
| build on the mighty heritage |
| of their famous artist ancestors |
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written by Suzanne Deats
photography by Herbert Lotz,
Lynn Lown and Joe Burgess
Generations of Indian Art
NIMAN FINE ART IN SANTA FE IS THE PRIMARY EXHIBIT SPACE FOR THE LATEST TWO MEMBERS OF A MAJOR Native American art family. Tewa-Hopi artist Dan Namingha is internationally famous. Now his son, Arlo, has weighed in with his own distinctive art.
Both men are descendants of Nampeyo (1860-1942), the first Indian artist to be nationally recognized and acclaimed.Nampeyo lived on the Hopi Reservation in Arizona. She created pottery designs based on the shards she found at Sikyatki, an early Tewa settlement. Her name became synonymous with Hopi pottery.
Nampeyo’s daughters and granddaughters continued the tradition. Her great-granddaughter, Dextra Nampeyo Quotskuyva, who is Dan’s mother and Arlo’s grandmother, is the best known of the Nampeyo potters working today. Dextra still lives at Hopi and produces highly sought-after pottery in her own style, based on the Nampeyo traditions.
Both Dan and Arlo Namingha employ Tewa-Hopi design, community life, ceremony, and architecture as their themes.
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Above: Niman Fine Art Showroom
in downtown Santa Fe.
Left: Dancer #1, Bronze Edition of 15,
21" x 6" x 6",
Arlo Namingha (c) 2002
Middle: Butterfly Maiden I, Bronze Edition of 15,
17 1/2" x 9" x 7,
Arlo Namingha (c) 2002
Right: Symbolism, Bronze Edition of 12,
26" x 14" x 10",
Dan Namingha (c) 2002 |
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| PASSAGE & CARDINAL DIRECTIONS #5 |
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| PASSAGE & CARDINAL DIRECTIONS #7 |
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| PASSAGE & CARDINAL DIRECTIONS #8 |
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| Above: The nine 2003 original works by Dan Namingha are all 24” x 24”, Acrylic on Canvas |
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| Both are descendants |
| of Nampeyo (1860-1942) |
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| to be nationally recognized |
| and acclaimed. |
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Both also incorporate the distinctive forms of the high mesas and vast distances of their ancestral lands, with their arching skies and ever-changing clouds.
However, there are marked differences in how they interpret these elements. Dan Namingha, a formidable painter and sculptor, shatters the formal elements into graphic fragments, then reassembles them into endless, kaleidoscopic compositions that
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make a very modern abstract statement. These magnificent, constantly evolving works of art deal with universal themes of duality, cultural fragmentation, and the continual incorporation of ancient verities into contemporary life. Dan Namingha has been honored by museums and cultural institutions the world over. His work has been exhibited and collected by the museums of major American and European cities. Under the auspices of the United States Government, he has taught workshops and has acted as a goodwill ambassador to indigenous cultures the world over. Among his many honors are the New Mexico Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts and the Harvard Foundation Award.
On a personal level, one of his proudest achievements is raising two sons, Arlo and Michael, with his wife Frances. The boys literally grew up in his studio, taking in the avalanche of images and the smell of the paint as well as the hard work and dedication and sheer excitement of their father’s stellar art career. Michael is now pursuing a wide-ranging art education; Arlo has immersed himself ever more deeply in his family, his community, and his studio, becoming in the process one of the most brilliant young
artists working today.
The art of Arlo Namingha is extremely refined. He pares his images down to their abstract essence. His calm, immaculate sculptures form a striking counterpoint to his father’s dynamic images, bringing perfect form to the integrity of tradition rather than bringing order out of fragmentation. In his hands, the electric motion of a ceremonial dancer is transfixed in time, with its radiant spiritual energy intact. Although his life is consummately traditional, Arlo is a man of his time. His vision knows no national boundaries.
Arlo has already, at this early stage in his career, attracted the notice that his astonishingly mature art merits. He exhibits at galleries in New York, New Mexico and Arizona. His work has been featured at the Museum of Arts and Design.
Perhaps the most striking thing about the art of Dan and Arlo Namingha is that everyone, novice and connoisseur alike, responds to it on a deeply intuitive level. In Santa Fe, an important visual arts destination, the biggest thrill of all may be simply to walk into Niman Fine Art and discover ancient American traditions brought full circle to tomorrow. |
EXHIBITIONS at:
Niman Fine Art
125 Lincoln
Avenue-Suite 116
Santa Fe, NM
87501
505-988-5091
Arlo Namingha
July 16, 2004
5-7:00 pm
Dan Namingha
Arlo Namingha
August 20, 2004 |
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| Top, Left: Dan and Frances Namingha Top, Right: Arlo and Nicole Namingha |
| 2004 New Mexico Traveler |
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Suzanne Deats has been a Santa Fe-based arts writer for over twenty years.
She has written or edited a dozen books and has written hundreds of articles for various periodicals.
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