What would fashion history look like if Native American designers were consistently represented in mainstream style magazines, department stores and fashion shows?
How would a Hopi designer take 1960s Mod fashion to the next level? How would a Lakota designer add authenticity to '70s hippy style? How would a Navajo designer contribute to Pin-up fashion? And how would a Northwest Coast Haida designer enrich techno culture? What about a Mohawk hip-hop fly-girl stylist? That would be fashion history, to the next level.
I want to introduce you guys to a totally cool new collective called Presence 4.0.
They are a group of three Navajo women (Nanibaa Beck, Jaclyn Roessel, and Chelsea Chee) who recently launched a style blog that showcases the ingenuity and creativity that Native American people utilize in styling themselves.
This website documents Native participation in fashion by featuring individuals and their expressive style on the streets (and dirt roads!).
And finally, here is my follow-up post on some of the award winning clothing and accessories at the
54th Annual Heard Indian Fair & Market that was held this past weekend in Phoenix.
Some newer names showed up on the list of winners, joining the ever-awesome D.Y. Begay, Dyanni Hamilton-Youngbird, Dallin Maybee, and Jamie Okuma, who were all awarded ribbons (as you'll see below).
To the left is a dress titled, 'Dentalium Shell Medicine Dress,' made by Catherine Blackhorse (Seminole), which won a Blue Ribbon in its division, but it also took home the Best of Class award for Classification VI: Textiles, Weavings, Clothing.
All of the photos in this post were taken by me during the Friday night Best of Show reception.
Turtle Mountain Chippewa jewelry artist Samuel Greatwalker LaFountain took home two awards this past weekend at the annual Heard Indian Fair & Market for his Black Jade Bracelet.
He won First Place in his Division, Personal Adornment, and he also won the Best of Class award for Classification I: Jewelry and Lapidary, beating out all other jewelry artists.
Last night I had the great opportunity to check out the 54th Annual Heard Indian Fair & Market Best of Show event, held in Phoenix at the Heard Museum (many thanks to Sarah Sense and Andrea Hanley).
It is so cool to see all of the Market winners in one room. It's like the best of the best, and sometimes it can be overwhelming!
I love to run around the winners showcase room and check out all the clothing and accessories that won awards. And what I found is that a lot of objects of adornment are big winners at the Heard. It's exciting to see the beadwork, the patterns, the cool ideas, the new styles. Click below to peep images of a few of them.
Guest blogger I.D.K. returns for his second post on Beyond Buckskin: “Before y'all Heard about it.”
With the Heard Indian Market mania just around the corner, I wanted to take a few moments (paragraphs) to address the timeless topic of financial value in the art marketplace. No doubt, there are many distinguished artists who command a premium for their work. They've honed their craft, developed a consistent fan-base, and can stand alone in any situation that is required of them.
Jamie Okuma (Luiseño/Shoshone-Bannock) began working with beads as a child creating her own dance regalia for powwows near her home, on the La Jolla Luiseño Reservation.
In high school, Okuma made her first miniature jingle dress, which she placed on a doll figure, and thus, the Jamie Okuma we know today emerged.
Historical accuracy, exemplary workmanship, and keen attention to detail are the hallmarks of her dolls, which are also frequently referred to as ‘soft sculptures’ since the term ‘doll’ seems to diminish the aesthetic range of these creations.
Terminology aside, the magnificent small wonders that she creates replicate life in miniature.
I had the great opportunity to meet the wonderful miss Sheridan MacKnight a few weekends ago at the Heard Indian Market. She is primarily a ledger artist, but she also creates these little (big) earrings. And they are badass. I bought a pair (I'm a sucker for earrings) and everyone who has seen me wear them, throws in a compliment ("wow, I like your earrings"). They are stunning. I think I have worn them almost everyday since I got them.
So, this is a special post - an homage to my new earrings.
(Me rockin' Sheridan MacKnight earrings surrounded by the artwork of America Meredith and Linda Lomahaftewa. March 2011. Heard Indian Market in downtown Phoenix. Photo by America Meredith)
Navajo fashion designer Penny Singer was in her usual booth space this year at the Heard Indian Market, and I had a couple minutes to catch up with her. She had a picture of one of her clients wearing a Penny Singer jacket to a dinner with President Obama. That's pretty badass. Another one of her clients was in the booth and remarked that she had seen the tv broadcast of the event, and saw the jacket and knew it was a Penny Singer. Double badass.
Artist Craig Kelly (Navajo) is a jeweler who creates 3-D work out of mixed media. He's won awards for his work and participates in the Santa Fe and Heard Indian Markets. Kelly incorporates unusual materials, such as carbon fibers or computer wiring, and beads a variety of subject matter (from skulls in film strips, to nudes, to tropical sunsets!), to create his jewelry designs. He grew up in Church Rock, NM and now lives in Albuquerque.
It's always fun to see what Pilar Agoyo has been up to with her fashion designs. Since she also works as a costume designer for films, her clothing designs bring a welcomed edginess to the Indian Market scene.
Agoyo also took home an Honorable Mention award for her coat, 'Whisper,' pictured above.
As I was zipping around the booths at the Heard Indian Market, I came around the corner to see brothers Wayne Nez and David Gaussoin - two of Indian country's most avant-garde jewelry-makers.
The first thing out of my mouth was, "Where's the ribbons?!"
I was, of course, referring to the lack of blue ribbons (or any other color ribbons) on their table. I assumed they would have won something - an honorable mention at least. Come on.
Thomas "Breeze" Marcus and Douglas Miles opened their co-curated show, Indian Ink II, during the Heard Indian Market weekend.
Indian Ink II was held at Pravus Gallery in downtown Phoenix and highlighted a number of emerging Native artists whose works "push out and ascend above the boundaries of stereotypical, traditional, and 'contemporary' Native American art." Almost every piece included in the show stuck with the black-and-white graphic palette, but there were a few well-placed punches of color (in particular, Melissa Cody's awesome Navajo weavings).
Margaret Roach Wheeler (Chickasaw/Choctaw) is one of my favorite artists to check in on at the Heard Indian Market. All of her garments are hand woven, and each year she brings a new style that she's been working on. You have to see her garments in person to appreciate the high-quality of the materials and her finely woven work is truly exceptional.
Last weekend I went to the 53rd Annual Heard Indian Market held at the Heard Museum in downtown Phoenix.
One of the great things I like about the Heard Market is catching up with the designers to see what they've come up with next. I also like meeting the young new designers breaking through, making cool accessories and jewelry out of beads and silver.
I'll be posting pictures on specific artists within the next week, but here's a sneak peek:
This Saturday and Sunday, the Heard Museum will host it's 53rd Annual Guild Indian Fair and Market, which showcases modern and traditional forms of American Indian art and culture.
The event features work from more than 700 of the nation's upcoming and established artists who create one-of-a-kind jewelry, pottery, textiles, and more.
Flagstaff artist Melissa Cody, previous winner of the event's Conrad House Award, will be in attendance this year with her bright woven rugs.
Check out this fantastic blog post by Paul Niemi at Uncle Paulie's World, who is spotlighting designers from the Heard Indian Market -
Saturday, March 13, 2010 Heard @ The Heard 2010: Distinctively Fashionable Native Designer Pilar Agoyo “I mainly work in vinyl, a little bit of leather as well, but...for some reason, it’s a lot of vinyl.”—Pilar Agoyo, Native fashion designer
Pilar Agoyo is one of my favorite new artists. My background is in fashion PR, and it is always easy for me to appreciate someone with a unique vision.
While I have heard her name uttered several times from friends we have in common, Pilar and I met for the first time last weekend at the 2010 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair and Market. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend last month's successful fashion show “Thunder Run” in which she participated at Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino. I was thrilled, however, when I found out Pilar was showing her designs at the Heard. My friends who know and have worked with her love and respect her. Native American jewelry collectors might also know her because she is the wife of master silversmith Cody Sanderson.
Pilar’s fashions have been called many things—“cutting edge”, “goth”, “punk”, “chic”, “elegant” and even “risqué”. Based on the pieces I saw at the Heard show, I would even add to that a little “retro.” However you label her style, the fact remains clear that Pilar is cool, calm, collected, well-spoken and adorable, in my opinion. She is very approachable and I was excited that she was willing to talk to me about her designs on camera.
Perhaps my favorite thing about Pilar is that she costume designs for film. She shared that many of her collections come to her as a result of working on a particular project. This is inevitable, since films, especially period pieces, require such attention to detail. These images fill a designer’s mind and are hard to let go of. The day we spoke, Pilar was showing a dress that was made of a wool plaid embellished with vinyl leaves—very cool!
Remarkably, Pilar chooses not to use the traditional clothing pattern, rather, she cuts and lets a piece become whatever it may. She is also known for her unconventionality when it comes to her materials of choice. In addition to utilizing a hodge podge of textiles including silk and velvet, Pilar makes pieces her own with everyday items such as newspapers, masking tape, hangers and more. Green before it was hip to be green, Pilar explains that she embraced this design philosophy while still in college. Aren’t we glad she did!
Get to know Pilar by watching my video interview with her on the closing day of the 2010 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair and Market here:
This past weekend I had the great opportunity to meet Orlando Dugi. I first noticed his work at the Best of Show Reception – which highlighted all of the award-winning artwork. Dugi won two Honorable Mention awards for his 'Tropic Midnight' evening bag and his 'Exquisite Virility' cocktail purse.
I found this bio:
"My name is Orlando Dugi. I am Navajo from the Towering House Clan, born for the Bitterwater people. I am originally from Gray Mountain Arizona, currently living in Taylorsville City, Utah. I have been doing beadwork for just over 20 years. At a young age I remember seeing my father and my grandmothers creating beadwork items for sale. When I was 8, I decided to try it for myself. From then on I began making various things including powwow regalia for myself as well as my sister and niece. I am now focusing upon merging into the art industry, currently working on a series of elegant evening accessories. My work is contemporary in which I like to capture the different subtle changes of color on the surface of these different objects."
Dugi creates fantastic purses, earrings, and hats, and he's working on breaking into couture – I can't wait to see what ideas he has for garments!
(all photos were taken by me at the Heard Indian Market)
The Heard Museum Indian Art Market is always a fantastic event - I've gone every year since 2005 (that's 6 years in a row!) and I have no intentions of stopping - I love it! It's the second largest Indian Art Market (next to the SWAIA market in Santa Fe in August), but, I think, it's the most creative.
I hope to post some post-Heard Market artist profiles on this thing in the near future, and my first is a profile of my friend Thomas Marcus, aka Breeze.
Along with several other Native/Indigenous artists, Breeze shared some of his artwork at the Protect Ya Neck art show at Barsmith in Phoenix this past weekend.
I snapped a pic of this collaboration, and he explained it on his blog :
This month Tyson Powless of Un3ek Sy5tems and I have worked together to create this new image of Geronimo holding an Ak-47, with a sunburst halo around Geronimo and the assault rifle. The title of the image is "Sacred Soldiers". It symbolizes the intensity that so many people possess deep down in their soul and bones. It also is a tribute to those who have gone on, who at one point in their lives, were fighting for their land and people. As Indigenous peoples (all over the world), we are all proud of where we come from, and at the same time we still defend and fight for our people, and cultural identity, and right to exist in so many forms. -"Our Existence is our Resistance"
Silk screen prints. Hand printed black ink on white Stonehenge archival paper. 22" x 30". Series of 24. Each one is signed and numbered by both artists. $60 each unframed. ***For additional pricing info on framing and out of state shipping please email housebroken285@yahoo.com*** A limited number of black ink on white T's are available also. $20 each. $5 for shipping and handling.
King Galleries of Scottsdale present: Virgil Ortiz: Contortionista: VO Cirque Performers Saturday, March 6, 2-4 pm during the 52nd Annual Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market 2010
The fantasies and imagination of Virgil Ortiz take a new turn in Contortionista: VO Cirque Performers. This new series of clay figures and vessels delight the senses and amaze the eye. Virgil has taken inspiration from the late 1800s Munos figures of Cochiti Pueblo which depicted Southwestern traveling circus sideshow acts. Today, Virgil’s pieces tumble, twist and meld together as never thought possible before. They seemingly defy gravity as they rise above the pedestals, taking flight to the ceiling and the walls. Virgil brings Contortionista: VO Cirque Performers to the center ring and delivers an unexpected exhibition.
What would fashion history look like if Native American designers were consistently represented in mainstream style magazines, department stores and fashion shows?
