Calendar of Events
CLEARLY INDIGENOUS
Conversations on Glass Art: Ramson Lomatewama (Hopi)
November 3, 2021
10:00 am through 11:00 am
Breaking the boundaries of what is deemed traditional Indigenous art, Museum of Indian Arts & Culture’s new exhibition, Clearly Indigenous, examines how Native artists reinterpret cultural narratives and designs in new mediums. The two-pronged exhibition focuses on how Native artists have melded ancestral ways with new methods and materials in glass, while concurrently examining the historical narrative of how glass art came to Indian Country from a historical perspective.
In this month’s program, Hopi artist Ramson Lomatewama will discuss his artistic process, inspiration, and development.
Ramson Lomatewama began his career as a poet and as a kachina doll carver; he became well-known as a carver at a young age. His interest in becoming a glass artist began with his fascination with seeing stained glass, and later he turned to blowing glass. He is best known for his blown and hand-sculptured glass spirit figures and corn maidens, which are drawn from his study of Hopi artifacts and iconography. His compelling spirit figures are inspired by photographs of rock art in Horseshoe Canyon in Canyonlands National Park, Utah. Lomatewama is a member of the Eagle Clan of the Hopi Tribe of Arizona.
The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session moderated by Lillia McEnaney.
Programs will take place on the first Wednesday of each month at 10am. The above biography is from the exhibition’s associated catalog, Clearly Indigenous: Native Visions Reimagined in Glass, available at the museum gift shop.
Facebook link (https://fb.me/e/TtMLHf60) and Zoom registration link (https://nmculture-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_v-ruwdC0SUmo4uBZdFmo0g)
Blue Corn Maiden, 2017. Blown glass with two-color overlay, hand-cut design, sandblasted, 16.2 x 3.5 x 3.5 in. Photograph by Kitty Leaken. Courtesy of the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture. Image