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July 10, 2007
Branding the Native Artist: What does it Cost to be Famous?
Artists Diego Romero (Cochiti), Tammy Garcia (Santa Clara) and Blue Rain Gallery director Leroy Garcia will consider questions of the Indian arts market with an emphasis on ceramic traditions. Bruce Bernstein will lead the discussion as panelists explore the professional and personal challenges artists face in promoting and marketing their work. In what ways do standards established by institutions,galleries and museums, affect individual practice and artistic freedom? Do market norms in Native arts inhibit one’s ability to pursue idiosyncratic forms or autobiographical projects? What strategies have artists used to negotiate the demands of a market that tends to focus on the individual vs. communal aspects of their lives as tribal members? Panelists discuss issues of the current Native arts market and their individual projects and experiences.
Diego Romero, a third generation Cochiti artist, established himself as a force in the contemporary arts world with his modern take on Mimbres pottery in the mid 90s. His Chongo Brothers, American Highways series (ca. 1995) demonstrates a thoughtful and self-reflexive approach to art practice that continues to inform his work.
Romero earned an MFA from the University of California, Los Angeles and is also an IAIA alum.
Tammy Garcia, a descendant of the renowned Tafoya family of Santa Clara Pueblo potters, is among the most successful Indigenous artists of today. Garcia mastered her craft through hands-on immersion with her mother and grandmother. She has evolved her career through numerous awards, museum collections (including the National Museum of the American Indian), private collections, commissions and publications.
Leroy Garcia is owner of the Blue Rain Galleries in Taos and Santa Fe. In 1992, Blue Rain Gallery opened on the north side of Taos with a handful of Native American painters and potters. In 1999 it moved to the historic Taos Plaza, adding a second location in Santa Fe in 2004. The gallery features more than 20 renowned artists in a range of mediums including, glass, painting, bronze sculpture, and jewelry. Bruce Bernstein is a prominent scholar in southwestern Native arts and culture studies. Publications include The Language of Native American Baskets: from the Weavers’ View (2003) and Tammy Garcia, Form without Boundaries (2003). Bernstein serves as a management consultant for the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA) and is also a curator at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC.
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