Page 37 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Southwest USA & National Parks

A POR TR AIT OF THE SOUTHWEST  35

Contemporary sculpture by Native
American artists can be seen in galleries
across the Southwest. They include this
piece called Dineh (1981) by famous
American sculptor Allan Houser. Dineh
is the word the Navajo use to describe
themselves. This is a modernist work,
cast in bronze, with smooth planes and
clean lines appearing to represent the
dignity and strength of this couple.

Early Native American Art
Outstanding examples of early Southwestern
pottery, basketwork, and hide paintings have
been marvelously preserved because of the area’s
dry climate, in spite of the fact that they are made
from perishable organic materials such as clay,
yucca fiber, and painted animal skins. As a result,
more is known about early indigenous art here
than in any other part of North America. The
earliest pieces date back to around 200 BC,
with textiles a later development. By AD 600, the
styles of the three main groups: the Hohokam,
Mogollon, and Ancestral Puebloan peoples had
begun to merge and
to absorb outside
influences, seen in the
Mexican designs on
some ancient pots.

Mimbres pottery bowl

Silverwork has been
produced by the
Navajo, Zuni, and
Hopi peoples for
centuries. Since the
mid-19th century,
Navajo jewelers have
incorporated Spanish
styles. Zuni and Hopi
silver is made in a
different way. They
adopted an intricate
overlay process in the
1930s, distinguished by
raised silver patterns against
a dark background.

Carving focuses mainly on wooden dolls, or kachinas,
whittled mostly from pine or cottonwood. The Pueblo
peoples, especially the Hopi, are noted for their
masked figurines, which depict kachina spirits.

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