Southwest Indian Art Fair

February 23 & 24, 2013, on the Museum's Front Lawn

2013 Featured Artist Gerry Quotskuyva:
the Michelangelo of Hopi Carvers
by Darlene Lizarraga

Award-winning Hopi carver, sculptor, painter, printmaker, and community activist Gerry Quotskuyva is the featured artist of Arizona State Museum’s 20th annual Southwest Indian Art Fair, February 23 and 24, 2013.

The Michelangelo of Hopi Carvers

I clearly remember chatting with Quotskuyva at our 2010 show and dubbing him “the Michelangelo of Hopi carvers” after he had described to me his artistic method—one that brought to mind that of the cinquecento Florentine master. “When I look at a piece of cottonwood root, I can see the figure inside it,” he said. “All I have to do is bring it out.”

And like the master himself, Quotskuyva works in more than one medium, is successful in all of them, and his numerous commissions include an ongoing multi-year project from a Catholic institution.

I Know Who I Am

Quotskuyva identifies most closely with the Hopi community, though he is also of Yaqui and Hispanic heritage.

“I have always lived as a Hopi,” he explains, “but not on the mesas.” The eldest of six grew up in Flagstaff with his mother and siblings (2 brothers and 3 sisters), spending summers with his maternal grandfather, William Quotsquyva, at Kykotsmovi on Third Mesa

“I am fortunate to be from a culture that is very religious, but because I don’t live at Hopi and I don’t participate in the day-to-day living practices I unfortunately feel excluded. Nevertheless, I would say that I do know who I am.”

Quotskuyva says he did not learn to carve from his grandfather, though a carver of renown himself. The elder’s work is featured in the Goldwater Collection at the Heard Museum in Phoenix and at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.

Chef to the Stars

“I learned to carve doing ice sculptures as a chef. I was known as ‘the knife person.’ I was the go-to guy whenever rapid and precise chopping was needed.”

Starting out in the restaurant business as a dishwasher when still in high school, Quotskuyva quickly became head of the Hobo Joe’s kitchen in Flagstaff. Eventually, he came to Tucson and worked at the Palomino Club and Tucson National before attending classes first at Pima Community College and then at the University of Arizona in the 1990s.

Ultimately, he became chef to the stars, first scoring a job cooking for Willie Nelson during the remake of Stagecoach, shot primarily at Old Tucson Studios. “I cooked fish specially for Mr. Nelson. After that he started recommending me in Hollywood and so I also cooked for Clint Eastwood during the filming of Heartbreak Ridge, Matthew Broderick during the filming of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, and Martin Short during the filming of Three Amigos.”

A Family Legacy

“I started to carve katsinas because my mom asked me to. She and my brother would sell my pieces. Now I feel like, in some way, I’m carrying on in her father’s footsteps.”

Like his grandfather, Quotskuyva has commissions coming in from around the country and is included in the collections of at least five public institutions and numerous private ones.

“One of my first dolls was a Corn Maiden. She has become my signature motif. I’ve even represented her in bronze. It is the Hopi custom to give away your first piece so I gave my first bronze Corn Maiden to my mom.”

A Connection to the Pope

Because of an ongoing, multi-year commission from Xavier University, a Catholic institution in Cincinnati, Quotskuyva has gained an interest in the ceremonial practices of the Jesuits he has come to know over the years. He sees parallels to his own culture.

“During the papal inauguration of Benedict XVI in 2005, for example, I saw similarities. And, as a member of the Bear Strap Clan, I found it interesting when they unveiled the papal coat of arms and told the story of the bear featured in the center of the shield.”

Xavier University has accumulated about 47 dolls from Quotskuyva so far. Over the years, the standing order has decreased from 4 to 3 per year. Ultimately the collection will be displayed in the main entry of the institution’s administration building.

Continuing to Honor Hopi Life

In the midst of an impressive slate of projects, Quotskuyva has a new vision.

“I am currently embarking on a series of bronzes. We know bronzes from romantic representations of Western or cowboy subjects, but we don’t really see that in Native American-made art, especially not in Hopi art. My new project is a 6-part series of bronzes that will include a Michelangelo-inspired piece I’ll call For the Children, influenced by the design and iconography of the Creation of Adam panel on the Sistine Ceiling.”

The other pieces in his ambitious series include Corn Maiden, Cultural Fortitude, Grandmother’s House, Grandfather’s Dreams and For the Children —all honoring aspects of Hopi life and culture.

Quotskuyva also carves in pipestone and paints in acrylics. Whatever the medium, he wins awards and gains new commissions that demand a great deal of his time.

Responsibility to Community

After moving to the Sedona area, Quotskuyva became involved with Montezuma Well National Monument and Friends of the Well, a non-profit organization dedicated to its protection and preservation.

Not actually a well, the landmark is a limestone sinkhole sourced by subterranean springs. The area is rich with archaeological remains from numerous cultures throughout history. The site and water are considered sacred and are still used today by many Native American groups, including the Hopi, for ceremonial purposes.

“My ancestors constructed this freshwater site about 1,000 years ago for the people living in the area. It belongs to me and my people and it is my responsibility to help preserve it.”

At this sacred site is another cultural treasure – a Hopi garden. After about 600 years, Hopi corn, beans, and watermelon, and even cotton, are being grown here again. The crops reestablish the Hopis’ connection to their ancestral land. Seeds are handpicked from the ancient stock that are direct descendants of the crops grown by Sinagua farmers at this very place, using the very same water source.

“This is a community garden, which means people can take produce at any time. We ask only that they save and share the seeds.”

Though he’s been on the board for about 4 years, Quotskuyva says he never really wants a position of authority. Instead, he recommends, “If you want to really have an impact on something, you should never go for an official position or a board chairmanship. I believe you can have more of an impact from the sidelines.”

A Busy Man

Orders are so good and steady that Quotskuyva has closed down his brick and mortar store, Pueblo Sedona Gallery. A “happy choice” as he puts it. “I am so fortunate that I have paid work to keep me busy for the next couple of years. I spend a certain part of the month working on special orders, and the other part on pieces for the annual art shows like the Southwest Indian Art Fair.”

Quotskuyva and his wife, Debbi, live in Rimrock, AZ, just 17 miles from Sedona and 1/2 mile from the garden at Montezuma Well.

For samples of his work and more on his exhibits, awards, publications, and media appearances, see his website.

Photos by Jannelle Weakly.

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