Navajo Weaving at Arizona State Museum:
19th Century Blankets, 20th Century Rugs, 21st Century
Views
October 2004 through May 2005
The Navajo Weaving exhibition is now closed. We have created an online version of the exhibition that we hope you will enjoy.
About the exhibition
Classic poncho/sarape, circa 1840-1860. Catalog no. E-2724.
Admired the world over, Navajo textiles are among the most compelling of
the native Southwest art forms. Beginning in the 19th century when presidents,
foreign dignitaries, national heroes, and art aficionados of the East began
collecting, the weaving of the Navajo people took on epic significance as
representatives of the land, the people, the culture, and the way of life
from which they came.
Indeed, the textiles themselves, especially from the 19th century, tell
the stories of the Navajos -- struggle, strength, influence, family ties,
and most of all, endurance.
Ella Rose Perry, of St. Michaels, Arizona, standing in front of her rug
in the exhibition.
Learn what significance the art form still holds for the Navajo people
through the voices of 21st century weavers. Explore how weavers have made
artistic choices through the decades based on their own creativity and cultural
changes. See how weavers have responded to modern-day influences. Videotaped
interviews, and written statements offer unique insight. Try weaving and
explore design with hands-on activities. Looms, hand-tools, raw materials,
photomurals, and interpretive panels round out the experience.
A visitor examines yarn samples through a microscope.
The exhibition is curated by Ann Lane Hedlund, PhD, one of the country’s
most highly regarded textile scholars and director of the Gloria F. Ross
Center for Tapestry Studies at Arizona State Museum. She is author of numerous
publications and has curated exhibitions nationwide. Award-winning Navajo
weaver, Barbara Ornelas, and her college-aged children, Sierra and Michael,
join Dr. Hedlund as exhibition consultants.
Hanging a Mid-classic sarape in the gallery of 19th Century textiles.
Objects related to weaving from ASM collections.
Photos by Jannelle Weakly unless indicated otherwise indicated.
Classic poncho/serape E- 2724 by Joe Ben Wheat.
This exhibition and related programs are co-sponsored by
the Gloria F. Ross Center for Tapestry Studies and made possible through
support from Arizona Commission on the Arts, National Endowment for the
Arts, the University of Arizona Foundation, the R.C. and S.B. Ernst Foundation,
Antique Tribal Art Dealers Association, Dr. & Mrs. Daniel E. Albrecht,
Mr. and Mrs. Jim Collett, Susan Brown McGreevy, Edgar O. Smith, Dr. J.
Mark Sublette, Medicine Man Gallery, Mr. &. Mrs. H. A. Thompson, and
many other generous friends
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