Botanical Garden Santa Fe; return to Museum of Indian Arts and Culture; trip to Las Vegas (NM)

We had a big trip planned for today, Sunday, but did not want to disturb my iffy tummy so we went to the Botanic Garden beside the museums on Museum Hill.  This garden is open only 2 years and looks as if it has real potential. It is a sustainable  garden depending only on the natural water of the area. There is a temporary exhibition of sculpture there at the moment featuring works by celebrated  Santa Fe  artists. They really  fitted in with the garden.

This is called Summer and is a bronze by David Pearson.

This is called Looking for  El Nino by Bill Prokoplof, a sculpture done in fabricated steel and paint. I loved the outfit and the yellow umbrella. I noticed that there were yellow umbrellas in a stand as you entered the garden obviously fulfilling a dusl purpose - shrlter from the rain in the rare event of rain and a yellow umbrella for selfies or for the designated model for the photographer. Jim decided  I  wasn't  a model!

There is a seat opposite this one with a view of the mountains where I  could happily spend hours reading my book and occasionally  contemplating the backdrop and the garden. Jim is not keen on me doing things like that. I  think he has no soul!

 

This blog page will not do what I want it to do so to avoid the tender loving swear that I normally cook with and might blog with, but, being conscious of the neighbours, am trying to avoid. I will tell you about the 2 sculptures above. The first is called Sentinel by Tammy Garcia who grew up in the Santa Clara Pueblo.  The second is Dance by Arlo Namingha.

This is Fountain of Youth a bronze by Michael Naranjo. He was seriously wounded and blinded from Vietnam War  injuries but it did not deter him from his aspirations to be an artist.  Fountain of Youth is placed next to the Garden Rambla to highlight the importance  of  water  in a dry landscape.

Philip Mangas Haozous (son I think of Allan Houser) created this sculpture  entitled Spirit of  Machu Pichu III. Living and working in Santa Fe he fuses the abstract with concepts of realism.

 

 This is Forevera bronze by Allan Houser.  He is one of the most important artists of  the  20th century.  He is a Chiricahua Apache. Whst I would like to knoe is why he used an anglicised name and now his sons are using the tribe name  (or maybe I am assuming). His stlye is very distinctive and is one of the ones thst has appealed to me most since I came here.

This is Kachina Symbolism a bronze by Dan Namingha .

This is Snake Dance Moon by Doug Coffin.

In Bloom by Gilberto Tomero, fabricated bronze

Touch by Bill Barrett, internationally known  for his abstract metal structures.

Flying Peace by Kevin Box who began his career working with paper. The sculpture in this exhibit is one of the most complicated cranes ever folded from a single uncut square of paper. It was folded by Robert Lang and cast in stainless steel by Kevin Box.

The Conference  Table by Frank Morbilla. His work in this exhibit evokes the rift valley  that forms the Rio Grande river. To me it suggests the amount of differences and splits there can be around the vonference table and the compromises that have to be made.

Roxanne Swentzell created this bronze, Admiration. She has developed her own style in creating clay sculptures, which are then cast in bronze. Below is the sculpture from the back.

 Back and front view of Re-Awakening by Estella Loretto. She was an apprentice  to Allan Houser which led her to focus on large sculptures, wirking in clay and casting in bronze. The fusion of man and deer has a spiritual sense of transformation.

The Big Yes by David DeStafeno. His carvings have evolved from  the human form to abstract figures to pur abstraction. I'm  afraid I  can't  get it.

This is a beehive for native bees. Seemingly they are not like honeybees who have colonies. Native bees are solitary.

This is the only permanent sculpture so far in the Botanical Garden. It is called Emergence and is by Candyce Garrett.

We loved the garden and will have to come back in the future when it has been  developed and expanded.

How sad these nasturtiums are in comparison to ours at home. The woman in the garden was not familiar with them thinking they were unlikely to return next year. Jim explained how they self seed.

Following this we went back to the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture to continue our tour begun days ago. We had 2 exhibitions to see - Turquoise, Water,  Sky: The Stone and its Meaning and Indian  Country : The Art of David Bradley. There were lotsof exhibits of turquiose in Jewellery. We laughed at a comment written by one visitor who asked how much turquoise does one need to see and then went on to detail the number of items he had  seen! Jim definitely felt a bit like that but I  was a bit more tolerant!

The Art of David Bradley was surprisingly good as he exhibits great humour and pointed social criticism. His paintings are very vibrant both in colour and content. I was delighted to find one of the cafe in Madrid where we had snacked. Seemingly he lives not far from there and frequents the cafe.

Outside Jim took a photo of the labyrinth which we had walked the last day.

This sculpture is by Bob Haozous, son of Allan Houser. I was very pleased with myself when I  saw it and said to Jim that it looked a sculpture in the Houser mould and I was right!

In the afternoon we took a trip to Las Vegas New Mexico, not to  THE Las Vegas, to please Jim. The journey was scenic but there's little to report  from there. It is a sleepy town particularly on a Sunday.