Our first visit was to the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian up on Museum Hill. Like the other museums in this area, it is in a lovely setting. And it has 2 Allan Houser sculptures at the front.
It is rather dark as you enter the museum but I forgot to ask why.
The vision and determination of Mary Cabot Wheelwright, from Boston, and Hastiin Klah, a Navajo singer and medicine man, resulted in the creation of this museum. Klah was concerned that Navajo traditions and spirituality would be lost due to the experience of the Navajos, as white settlers continued to encroach on their territory. Mary Cabot Wheelwright, after an opportunity to visit a Navajo ceremonial, began the quest to preserve the ceremonial traditions of the Navajos for future generations. She decided that a museum should be built to store the information that Klah and others had provided. She had the museum designed and built as a stylised hooghan (the traditional dwelling of the Navajo) to house her collection. The museum was opened in 1938. In 1976 the museum trustees decided that the ceremonial objects in the collection should be returned to the Navajo Nation. It became the first museum to repatriate items prior to any legislation. The museum then focused on contemporary Native American artists. Today it creates exhibitions dealing with both the historic and contemporary.
Of course we couldn't take photos but there was the most beautiful collection of Indian art, weaving, basket making, beading, pottery, knife making etc. etc. The jewellery was magnificent!
Then we went to another sculpture garden, the Shidoni Sculpture Garden near Tesuque, the village that has the nicely decorated bridges.
The word Shidoni is a greeting to a friend in Navajo. The sculpture garden is part of an art gallery and bronze art foundry. The indoor galleries were closed but we were free to wander about in the garden.
This is entitled Dancer. Inscribed on her front is this:
Dance when you are broken open
Dance if you've torn the bandage off
Dance in the middle of the fighting
Dance in your blood
Dance when your perfectly free.
So the message is dance! I wonder if any of the native tribes have heard of the F dance that I frequently do?
Is there a bit of a resemblance there? Age or the hump?
I might not be able to jump like him but I can fairly croak!
Constrictor
They have some neck! Thanks Brian 😀!
The new Prince. Above this, in the same pond, Rachel at the well.
Hot Dog
Aunt Gwen goes to the races.
What is that kangaroo doing?
This character with a sling shot is saying Who? Me?
And that is only a teeny tiny bit of the sculptures.
And there's more! Jim wasn't satisfied with all we had done and insisted that we return to the New Mexico History Museum to continue our tour. So we did. He got a photo of Billy the Kid's handwriting that had fascinated him the last time.
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