There is only one more week till Santa Fe Indian Market. But for enthusiasts interested in learning and buying Indigenous arts and crafts early, the upcoming Whitehawk Antique Indian and Ethnographic Art show starts on Friday. KUNM sat down with Kim Martindale, owner of the Whitehawk show to find out more.
MARTINDALE: The Whitehawk show is the largest gathering of historic Indigenous art anywhere in the world. Its emphasis, because of being in Santa Fe, is Indigenous or Native American material from the U.S. and Canada. And so it's really material that's been produced prior to 1950 and then been preserved by people that have loved it, collected it, and then it's available for sale and to talk about it.
KUNM: So it's not just rugs, it's a variety of items, right?
MARTINDALE: There's wood carving, there's ceramics, there's pottery, textiles. So it's everything kind of that you can think of, and a lot of it is amazing. If you really love art, that some of the greatest artists, I think, that have ever lived, come out of Indigenous traditions. A Navajo textile, for example, is one of my areas that I personally collect and love. In the 1870s to 1900s they were introduced this wool that came from the East Coast that all of a sudden gave the Navajo ladies or Diné, this plethora of color that they never had before, and these people that had never really had an outside influence, all of a sudden, are creating these textiles that are called Navajo Germantown weavings that I strongly believe, and I would like to discuss with any art historian, that these are the first modern art ever done in the United States. And this is back in 1870-1880 in Arizona and New Mexico. And they're creating things with color contrast, like putting a bright yellow next to a purple. And so your eyes are just dazzling with it. But this concept of putting these vibrational colors next and using blocks of color in a certain way is a concept that in painting really doesn't come in until 1910-1920 in the modern art movement.
KUNM: It's expected that enthusiasts will be there that are knowledgeable and want to learn more. But also for people who are first time going, you know, don't know anything about this, are they sure to learn more than when they walked out?
MARTINDALE: No question about it – ust from absorption of having 1000s of objects, just from that alone, you were going to have some kind of response. But the great thing is that almost all the people there that are selling this work, love and have passion for it. So they've researched most pieces in their space. And so when you come in and you go, ‘Wow, like, I didn't even know, like, something like that exists, tell me more.’ They want that question. So please ask that question. Because that's what people in these booths want to share, is that knowledge base.
KUNM: So can you tell me how important is the Whitehawk show for Indigenous artists?
MARTINDALE: I think it's important for Indigenous artists. And I would encourage every Indigenous artist that's listening to this broadcast to come to the show, because even myself, that's, you know, studied this artwork all my life, and love it. At every show, I see things that I haven't seen before, or new ways of approaching the similar subject. And I think that that's where artists bring their inspiration. And so I think it's just a great place to come and be inspired.
KUNM: Now, it's my understanding that there will be special exhibitions as well. Could you tell me more about it?
MARTINDALE: So these exhibits, there's one on Pima baskets that will have, there's about 40 recognizable weavers, and so we have this exhibition of some of the finest baskets done. So you can really get an indepth understanding of the diversity of the design elements that were used on baskets. And it was kind of at that time period when they're going from weaving like we talked about before, for utilitarian purposes, just to weave as, this is my art form, and I'm going to do something with it that no one else has done, like I'm going to put a cat on this basket, or I'm going to put this or, you know, things that they've been inspired by in their surroundings or an environment. And then we have another exhibit that will be on child's blankets. And all those blankets are pre-1880 and there's 35 of them, which is a huge gathering, because they're fairly rare. This is a special, unique moment, that it's all coming together, that's out there, that's available for sale in one place at one time, and so it's just a great chance to really study the variety and the differences.
KUNM: The Whitehawk show has been going on for 46 years. What would you say is its lasting legacy?
MARTINDALE: Its lasting legacy is that we really want people to get excited about these artists that did amazing work throughout time, and to show the diversity of cultures, that Native American isn't one unified body of people that are doing one type of thing, that there's a diversity there, and that these people truly were artists. And they were artists hundreds of years ago, 200 years ago, 50 years ago and today, and that, here's that tradition of that artwork and these amazing, great pieces that I'll put up against any other art, any but that any other cultures done, and move that into today that's getting, finally, the respect that Indigenous artists deserve.
You can find more information on the Whitehawk show here. Support for this coverage comes from the Thornburg Foundation.
