Art Lovers discussion

A while back, I discovered this amazing book about photographer Edward Curtis, who began as a portrait photographer at the end of the 19th century, and developed an obsession with trying to capture as much as possible of the rapidly vanishing cultures of the Native Americans. He worked to create a multi-media archive using all the most advanced technology of the day, so remarkable that in later years some of the knowledge he collected was used by tribes to recreate lost skills and traditions.

And, of course, he's best known as a photographer.

"Jajuk - Selawik" 1928 - Edward Curtis

War party's farewell--Atsina. 1908

Tewa Native American Indian girl named Chaiwa, 1922

White Singer, Navaho, 1906

Curtis was more interested in showing the two topknots than her face.

Geronimo, Chiricahua Apache Chief, 1905

Those last two photos are just beautiful.

Edward S. Curtis self-portrait 1899

Tracey wrote: "A while back, I discovered this amazing book about photographer Edward Curtis, who began as a portrait photographer at the end of the 19th century, and developed an obsession with trying to capture..."

Wow, Tracey! I don't know how I missed this post! I hope others didn't miss it also, it is fantastic! Very interesting and the photos are so real! I am interested to read more about what he describes of the Native Americans. The various tribes have always fascinated me with their traditions, their attributed dances and symbols, the ways they dress, their faces painted during different rituals, their special assigned or self-decribing names, and other things they hold sacred to the individual tribes and legends.

I lived in New Mexico at one time and loved to visit that ancient pueblos, to look at their jewelry, and to get to know some of the Native Americans there.

I had a next door neighbor with a trailer in his driveway that he used as his workshop. He hand-made Kashina dolls and sold them. I would watch him meticulously place the beads, paint the faces, make the clothes and he would explain to me what they meant. I can't remember from which tribe he descended. I'm guessing that each tribe has their own traditions and symbols.

Do you happen to know the name of this book with more photos like these?

I hope you don't mind if I explain a little bit and maybe post some pictures of some Kachina dolls...I think they are so interesting although they are rather specific to some of the southern United States tribes and not all related to art. But IMO, I believe the form, symbols, and making of the dolls is art itself (though this is a photography folder).

"kachina (/kəˈtʃiːnə/); is a spirit being in the religious beliefs of the Pueblo people, Native American cultures located in the southwestern part of the United States. In the Pueblo culture, kachina rituals are practiced by the Hopi, Zuni, Hopi-Tewa and certain Keresan tribes. The kachina concept has three different aspects: the supernatural being, the kachina dancers (masked members of the community who represent kachinas at religious ceremonies), and kachina dolls, small dolls carved in the likeness of kachinas given as gifts to children"

"Kachinas are spirits or personifications of things in the real world. These spirits are believed to visit the Hopi villages during the first half of the year. A kachina can represent anything in the natural world or cosmos, from a revered ancestor to an element, a location, a quality, a natural phenomenon, or a concept. The local pantheon of kachinas varies in each pueblo community; there may be kachinas for the sun, stars, thunderstorms, wind, corn, insects, and many other concepts. Kachinas are understood as having humanlike relationships; they may have uncles, sisters, and grandmothers, and may marry and have children. Although not worshipped, Each is viewed as a powerful being who, if given veneration and respect, can use his particular power for human good, bringing rainfall, healing, fertility, or protection, for example. One observer has written:

The central theme of the kachina [religion] is the presence of life in all objects that fill the universe. Everything has an essence or a life force, and humans must interact with these or fail to survive." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kachina

Kachina dancers, Shongopovi pueblo, Arizona, sometime before 1900



Kachina dolls in the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona.

Example of one Kachina doll and her ascribed meaning:



Palahiko Mana, Water-Drinking Maiden, Hopi 1899. She wears a headdress with stepped Earth signs and corn ears. Water Drinking Woman seems to be a name for the corn itself, one of many forms of the Corn Maidens.

Does anyone have any suggestions and possibly reviews of any books attributed to some different Native American tribes?

I'm fascinated by ... everything in this thread!

There are a few books with collections of Curtis photos:

https://smile.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_...

The book that I read was Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis, which had some photos, as I recall; it was an advance copy, so they might not have been, which is what made me start collecting them on Pinterest.

https://www.pinterest.com/stewartry/s...

Tracey wrote: "I'm fascinated by ... everything in this thread!

There are a few books with collections of Curtis photos:

https://smile.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_......"

Thank you, Tracey!