THE LANDSCAPE »


LEWIS deSOTO TAHQUITZ


BY ANYA MONTIEL


is a nukatem, or supernatural being, who lives in the San Jacinto Mountains east of Riverside, Cal. Most nukatem have left earth, but Tahquitz (pronounced tah-KWISH), a being with great aiva’a, or power, remains. The Cahuilla of southern California often blame him for lost hikers and automobile accidents. Tahquitz is also a favorite subject for Lewis deSoto (Cahuilla),


the California-based artist who creates dynamic installations link- ing ancient cosmologies to today’s world. Born in San Bernardino, Cal., in 1954 to a Cahuilla father and a Hispanic mother, he has been a professor of art at San Francisco State University since 1988. In his art practice, deSoto transforms spaces, whether out-of-


doors or in a museum gallery, into peculiar and provocative worlds through light, audio and video technologies. His installations are commentaries about human disengagement from the land.


CONTINUED E 24 AMERICAN INDIAN FALL 2012


RECLAIMING THE ART OF


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