A World MadE by
BY CECILE R. GANTEAUME
one familiar with this art would argue that, at its very best, the aesthetic sensibilities it em- bodies are anything less than sublime. The extraordinary range of materials with
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n overwhelming percentage of the ancient and historic American Indian art that one sees in museums, both across the United States and abroad, was produced by women. No
In other words, innovation, coupled with an aesthetic and often reverential treatment of their media, is a hallmark of the art produced by American Indian women. And in this re- gard, one must mention their uncanny and seemingly innate ability to riff ingeniously on recently encountered foreign forms with their traditional materials and techniques. As is well known, these artists were excep-
which American Indian women worked, their proficiency in a great number of artistic tech- niques and their obvious desire to push the artistic possibilities of any given medium or technique are truly remarkable. Equally amazing is the ability of Ameri-
can Indian women seamlessly to incorporate new materials acquired through indigenous exchange or trade with Europeans, into their design vocabularies and, conversely, to cre- ate virtually new art forms out of recently acquired materials. American Indian women artists have always been both exceptionally responsive to exploring the artistic possibili- ties of the materials they knew best and un- flinchingly open to working with new ones.
tional weavers, twiners, potters, basket mak- ers, baby carrier makers, tanners, painters, dy- ers, seamstresses, quilters, embroiderers, bead workers and more. But while their repertoire of artistic accomplishments is widely recog- nized and even acclaimed, much that deeply underlies the execution of their work has yet to be fully appreciated by a wide audience. This artistry embodies a wealth of Native
knowledge about the world, including, of course, spiritual knowledge and the knowl- edge of nature that is gained from its close observation and in which one does not just learn about nature but learns the wisdom of life from nature. Alongside this essential knowledge so often imbuing the art created by American Indian women, their art can also
26 AMERICAN INDIAN WINTER 2015
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embody knowledge about the movement of peoples that linked Native communities long before the arrival of Europeans, and that re- sulted in the exchange of ideas, beliefs, goods and expertise. American Indian women’s art can em-
body as well deep knowledge about colonial encounters and encounters with the U.S. government. What is more, this art is im- bued with Native strategies for maintaining one’s sense of identity and values in periods of social upheaval, including, now, in the modern world. Cultural and historical fac- tors effecting, stirring, shaping, influencing, challenging, enriching, straining, threatening, perplexing, exciting, inspiring, fortifying and otherwise undergirding Native life through- out centuries have often found their most powerful aesthetic expression in the artwork of gifted women.
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