The People’s Pottery Smithsonian Teams up with Poeh Cultural Center for Homecoming and Renewed Study
October 19, 2016, 12:00 am
By Jason Strykowski
Source
Three years ago, Native art scholar Bruce Bernstein had an epiphany while looking at an antique picture.
The image from July 25, 1903, struck the tribal historic preservation officer at the Pueblo of Pojoaque as significant.
“There were 12 large vessels, or pieces of pottery, in front of three men. One of those men was the governor of the Pueblo at that time, Antonio Tapia Montoya. The other man that we know was George Pepper. And Pepper was an anthropologist sent out here by the American Museum of National History to collect. So, I’ve been searching the country for those 12 pots,” he tells SFR.
The investigation led him across the US and finally to an idea that became In T’owa Vi Sae’we (The People’s Pottery), an exhibit at the Pueblo of Pojoaque’s Poeh Cultural Center opening Friday.
Bernstein followed a clear trail of breadcrumbs from Pepper’s pots to university libraries and to the Smithsonian Institution. He never meant to reclaim the pottery, as it had all been legally purchased; but there could be a lesson in the finding of them. Better yet, the ceramics themselves could have something to teach and make a necessary addition to the center, an entity founded in 1988 with the goal of preserving Tewa arts and culture.
Scholars say that in the late 19th century, Pueblo pottery changed to fit the needs of a growing commercial market. Tourists arrived with an insatiable need for curios and the specter of economic recessions and local drought made the sale of pottery appealing for the people of the Rio Grande. Then Native peoples changed the look and texture of their current works to meet the needs of collectors who demanded differentiated styles from regions that outsiders branded as distinct. Perhaps in recovering both historic and ancient pots from collections in the East, something of these faded memories could be recovered.
Along with Karl Duncan, executive director of the Poeh Center, Bernstein approached the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) in Washington, DC (a wing of the Smithsonian Institution), to form a partnership and an exchange of ideas and artifacts. Pojoaque would send consultants to the East and the Smithsonian would reciprocate by sending pottery to the West. Poeh also had a helpful counterpart in the assistant director for collections for the National Museum of the American Indian, Cynthia Chavez Lamar, who was born in New Mexico and raised at San Felipe Pueblo. The two organizations made a multi-phased arrangement that Duncan says could make real impacts on the state of Native American art. “They provided us with training for our staff on conservation and collection care,” says Duncan. “They’re receiving from us the traditional and culturally appropriate ways of collection care.”
The NMAI will loan nine Pojoaque-made ceramics back to the Poeh Center on a long-term basis. “Everything ranges from before 1930 to, if we go into their historical collection, 400 AD. So these are pots that came from the villages that don’t exist any more,” says Duncan. “Some of the styles and the knowledge that’s in the those pots have been [nearly] lost—few people know them.” Next year, the Poeh Center expects to receive many more pieces from the Smithsonian.
The works will live in a controlled gallery just to the right of the center’s public entrance. Under safekeeping, they’ll be viewable for the general public, but they will be accessible by hand for Pueblo artists. “People can study, talk about it, tell stories about it. Look at the symbols that were used so they can learn from that. We also will provide access to other tribes,” he says.
During his research, Bernstein ultimately located nine of the 12 pots with which Pepper posed in the picture over a century ago. While the exhibit at the Poeh Center won’t feature the same nine pots, Bernstein had, nonetheless, found missing members of the Pojoaque community. “When the pots come back, prayers will be said and they’ll pretty much be welcomed home,” says Duncan.
The opening of the exhibit will be marked with two days of events. On Oct. 21, the Center plans a public reception featuring demonstrations by local artists followed by a fundraiser dinner and silent auction (RSVPs requested). The next day, local potters form panels to discuss the state and future of Native ceramics and survival despite contemporary challenges, and the public is invited for refreshmets and Native dances.
In T’owa Vi Sae’we (The People’s Pottery)
Opening Reception: 2-6 pm Friday Oct. 21. Free.
Welcome Home Feast: 6-8 pm Friday, Oct. 21. $20
Pueblo Potters Gathering: 9:30 am-4 pm Saturday,Oct. 22. Free
Poeh Cultural Center,
78 Cities of Gold Road, Pojoaque
455-5041