Ramona Sakiestewa (born 1948) is a contemporary Native American artist living and working in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Sakiestewa is well known for its rugs, papers, and for the installation of public art/architecture.
Video Ramona Sakiestewa
Early life and education
Sakiestewa was born in Albuquerque, NM to Hopi's father and German-English-Irish mother. She studied at Verde Valley School in Sedona, Arizona, Santa Fe Prep, Santa Fe, NM. To better understand his understanding of design and color, Sakiestewa went to New York City in the late 1960s to study at the School of Visual Arts. He then returned to Southwest, where he took a job as an art administrator at Santa Fe's Museum of New Mexico.
Maps Ramona Sakiestewa
Careers
Initial career
Sakiestewa is a self-taught weaver using the prehistoric Pueblo technique from Southwest America. The work originally used hand and hand spun yarn. He researched native American dyeings along with developing and reproducing the cochineal and indigo dyeing techniques. He adapts traditional traditional continuous weaving looms to weaving horizontal weaving floor. In 1981 Sakiestewa opened his woven studio, Ramona Sakiestewa Ltd, weaving a full-time tapestry.
The early weave of Sakiestewa is a simple floor carpet wrapped in a classic Pueblo style with a contemporary pallet. He taught himself by reading books and with the help of some generous acquaintances. He mastered the technique to color the yarn and began to show his work in Santa Fe Indian Market. Sakiestewa's preferred tapestry size is 50 "x 70" inches. The imagery remains abstract - the most natural style, he says, and captures the essence of his subject, whether inspired by Southwest ritual objects, ceremonies or landscapes.
" (Sakiestewa) has pressed the issue of scale, texture, color and tone in works that destroyed the old obstacles separating weaving, painting and mixed media. " - Ann Lane Hedlund
In the late 1980s Sakiestewa weave thirteen rugs from Frank Lloyd Wright's drawings for the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Phoenix, AZ. From 1985-1991 he also completed six rugs for Gloria Frankenthaler Ross's painting, New York City, by contemporary painter Kenneth Noland. Sakiestewa was assigned to design a series of limited edition blankets for Dewey Trading Company, woven by Pendleton Blankets, Pendleton, OR; and the limited edition, "Ancient Blanket Series", woven by Scalamandre, Long Island City, NY.
Later career
In 1994 Sakiestewa was invited to join the architectural design team for the American Indian National Museum, the Smithsonian Mall Museum, Washington, DC. A 10-year project, Sakiestewa created a design vocabulary for the project and collaboratively designed architectural elements for the museum that opened September 21, 2004. The design features include the main entrance building, "Entry Plaza Birthdate", 100 'wall copper screen, theater curtain width 60 'and other architectural elements throughout the building. He wrote a contributing essay, "Making Our World Understandable" in the companion book, '' The Spirit of Original Place - Building the National Museum of American Indians
In 2009 Sakiestewa closed its woven studio to develop a paper and painting project and its architecture. Continuing his work with architects Sakiestewa designed architectural elements for Tempe Center for Performing Arts, Tempe, AZ (2002-2007), Kurdistan Regional Government project, Erbil, Iraq (2008-2011), Chickasaw Abo Pomi Cultural Center, Ada, OK (2002- 2004), Komatke Health Center, Gila, AZ, (2006-2007).
His experience with public art and his expertise in Indigenous American culture has evolved into a sought advisor for national and international cultural projects. He works as a design consultant for an observatory and astronomy center for the University of New Mexico. He serves in the position of Chairman of the New Mexico Art Commission; guardian of the International Folk Art Foundation, Santa Fe, NM; a member of the Park Management Services Advisory Board, Washington, DC, Secretary of Interior designation; member of the New Mexico Coin Commission, Santa Fe, NM, the appointment of the governor; guardian of the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, Santa Fe, NM.
Awards
Sakiestewa is a recipient of numerous awards for his artworks, including the New Mexico Governor's Award for Excellence in Art (2006), the New Mexico Women's Supreme Governor Award (2006), induced into the New Mexico Women's Hall of Fame 2006), New Mexico Committee of the National Museum of Women in Arts (2007); and selected artists for Prizes for Nations, Friends of Art and Conservation at the Embassy , Washington DC (2001). He received awards in the Division of Contemporary Weaving , Santa Fe Indian Market (1982-1991).
Personal life
In 1978, Ramona married a poet, Arthur Sze. They have one son Micah F.H. Sakiestewa Sze (born 1979). In 1998, Ramona married the architect/designer of the exhibition Andrew F. Merriell.
Collection of Selected Museums
- National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
- New Mexico Santa Fe Art Museum, NM
- Heard Museum, Phoenix, AZ
- The Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis Louis, MO
- The Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO
- Mint Craft Design Museum, Charlotte, NC
- Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, Albuquerque, NM
- Wheelwright Museum of American Indians, Santa Fe, NM
- Museum of Archeology and Anthropology University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
References
Further reading
- McCoy, Ron. Ramona Sakiestewa , 35th Anniversary Edition, American Indian Art Magazine, Winter 2010
- Heppenheimer, Jill. Voted for Creativity , Fiberarts Magazine, 2007
- Newman, Dana/Parsons, Jack. New Mexico Artists at Work , New Mexico Press Museum, Santa Fe, NM, p.Ã, 129 -131, 2005
- Jacka, Lois and Jerry, Outside Tradition, Indian Contemporary Art and Evolution , Northland Publishing Company, Flagstaff, AZ, p.Ã, 130-131, 1988
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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