Post by gregor on Aug 3, 2017 1:07:51 GMT -5
Some years ago I had the Chance to see several works of the outstanding Navajo Artist Emmi Whitehorse in Germany.
Whitehorse states about her abstract paintings: "As an artist I have intentionally avoided politically oriented subject matter and angst-ridden or physical wrestling with the act of painting itself. To make art, the act of making art must stay true to a harmonious balance of beauty, nature, humanity and the whole universe. This is in accordance with Navajo philosophy. I have chosen to focus on nature, on landscape. My paintings tell the story of knowing land over time - of being completely, micro-cosmically within a place."
Here are some of her great works
chiaroscurosantafe.com/artists/21/
www.telluridegallery.com/exhibition/53/#!3314
Growing up outside Chaco Canyon, which straddles the Continental Divide in New Mexico, Whitehorse was exposed at an early age to the stunning beauty and desolation of the Southwest. Her family was nomadic, living inside in winter and outside in the warmer seasons without the benefit of electricity or other modern conveniences.
Whitehorse learned from her grandmother, a traditional Navajo weaver, who taught her that art is a mental journey with a calming purpose. “My grandmother wove a lot of contemporary images,” Whitehorse remembers. “From watching her, I learned to see space. I got a sense from her about how to get three dimensionality from a flat surface, which she achieved with her blankets.”
Using a private language of symbols and memories, Whitehorse makes ‘personal diaries’ of her life as an artist and of her native heritage.
Emmi lives and works near Santa Fe (New Mexico)
Whitehorse states about her abstract paintings: "As an artist I have intentionally avoided politically oriented subject matter and angst-ridden or physical wrestling with the act of painting itself. To make art, the act of making art must stay true to a harmonious balance of beauty, nature, humanity and the whole universe. This is in accordance with Navajo philosophy. I have chosen to focus on nature, on landscape. My paintings tell the story of knowing land over time - of being completely, micro-cosmically within a place."
Here are some of her great works
chiaroscurosantafe.com/artists/21/
www.telluridegallery.com/exhibition/53/#!3314
Growing up outside Chaco Canyon, which straddles the Continental Divide in New Mexico, Whitehorse was exposed at an early age to the stunning beauty and desolation of the Southwest. Her family was nomadic, living inside in winter and outside in the warmer seasons without the benefit of electricity or other modern conveniences.
Whitehorse learned from her grandmother, a traditional Navajo weaver, who taught her that art is a mental journey with a calming purpose. “My grandmother wove a lot of contemporary images,” Whitehorse remembers. “From watching her, I learned to see space. I got a sense from her about how to get three dimensionality from a flat surface, which she achieved with her blankets.”
Using a private language of symbols and memories, Whitehorse makes ‘personal diaries’ of her life as an artist and of her native heritage.
Emmi lives and works near Santa Fe (New Mexico)