Post by Moon Seeker on Jun 1, 2008 14:45:58 GMT -5
By Rebecca Paiement
When it comes to fashion, you often can tell a book by its cover – style usually tells you a lot about the wearer's idiosyncracies and inclinations. And if she's sporting designs by Native American artist Teri Greeves, recently showcased at the Autry National Center, her garb has a particularly evocative story to tell.
Greeves' fashions are inspired by her upbringing on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, where she spent years helping out at her family's trading post, surrounded by her mother's collection of rare tribal dresses and Indian artifacts. She went on to design her own beadwork, which she lovingly sews onto jewelry and moccasins — even Converse sneakers. One pair of high tops, which the artist likes to adorn because of their “universal appeal,” communicates the Kiowa legend of Sunboy, the orphan son of Earth Woman, who splits in half and later gives himself as a gift to the Kiowa people.
Most of Greeves' collectors — including the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., and London's British Museum — regard her creations as artwork: shining, intricate beadwork which brings storytelling to life. They may put it on display, but Greeves says her intent is to create “beautiful objects that you can wear.” After all, she adds, “Beadwork comes from that tradition of functional objects.”
Greeves' designs were showcased in late April as part of the Autry National Center's annual Native American fashion show, which has high-lighted Western-style boots and belts, beachwear and wedding apparel in past events. This year's show, curated by Greeves' mother, Jeri Ah-Be-Hill, a prominent collector of Native American clothing, displayed both traditional and contemporary designs.
Their style may appear foreign to fashionistas attuned to the runways of New York and Paris, but Greeves says Native American women have their own version of couture — “except we don't call it couture; we call it traditional clothing. Every year, a woman comes out with a new outfit, or there's a new bead worker who is doing something special and outrageous. The shapes of the dresses may stay the same, but the patterns and materials change from year to year. We have couture, but in a Native sense.”
Also featured in the fashion show was jewelry designed by Greeves' sister, Keri Ataumbi. While the Kiowa artist says she looks to Native American culture for inspiration, she designs for a wider audience. Her work reflects natural forms, like the burr that stuck to her clothing during a hike or the water bubbles in her backyard pond where insects lay their eggs. “My prayer for my pieces is that the wearer says, ‘This makes me feel like more of who I am,' rather than [going to] someone who just wants something Indian because she's in Santa Fe,” Ataumbi says.
One of the models in the Autry fashion show was also a designer who created the buckskin dress she wore on the runway when she was only 16. Jamie Okuma began doing beadwork at age 5. “I really wanted to dance in powwows, which required many outfits, so, even at a young age, I helped with these outfits,” says Okuma, who also creates dolls modeled on historic Native Americans. “And then, when I got into high school, I earned extra income taking orders from other dancers.”
The more contemporary designs on the Autry runway included pieces by Margaret Roach Wheeler, a member of the Chickasaw and Choctaw tribes whose grandmother taught her how to knit, crochet and embroider when she was only 3. Influenced by mainstream fashion designers such as Norma Kamali, Thierry Mugler and Issey Miyake, Wheeler's hand-woven clothing reflects her love of art and design. Her weave structure uses treadlings — which simulate the beadwork, feathers and ribbons used in Native American costumes – and she combines colors in surprising ways. “Crossing two colors that would normally not be used together is one of my favorite things,” she says. “Once I crossed a pink-orange wrap with turquoise. It was stunning. My studio was all aglow.”
The Tsosie-Gaussoin family of designers rounded out the Autry show. Mother Connie and eldest son Jerry concentrate on traditional hand-stamped Navajo Concho belts and ranger belt buckles, while the younger members of the family, Wayne Nez and David, create what their mother calls “progressive jewelry, really taking things to the next level.” Showing items like a black beaded, coral bracelet and innovative necklaces that can also be worn as belts, David says that he and Wayne might be casting their stylistic net wide, but they haven't abandoned the Native American aesthetic.
“You say Indian jewelry and right away images of turquoise and squash blossoms pop into your mind,” says David. “But we're trying to create our own market. After doing a lot of international travel, we realized that Native Americans aren't really taken seriously as artists. We're just seen as crafts and curio. We're trying to break those stereotypes with our work to make people take a second look at what we do and then, hopefully — through that — they'll take a second look at Native American design in general.”
Teri Greeves' designs are available at Jane Sauer Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico,
(505) 995-8513, http://www.jsauergallery.com; for Keri Ataumbi, contact Shiprock Trading Company in Santa Fe, (877) 982-8478, http://www.shiprocktrading.com; Jamie Okuma's pieces are carried by the Blue Rain Gallery in Santa Fe, (505) 954-9902, http://www.blueraingallery.com; for Margaret Wheeler, visit http://www.ozarkartistscolony.com; and for the Tsosie-Gaussoin family, visit www.tsosie-gaussoin.com .
www.arroyomonthly.com/content.php?news_id=395&start=0&category_id=20&parent_id=0&arcyear=&arcmonth=
When it comes to fashion, you often can tell a book by its cover – style usually tells you a lot about the wearer's idiosyncracies and inclinations. And if she's sporting designs by Native American artist Teri Greeves, recently showcased at the Autry National Center, her garb has a particularly evocative story to tell.
Greeves' fashions are inspired by her upbringing on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, where she spent years helping out at her family's trading post, surrounded by her mother's collection of rare tribal dresses and Indian artifacts. She went on to design her own beadwork, which she lovingly sews onto jewelry and moccasins — even Converse sneakers. One pair of high tops, which the artist likes to adorn because of their “universal appeal,” communicates the Kiowa legend of Sunboy, the orphan son of Earth Woman, who splits in half and later gives himself as a gift to the Kiowa people.
Most of Greeves' collectors — including the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., and London's British Museum — regard her creations as artwork: shining, intricate beadwork which brings storytelling to life. They may put it on display, but Greeves says her intent is to create “beautiful objects that you can wear.” After all, she adds, “Beadwork comes from that tradition of functional objects.”
Greeves' designs were showcased in late April as part of the Autry National Center's annual Native American fashion show, which has high-lighted Western-style boots and belts, beachwear and wedding apparel in past events. This year's show, curated by Greeves' mother, Jeri Ah-Be-Hill, a prominent collector of Native American clothing, displayed both traditional and contemporary designs.
Their style may appear foreign to fashionistas attuned to the runways of New York and Paris, but Greeves says Native American women have their own version of couture — “except we don't call it couture; we call it traditional clothing. Every year, a woman comes out with a new outfit, or there's a new bead worker who is doing something special and outrageous. The shapes of the dresses may stay the same, but the patterns and materials change from year to year. We have couture, but in a Native sense.”
Also featured in the fashion show was jewelry designed by Greeves' sister, Keri Ataumbi. While the Kiowa artist says she looks to Native American culture for inspiration, she designs for a wider audience. Her work reflects natural forms, like the burr that stuck to her clothing during a hike or the water bubbles in her backyard pond where insects lay their eggs. “My prayer for my pieces is that the wearer says, ‘This makes me feel like more of who I am,' rather than [going to] someone who just wants something Indian because she's in Santa Fe,” Ataumbi says.
One of the models in the Autry fashion show was also a designer who created the buckskin dress she wore on the runway when she was only 16. Jamie Okuma began doing beadwork at age 5. “I really wanted to dance in powwows, which required many outfits, so, even at a young age, I helped with these outfits,” says Okuma, who also creates dolls modeled on historic Native Americans. “And then, when I got into high school, I earned extra income taking orders from other dancers.”
The more contemporary designs on the Autry runway included pieces by Margaret Roach Wheeler, a member of the Chickasaw and Choctaw tribes whose grandmother taught her how to knit, crochet and embroider when she was only 3. Influenced by mainstream fashion designers such as Norma Kamali, Thierry Mugler and Issey Miyake, Wheeler's hand-woven clothing reflects her love of art and design. Her weave structure uses treadlings — which simulate the beadwork, feathers and ribbons used in Native American costumes – and she combines colors in surprising ways. “Crossing two colors that would normally not be used together is one of my favorite things,” she says. “Once I crossed a pink-orange wrap with turquoise. It was stunning. My studio was all aglow.”
The Tsosie-Gaussoin family of designers rounded out the Autry show. Mother Connie and eldest son Jerry concentrate on traditional hand-stamped Navajo Concho belts and ranger belt buckles, while the younger members of the family, Wayne Nez and David, create what their mother calls “progressive jewelry, really taking things to the next level.” Showing items like a black beaded, coral bracelet and innovative necklaces that can also be worn as belts, David says that he and Wayne might be casting their stylistic net wide, but they haven't abandoned the Native American aesthetic.
“You say Indian jewelry and right away images of turquoise and squash blossoms pop into your mind,” says David. “But we're trying to create our own market. After doing a lot of international travel, we realized that Native Americans aren't really taken seriously as artists. We're just seen as crafts and curio. We're trying to break those stereotypes with our work to make people take a second look at what we do and then, hopefully — through that — they'll take a second look at Native American design in general.”
Teri Greeves' designs are available at Jane Sauer Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico,
(505) 995-8513, http://www.jsauergallery.com; for Keri Ataumbi, contact Shiprock Trading Company in Santa Fe, (877) 982-8478, http://www.shiprocktrading.com; Jamie Okuma's pieces are carried by the Blue Rain Gallery in Santa Fe, (505) 954-9902, http://www.blueraingallery.com; for Margaret Wheeler, visit http://www.ozarkartistscolony.com; and for the Tsosie-Gaussoin family, visit www.tsosie-gaussoin.com .
www.arroyomonthly.com/content.php?news_id=395&start=0&category_id=20&parent_id=0&arcyear=&arcmonth=