No art form is more associated with the Native Americans
of the Southwest than pottery. For centuries, Pueblo people have made beautiful
pottery, often painted with intricate designs, for everyday activities such as
cooking, food storage and gathering water, and for ceremonial use. Vessels of
these types have been found at ancient sites including Chaco Canyon and Mesa
Verde. The tradition of pottery-making continues to thrive among Pueblo
communities in the Southwest, and while pottery is still made for practical
purposes, it is also commonly produced for the art market. Since the
time of the Ancestral
Puebloans, pottery has been made predominantly by women. The pots are
created from natural clay using a coil method; they are hand-painted and then
fired outdoors. Designs vary from one Pueblo to another, but many symbols and
motifs are shared by the Pueblos. An impressive survey of more than 100 pieces of historic Pueblo
pottery, Grounded in Clay is remarkable for the fact that its content
has been selected by Pueblo community members. Rather than relying on Anglo-American
art historical interpretations, this book foregrounds Native American voices
and perspectives. More than 60 participants from 21 Pueblo communities in the
Southwest - among them potters and other artists, as well as writers, curators
and community leaders - chose one or two pieces from the collections of the Indian
Arts Research Center at the School of Advanced Research in Santa Fe, New
Mexico, and the Vilcek Collection in New York. They were then given the freedom
to express their thoughts in whichever written form they wished, prose or poem.
Their lively, varied contributions reveal the pottery to be not only a
utilitarian art form but also a powerfully intangible element that sits at the
heart of Pueblo cultures. With magnificent photography throughout, Grounded
in Clay showcases the extraordinary history and beauty of Pueblo pottery
while bringing to life the complex narratives and stories of this most
essential of Native American arts.