Second Story | The Art of Native American Basketry

Second Story | The Art of Native American Basketry

I came across an article today about how Second Story, a media company from Portland, Oregon has developed the interactive media experience for visitors of a basketry exhibit. Second Story has created two interactive kiosks at The Autry National Center to enhance the exhibit, Art of Native American Basketry helping the viewer gain a deeper understanding of the exhibition along with related artifacts that are part of the museum’s larger collection.

The Autry National Center’s Southwest Museum of the American Indian has one of the largest collections of Native American baskets in the world. The Art of Native American Basketry exhibit is ongoing and is scheduled to run until November 7, 2010. Baskets from more than 100 cultures, arranged in eleven geographic regions are featured. Historically important baskets such as a lidded doubleweave rivercane basket attributed to Clara Darden (Chitimacha), a lidded basket with knob handle made by Elizabeth Hickox (Karuk/Wiyot), a willow basket coiled on a three-rod foundation, design in redbud and bracken fern root by Washo basketmaker Dat-So-la-Lee and many more Native American baskets from the early 20th century are featured.

The interactive kiosks display a colorful array of these Native American baskets. Individual records contextualize the basket by date, location, culture and usage. In addition to the rich information about each object, visitors are able to find similar baskets in the larger collection when they filter by Design Motif, Materials Used, Region, Usage, or Technique. Visitors can also enlarge or even rotate the basket images to gain a more complete perspective. Videos and photos show how certain basket materials are gathered and how some baskets are created.
These kiosks are a very interesting way to round out the experience of the viewer of an exhibit and are being used to help museums expose more of their permanent collections to their audience.

For a bit more about this exhibit take a moment and enjoy a video clip from the Autry.

Visit BasketMakers.com for more about basketry exhibits around the United States, Museums that feature baskets in their collections or select a book about Native American Basketry.

Generations of Symbols : Southern California Basketry Traditions

A major exhibition of southern California baskets, “Generations of Symbols,” opens at the San Bernardino County Museum on Saturday, March 13, 2010. The exhibit, which will occupy both the Fisk and Schuiling galleries, runs through October 17. It is sponsored in part by the Morongo Band of Mission Indians. Admission to the exhibit is included in paid museum admission.

More than 100 baskets will be on display, all from the collection of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians. The baskets reflect several southern California basketry traditions, including Cahuilla, Cupeño, Serrano, Luiseño, and Diegueño.

“The tradition of basketry dates back at least 10,000 years in the American West. It is both a technology for making utilitarian objects and an art form with techniques and motifs handed down through generations of basket makers,” said Curator of Anthropology Adella Schroth. “Prehistoric Californians in interior southern California were hunters and gatherers who moved with the seasons between mountains, foothills, valleys, and deserts to gather resources. They depended on baskets for storage and for preparing, cooking, and serving food because baskets are light and sturdy. Pottery vessels, in contrast, are heavy and easily broken—not very practical for a mobile society.”

Baskets made by native groups in inland southern California in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century are generally identified as “Mission Indian Style.” Although the natural materials used by regional basket makers were limited compared to basket making traditions elsewhere in California and the southwest, baskets made by Native Americans in interior Southern California are remarkable for their beauty, artistic design, and craftsmanship.

Set at the foot of the beautiful San Gorgonio and San Jacinto Mountains, the Morongo Indian Reservation spans more than 35,000 acres and overlooks the vistas of the Banning Pass. Its elevations range from approximately 1,400 feet to 6,274 feet above sea level.

The reservation lies within traditional Cahuilla territory, and more specifically, the territory of the Pass Cahuilla people. The place name for this area is Malki. Established in 1876 under Executive Order, Morongo was one of nine small reservations set aside by President Grant. Originally named Potrero Ajenio, the reservation was only 640 acres in size. Over the coming years, the boundaries would change many times before arriving at the present land base. By the mid-nineteenth century, the Serrano people to the north began migrating to the Potrero Reservation settlement. They brought with them the Morongo name derived from the Serrano word Marringa’, which means the people of Marra’ (the Serrano place of origin).

Since the late nineteenth century, individual families representing several tribes, or tribal groups, have come to settle on the reservation. Mostly, these families are descendants of Cahuilla or Serrano Lineages; however, there are also families with ancestral ties to Cupeño, Luiseño, Chemehuevi, Paiute and Kumeyaay groups.

The Morongo tribe continues to invest and protect the traditional customs and collections to ensure the continuance of the cultural heritage for this generation and for generations to come. Over the past decade, Morongo has been acquiring and bringing home sets of Southern California Mission baskets. The Morongo Basket Collection has been cared for and preserved with the assistance of the San Bernardino County Museum.

“On behalf of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, we would like to express our appreciation to all those involved in the creation of this exhibit and publication. The baskets are considered to be a powerful, spiritual and cultural symbol within the native community, and it is with great honor and pride we display these beautiful pieces of art,” said Michael Contreras, Jr. the Cultural Heritage Program coordinator for the Morongo Band. “We believe sharing the basket collection will further educate and develop a greater appreciation for local cultures and Native people as a whole.”

The history and techniques of Mission Indian Style baskets are discussed in a publication written by David D. Earle and published as a Museum Association Quarterly called “Coiled Baskets from the Morongo Collection.” This full-color publication, based on the exhibit, will be available for purchase in the Museum Store.

The San Bernardino County Museum is at the California Street exit from Interstate 10 in Redlands. The museum is open Tuesdays through Sundays from 9 am to 5pm. General admission is $8 (adult), $6 (military or senior), $5 (student), and $4 (child aged 5 to 12). Children under five and Museum Association members are admitted free. Parking is free. For more information, visit www.sbcountymuseum.org.

Basket Primer - Pigtail Swing Handle

Thompson Basket,
originally uploaded by Picofbas99.

Jan Henry has posted a photo of a Tom Thompson basket that she bought at the Yellow Daisy Festival in Stone Mountain, Georgia. It is made of white oak with a bark decoration and has a pig-tail swing handle.

Tom is an active basketmaker and he has made this basket of White oak woodsplint. Other makers in the Appalachian and Ozarks area use this handle style. Historically, this style of pig-tail handle can also be found on Black ash swing handled baskets from the Great Lakes area. The bail portion of the handle is carved in one piece that has both ends whittled into a full round tail. The tail bends into a loop that inserts through the staples, then inserts back into the main portion of the handle on the diagonal, then bends again and is inserted back through the handle at a right angle to lock the loop in place. It is critical to carve this handle on the true grain of the wood in order to accomplish the bending. The holes through the handle are typically burned through the wood with a heated nail rather than being drilled so that a clean hole is created. Be sure to visit the large size image to see the full detail of this pig-tail basket handle.

For tips on how to split out the timber and carve your own basket handle visit this article on BasketMakers.com. If you wish to purchase a basket handle there are many resources to choose from here. Additional information about White Oak basketry is found here.

Check out Jan's flickr Photostream for many more interesting baskets.

Over time I will add a number of posts that describe basic basketry concepts and vocabulary. Look for them with the tag "primer".

Definition:
prim·er

–noun
1. an elementary book for teaching children to read.
2. any book of elementary principles: a primer of phonetics.

Shakerag Workshops - 2010 - John McQueen

Shakerag Workshops - 2010 - John McQueen

This course Tinkering with Nature at Shakerag Workshops at St. Andrew's-Sewanee School in Sewanee, TN is designed for all levels of experience, from beginners to experienced artists.

Many more basketry events can be found at BasketMakers.com.

Basket Weaving Essentials

I have gotten word today about the release of a new basketry video how-to - Basket Weaving Essentials with Nadine Spier. This DVD will help you learn from an expert how to coil beautiful baskets! Nadine Spier of Encinitas California is featured in this instructional coiled basketry video. The author of this DVD is an award-winning fiber artist and very popular instructor. Her beautiful and innovative vessels are exhibited internationally. In this 2-hour high-definition DVD, Nadine provides clear, concise instructions. The outstanding HD close-up photography shows all the steps in coiling a basket! Instruction includes how to start around a stone cabochon, around objects with holes (walnut slices, brooches, etc), 3 different stitches, how to master shaping the basket, how to finish, different plants you can weave with, and lots, lots more! A preview of the video is included on the web presentation so that you can get a feeling for Nadine's teaching style.

In addition to this DVD you can learn from Nadine firsthand in one of her many workshops at her home studio, a conference or even schedule her to teach at your location.

For much more about Coiled Basketry or Pineneedle Basketry visit BasketMakers.com. Visit the BasketMakers Events Calendar to locate other classes or workshop opportunities to sharpen your basketmaking skills. Don't forget you can subscribe to either the events calendar or these journal posts so that you don't miss any of them.

Woven Wooden Wishes and Bye for Now,
Susi

Basket Inspiration for Makers and Collectors

Billie Ruth Sudduth has published a new basketry book. Basket Inspiration for Makers & Collectors Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. (January 31, 2010)



More Books By Billie Ruth Sudduth

For much more about a variety of basketry publications please visit BasketMakers.com.

Black Ash Basketry Film

Black Ash Basketry Film

Great Lakes Lifeways Institute presents Black Ash Basketry: A Story of Cultural Resilience.


Two years in the making, this film will take you on an incredible emotional journey across culture and through time following an age old tradition, now threatened with disappearing forever because of the invasion of the Emerald Ash Beetle. Through the voices of local Native elders and basket makers discover a story of family, the connectedness of life, the value of traditions, hope for the future and a spirit of resilience in the face of change. All proceeds from the sale of this DVD support the preservation of traditional arts.

While you are there be sure to visit the Pigeon Family Baskets & Cultural Arts site for informative slide presentations of the selection, harvest and processing of Black Ash for basketmaking.

For much more about Black Ash Basketry visit BasketMakers.com

2010 BasketMakers Calendar ~ March

2010 BasketMakers Calendar ~ March
Originally uploaded by BasketMakers

February has come and gone. March is upon us and here is a printable calendar page for you.

Visit BasketMakers.com for more about bark basketry.

Woven Sculptures and Baskets Donated to MAD

"Spell of the Green Lizard" 1995 / Artist: Carol Eckert / Cotton, wire, 11 1/2" x 7 1/2" x 3 1/2"

A rare collection of contemporary baskets including functional vessels as well as expressive works that challenge traditional definitions of basketry, has been promised to the Museum of Arts and Design by Sara and David Lieberman. With their passion for collecting contemporary craft and their exceptional openness to new forms and ideas, the Liebermans have assembled one of the best compilations of contemporary baskets in the country. Their collection will be presented for the first time in New York in the exhibition Intertwined: Contemporary Baskets from the Sara and David Lieberman Collection, from March 16, 2010 and through September 12, 2010 at the Museum of Arts and Design.

“We are thrilled and grateful to be receiving this major gift from Sara and David Lieberman. Their collection is exceptional in its distinction and quality,” states Holly Hotchner the Museum’s Nanette L. Laitman Director. “The Lieberman collection offers an expansive overview of the current level of innovation and experimentation in the field. This material gets right to the heart of the intersection between craft, art, and design.”

Intertwined provides an international overview of an art form that is a fascinating blend of ancient and contemporary. The exhibition includes more than 70 traditional and non-traditional works, tracing the evolution of the basket from a useful object to a work of art that can have expressive, sculptural, and conceptual significance. The baskets utilize a range of materials from traditional organic fibers to surprising media such as zippers and fish skins.

Sara Lieberman states, “The field of contemporary basketry continues to interest and intrigue us. Talented artists working with a wide variety of material, both new and traditional, transform utilitarian containers into sculpture. Forms shrink or grow in size; colors remain muted or enliven with bold hues; and extraordinary skill combines with imagination, political and social commentary, playfulness, and great beauty. Is it any wonder that we love baskets?”

Sara and David Lieberman’s interest in baskets has coincided with a fifteen-year period of innovation and energy in the field. They first began acquiring baskets for their function and grounding in ancient traditions, but soon their selections included new works of great “vitality and vigor” that were more about “expression and communication” rather than function. The Lieberman collection now includes work by Ed Rossbach, Katherine Westphal, Sally Black, Kiyomi Iwata, Kazuaki Honma, Dorothy Gill Barnes, Carol Eckert, John McQueen, Elsie Holiday, Ferne Jacobs, Norma Minkowitz, Fran Reed, Lisa Telford, Kay Kahn, and many more.

David Revere McFadden, MAD Chief Curator, said, “People will be surprised to see such an incredible diversity of approaches to this ancient art forms. The Lieberman collection furthers MAD’s focus on materials and process, and the many ways in which tradition is being explored and renovated in the work of artists around the world.”

The collection also includes multiple works by John McQueen, whose background is in sculpture and who incorporates large figurative forms and text; Jane Sauer, who has championed the field; Gyöngy Laky, who brings a theoretical edge to the work; and John Garrett, who has been a noted experimenter with industrial materials. The Liebermans have also collected Japanese bamboo works and those made by Native American artists.

EXHIBITION ORGANIZATION AND CREDITS
Intertwined: Contemporary Baskets from the Sara and David Lieberman Collection is organized by the Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe, Arizona, and curated by Senior Curator Heather S. Lineberry and Jane Sauer, nationally known basket maker and scholar. The exhibition is coordinated at MAD by Assistant Curator Laura Stern. The presentation of the exhibition at MAD is made possible, in part, through the generosity of the Inner Circle, a leadership Museum support group.

CATALOGUE
Intertwined: Contemporary Baskets from the Sara and David Lieberman Collection is accompanied by a 48-page fully-illustrated color catalog which includes an essay by nationally-known curator and scholar Kenneth R. Trapp, former Curator for the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Museum and the Oakland Museum of California and a short piece by Los Angeles artist Ferne Jacobs. The Intertwined exhibition includes work by San Francisco Bay Area-based pioneers in the field including Ed Rossbach, Kay Sekimachi, Lillian Elliot, Gyöngy Laky, and Katherine Westphal. Among the 70 works in the exhibition is traditional work by Native Americans and innovative work by major contemporary figures, expanding the very definition of a basket. These artists include Dorothy Gill Barnes, Carol Eckert, John McQueen, Ferne Jacobs, Norma Minkowitz, John Garrett, and others. The exhibition also features exceptional holdings by masters from Japan, including Nagakura Kenichi, Jiro Yonezawa, Hisako Sekijima, and Yamaguchi Ryuün.

"Intertwined will be a visual feast with highly textural, colorful and boldly shaped sculptural forms suspended from the ceiling and hung on walls, in addition to traditional settings," added Lineberry. "The exhibition and its accompanying catalog, with essays by Kenneth R. Trapp and Ferne Jacobs, provide an international look at contemporary basket-making and its current level of innovation and experimentation." Other artists in the exhibition include Kate Anderson, Dail Behennah, Nancy Moore Bess, Mary Black, Sally Black, Jerry Bleem, Jan Buckman, Jane Chavez, Jill Nordfors Clark, Noboru Fujinuma, Shokosai Hayakawa, Elsie Holiday, Hideaki Honma, Kazuaki Honma, Jan Hopkins, Lissa Hunter, Kiyoma Iwata, Nancy Koenigsberg, Leon Niehues, Pearl Nuvangyaoma, Lindsay Ketterer Gates, Fran Reed, Hideho Tanaka, Tsuruko Tanikawa, Lisa Telford, Maseo Ueno, Dawn Walden, and Mika Watanabe.

Grass Roots African Origins of an American Art

Grass Roots African Origins of an American Art is a major exhibition at McKissick Museum in Columbia, South Carolina tracing the history and artistry of southern sweetgrass baskets and their cousins in Africa. The exhibit is scheduled to run from February 13, 2010 to May 8, 2010. Five years in the making, this extensive presentation is the first to definitively chart the migration of enslaved Africans, their rice, and the baskets necessary to process this grain, to the shores of Carolina. McKissick Museum staff worked with the Museum for African Art in New York, the organizing institution for the exhibition, the Avery Research Center at the College of Charleston and the Sweetgrass Cultural Arts Festival Association (South Carolina) in addition to a distinguished a group of nationally prominent historians, geographers, anthropologists, filmmakers and curators to assemble this remarkable collection of hundreds of objects and accompanying documents, photographs, and agricultural implements in order to tell the full story.

The exhibit is available for booking at qualified locations. Please contact Ja-Nae Epps at 803-777-2876 for additional information about the tour.

Featured Events While at McKissick Museum

Grand Opening
Saturday, February 13th, 2010 11:00 am - 4:00 pm
11:00 a.m. - Tour of exhibition by professors Dale Rosengarten and Nakia Wigfall
12:00 p.m. - Peter Wood lecture on the history of Africans in South Carolina and the rice industry.
1:00 p.m. - Film "Grass Roots: The Enduring Art of the Lowcountry Basket" by Dana Sardet.
There will also be a children's art activity table from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.

Basket Day
Saturday, April 17th, 2010 11:00 am - 4:00 pm
Basket makers from the Charleston area selling handcrafted baskets on the Horseshoe.


Sweet Grass Sundays
February 21, March 21, April 18, 2010
1:00 - 4:00 pm

For additional information and background about Gullah Sweetgrass basketry visit BasketMakers.com.