trob226

Anybody planning to go? I hope to make it some time in April. It really looks good.

superndngyrl

i wanna go! but maybe for the pow-wow we'll go check it out.

superndngyrl

Here's a link to it online.
http://www.nmai.si.edu/exhibitions/i...yByDesign.html

Paul G

Take a listen to our last podcast!

www.powwowcast.com

I interviewed Jhane Myers and Emil Her Many Horses about it.

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billyjoejimbob

I cant wait to check it out. I downloaded all the pages of the onlin exhibition, cant wait to get the book. I saw Emil this past weekend but didnt get a chance to BS with him. He was busy dancing and I singing.

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bushy_braids

i'm EXCITED to see the exhibition too!!!! the website is amazing and has TONS of info and great stories/quotes from the six artists that are featured - their work is truely inspiring! i also peeked at the book and can't wait to get my hands on a copy! by the way... have you all seen the new pendleton they've created for this exhibit!? i told my mom it'd sure make a nice new jacket!!! haha...
...and i'm happy to say both my mother & sister are featured in it too - what an honor!

anyway... check out the website it does have a lot to offer with a lot of pretty pictures

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Lakota_Lady

Thanks for posting this link. I just finished looking at it, the pictures are amazing. Wish I could see the exhibit.

trob226

You're all right, the website is terrific. I especially like Jackie Parsons's quote about how her beadwork doesn't turn out the way she planned it because it takes on a life of its own. That's what I like about beadwork - it's life comes to itself as you work the pattern you had in mind, and what the beadwork wants to do is almost always better than what you had planned for it. Kind of like raising kids, I guess.

bushy_braids

haha... great analogy! i haven't thought of beadwork like that before... i'ma have to tell my ma that one!

but that's sooo true - i guess it's because we can only envision so much, but like you said once you begin creating, it soon develops a life of it's own and creates it's own identity which soon becomes apparent- and in turn all of that adds to the spirit... very much like a child!

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bushy_braids

it's unfortunate that this is one person's opinion that is pubilshed in such a large newspaper!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...402472_pf.html

Only Hide-Deep
Dress Exhibit at Indian Museum Comes Up Short

By Robin Givhan
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 25, 2007; Page C02

Sometimes a dress -- no matter how historically rare, culturally significant or spiritually meaningful -- is just boring. This unfortunate fact has nothing to do with the value of the garment or even its beauty, but rather the circumstances under which it is presented. And one of the surest ways to guarantee that a dress will fail to excite either the mind or heart is to put it in a museum and treat it with too much reverence.

An exhibition of even the most dazzling clothes begins to feel like drudgery when the garments are imbued with so much gravitas that they lose the vibrancy that comes from the quirks, foibles and humor of the people who wore them.

The current exhibition at the National Museum of the American Indian burrows deeply into the details of Native American women's attire. But it focuses on the subtleties without clarifying the broader story.

"Identity by Design: Tradition, Change, and Celebration in Native Women's Dresses" examines the culture of dressmaking handed down from mother to daughter, and the importance their beading and sewing skills occupy within their community. The exhibition, which runs through Jan. 2, doesn't merely look back at artifacts, but also addresses the work of contemporary women from various tribes.

The influence of those women, who served as both contributors and consultants, is felt throughout the exhibition. (There are videos of them discussing their work.) Their sincerity leaves little room for skepticism, debate or humor. One is informed that the garments are revered as a way of connecting one generation to the next without ever learning whether that is what makes them exceptional. Is this different, for example, from the intergenerational culture of quilting?

The clothes evolve over the years as wool fabrics and glass beads are brought into communities by traders. But from the information presented, one would be hard-pressed to figure out why those transformations -- brought on by the passage of time, the influence of outsiders and desires within the Native American communities -- are so different from the ways in which attire has changed among other peoples.

One learns about the symbolism of elk teeth (longevity) and turtles (health and fertility), but that knowledge hangs in the air, interesting but detached. If a culture literally wears its fascination with longevity and fertility on its sleeves, how does that inform the way in which the elderly and children are perceived?

For the layperson, viewing the exhibition is a bit like entering a conversation that already is going at full speed. From the snatches of sentences you can make out, it's clear that the topic is important and the participants passionate. But you don't have enough information to engage in anything close to a rigorous intellectual dialogue. You also sense that dialogue is not the point here. This is a lecture.

The exhibition catalogue provides some of the back story missing from the galleries. It should be required reading before entering.

The show opens with an example of a "side-fold" dress, one of only 11 known to be in museum collections. The dress, created by folding a single buffalo hide in half, underscores the connection between attire and respect for nature. There are elements of subversiveness, rebellion and pride in other dresses decorated with beaded images of the American flag. Once, the flags were used as a diversionary tactic, to obscure the fact that the garments, worn on July 4, were actually in service to traditional Native American ceremonies that had been banned by the federal government. Later, the flags were included to acknowledge the military service of a loved one.

As the exhibition winds its way to contemporary times, the dresses become more elaborate and the use of rhinestones more common. The explanation for this is rooted in native culture. Rhinestones are a modern way of expressing a closely guarded tradition of beadwork. And yet, one can't help but wonder about the role popular culture might have played in shaping these undeniably glitzy garments. Is there so much isolation that the effects of a highly ostentatious mass culture would have no impact on the performance garb worn to a powwow? Addressing that question would allow the garments to be viewed in a broader context. Instead, they are presented as precious curiosities.

All clothes reflect the realities of their times, making them expressive cultural artifacts. They not only indicate what a society reveres, they also reveal prejudices, fears and aspirations. In this exhibit, one longs for examples of cultural connections, to see how traditional Native American dress was influenced by outsiders -- beyond the influx of new beads -- and to know whether those outsiders were changed as well.

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rachel56

The woman who wrote that article is white isn't she? I don't mean to offend white people who are on this board, but that type of article is typical of what a white close-minded journalist who is simpling "observing" the exhibit/native-culture would write. Negativity just flows out of her words. She even learned just enough about native culture from the exhibit to write that article (which was well written by the way). But her ethnicity isn't the point, her attitude is important. You have to excuse me, sometimes i forget that people are entitled to their own opinion. I've been out of school for a few weeks and my brain is a little fuzzy but i'm guessing that her central argument is that the exhibit treats the dresses with too much "reverence" and that they "are imbued with so much gravitas that they lose the vibrancy that comes from the quirks, foibles and humor of the people who wore them." She also says that the exhibit is more of a lecture than anything else and does not speak to the layperson who does not know anything about the culture behind the dresses. I guess this lady wants the viewers to be spoon-fed. Don't many art/cultural exhibits in museums just place the artifacts and/or art there for the viewers to personally experience themselves. You don't go to the Louvre and expect to be lectured on each piece. If a piece moves you or interests you, you do your own research and maybe out of that, you come to love appreciate the meaning of the piece, its place in history, its historical significance and the time that went into making it. The same goes with these dresses and their importance in native culture.
She seems to be saying that a person who goes to this exhibit who knows nothing about native culture will be lost during this exhibit. Hmmm, what do i say to that? They should go to other parts of the museum then! The writer of the article, Robin Givhen just eloquently bashed the whole exhibit.

Personally, I have not seen the exhibit nor been to the museum at all. But i did view the exhibit online a few months ago and i was amazed. I want to go see it so bad. Thanks for posting bushy braids. I needed something to be pissed about. As an art/art history lover, an anthropology major and as a person who is trying to learn about my native heritage, i wanted to reply to the article. :)