Virgil Ortiz Creations

Daybreak of the Resistance

Fri, 02 Aug 2024 20:28:53 GMT

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Convergence: Defenders Descend from Portal to Pueblo

Thu, 17 Aug 2023 02:07:24 GMT

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Revolt 1680/2180: Runners + Gliders

Wed, 10 May 2023 19:23:08 GMT

The year is 2180. The Recon Watchmen, time-traveling warriors, scour the desert in full combat gear. Their mission: safeguarding the past, present, and future of the New Mexico Pueblos.

Watching Over the Past

Tue, 12 Jul 2022 00:11:38 GMT

Watching Over the Past: Virgil Ortiz’s Futuristic Creations are Perpetuating Cochiti Pueblo Pottery-Making Traditions

In the four decades since he first began to explore his art, Ortiz has expressed himself through many forms, from fashion and costumes to photography and graphic design. He has also combined traditional designs and materials with stories from the future, inspired by when he first saw the original “Star Wars” movie as a child in 1977. He was fascinated by the movie and its characters. “I remembered every single detail. Where they came from, how their ships looked or what they wore, how they spoke,” he said.

Ortiz even has been working on a screenplay to tell the story. “I developed 19 groups of characters that represent the 19 Pueblos that are still left in New Mexico today. Characters like the Watchmen would represent one Pueblo—the Blind Archers, the Translator Army, the Venutian Soldiers, all of these different characters are assigned to the 19 Pueblos.” Ortiz said the project is a way of “telling our future, mixing that with our present day and then also our historic times, and tying them all together.”

The science fiction genre has continued to fuel his imagination. In 2008, he started writing a storyline called “Revolt 1680/2180,” which he has portrayed through a series of works, including jars, busts and now live actors portraying different characters in the story. Together, they depict a dystopian future 500 years after the Pueblo Revolt in which time travelers return to the era of the revolt to aid and record the culture of their ancestors. This epic tale has culminated with the release this year of eight “Recon Watchmen” in full costumes and masks that were fitted for the actors who are portraying them. These Watchmen have joined other characters in the story to protect the Pueblos of the past, preserving and recording traditions so they can survive and be passed on.

Revolt Takes an Army

Mon, 16 Aug 2021 21:12:50 GMT

What processes go into creating innovative and collaborative artwork? For father and son metalsmith duo Dan and Foster Romano, the process began when they met Cochiti artist Virgil Ortiz. The Colorado Springs natives learned of the eclectic work of Virgil Ortiz from a friend at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center in 2018. Inspired by Ortiz's work, they signed up for a workshop series produced by Ortiz at the Fine Arts Center. Friendships were formed as Ortiz mentored and worked with Foster to design and create a set of steel weapons for his Venutian Soldiers series. Fast forward three years and the trio of artisans have co-created a first-of-its-kind VO mixed media sculpture.

Foreseer: An icon of history. “To the Pueblo people here, [Po’Pay] is our hero. Tribes were on the verge of losing their cultural identity when the Pueblo Revolt brought everything back for our people.” - Herman Agoyo

The initial design of the sculpture was conceptualized by Ortiz and depicts his bold signature designs: the Turkey Track and Rez Spine, including elements from nature and Pueblo life. These details were prepared by Dan and Foster, who then recreated Ortiz's design using computer-aided design software. Once the process plan and measurements for the concept were determined, steel sheets were then cut, manipulated, and welded to produce each facet of the structure.

The sculpture was sandblasted to produce a consistent velvet-like surface finish to achieve the earthen color tone and texture. The steel was then wet and left to oxidize to form the rusted patina. Days later, the desired look was achieved. Once notified of the sculpture's condition, Ortiz traveled to Colorado Springs with photographer Bryce Risley to inspect and document the completed work.

Arriving at Romano's studio, Ortiz unloads a larger-than-life bust of Po’pay, leader of the 1680 Pueblo Revolt, from his truck. The piece is formed of clay, carefully coiled and sculpted in Ortiz's studio in Cochiti. The bust is set in place atop the steel platform cut precisely to fit the ceramic addition. Both artists circle the monolith, inspecting its details and the negative space around Po'pay's bust. All the elements fit together perfectly. With no alterations needed, the team prepares to depart from Carbon Studios to New Mexico. Untangling several ratchet straps, Ortiz climbs into the truck bed to secure the artwork.

Back in New Mexico, it's time to capture the full effect of the work against the desert landscape before concluding its tour. Ortiz and Risley load up the bust of Po'pay and set off to photograph him at a location that served as a backdrop for one of Ortiz's earlier projects. Surrounded by pink, yellow, and white hoodoos, Ortiz and Risley strategize photo-ops to create visceral content to reveal the art. "We used a long sturdy piece of fabric as a sling to tie up the bust so we could carry it safely from one location to the next," remarks Risley. On either side of the makeshift sling, Ortiz and Risley carried Po'pay over a mile to capture bold and powerful images against the extraterrestrial-like sandstone and clay landscape. Fatigued but also ecstatic at the photos they'd captured, the duo set off once more to reconvene with Dan and Foster.

Ortiz and Romano have now recruited friends and family to transport the steel sculpture to a location to capture images for marketing and documenting purposes. Once on-site, the team took direction from Ortiz, deliberating ideal areas for the photos to be taken. The process of capturing the images required trust, finesse, and heavy lifting from everyone on the team as they loaded the sculpture, weighing some 300 pounds into the bed of Ortiz's truck. After five or so relocations and minor adjustments to level and angle the art piece to compliment the landscape, Risley once again entered his domain, capturing the sky, stone, clay, and steel in an environment seemingly destined to showcase the presence and spirit of the art.

After the photoshoot wrap, the team departed to meet at the Inn at Loretto; it was time to complete their creation's journey. Once the team had lifted the sculpture from the truck bed and positioned it upright, Dan used a hammer drill to set the base of the steel sculpture onto its sandstone pedestal centered in the roundabout of the hotel's driveway. Foster helped sink the bolts as Virgil and Dan carefully mounted Po'pay's bust into position and anchored it in place. The assembly was finished once the baseplate segments were installed, covering the foot of the sculpture.

Alas, the installation was complete — the team rallied in front of the sculpture, applauding one another for their contributions. Po'pay has arrived, and he has a plan.

For information on Foreseer and the Revolt Runners , please email us here .

Artisan America

Sun, 21 Mar 2021 03:53:23 GMT

It has never been easy to be an artisan in America. That was true when the United States was a new nation, and it is true today. In some ways, the challenges have not even changed that much. Yes, we seem to live our lives on permanent fast forward these days, with boundless opportunities for immediate gratification and distraction. Information and resources are more accessible than ever before. What used to be “mysteries of the trade” are now floating out there on YouTube. The most specialized tools and materials can be ordered for next-day delivery. Yet it still takes long years to achieve mastery in a craft. The difficulty of getting wood, leather, clay, fabric, stone or glass to do what you want remains the same. And the business side of earning a livelihood with your hands, day in, day out, is as demanding as ever.

These challenges, which all makers hold in common, can be great equalizers, giving craft the potential to cut across social divides and provide a powerful sense of continuity with the past. This possibility has never seemed more within our reach, for the United States is currently experiencing a craft renaissance, arguably the most momentous in our history. Not even the Arts and Crafts movement, which ended about a century ago, achieved the scale of today’s artisan economy—or anything like its diversity. This is big news, and it is good news. But it’s not necessarily simple.

To better understand this great resurgence of craft, I interviewed contemporary makers about their experiences of learning, setting up shop, developing a name for themselves, working with clientele and finally, passing skills on to others. Having recently completed a book on the history of American craft , I have been fascinated that many stories from the past find continuity with today. All across the country, craftspeople are prevailing over the challenges that invariably come their way, and longstanding traditions are being extended and transformed.

Take, for example, Virgil Ortiz . He began his career as a potter, drawing on the deep cultural well of Cochiti Pueblo, in New Mexico, where he was born and raised. While ceramics remains central for him, he works in other disciplines as well—film, fashion, jewelry and more. He picked up skills one after another, in what he describes as an organic process of development: “If I did not live close to an exhibition venue, I needed slides to present my work. So that led to photography. Then came magazine ads, so I taught myself graphic design. If I wanted a leather coat I had seen in a fashion magazine and could not possibly afford it, I taught myself how to sew. Each medium inspires another—it’s never-ending.”

Remixed Across Media

Fri, 19 Mar 2021 21:14:40 GMT

Over the years Virgil Ortiz has built an iconic company with aesthetics that carry through multiple endeavors including pottery, prints, home decor, and fashion design. Celebrities are among his customers and models, and major museums such as the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Paris’s Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, and the National Museum of the American Indian have collected his work. Recently he created a silver outfit based on his Aeronauts characters for singer Nona Hendryx. His company’s branding and his individual artwork frequently employ a black-and-white scheme with reoccurring visuals such as corsets, boots, PVC, and body painting. “I’m goth for life!” jokes the artist, now in his early 50s. With his consistently bold aesthetics and subject matter, Ortiz carved a space for himself in the Native art scene of the Southwest and the art world at large.

Though Ortiz is established as a master ceramicist, he stays curious and open to change. He balances his individual artistic pursuits with the creative direction of his brand. “Our team members wear many hats, but we’ve mastered thinking and functioning like one person. I used to do it all myself, but as the company grew, I could no longer do it alone. With regard to the traditional clay works, I create them myself from start to end.”

Much of Ortiz’s creations flow together from different projects remixed across media. Some pottery includes images from photographs; some T-shirts feature the patterns he paints on pottery. “They all kind of mesh together and inspire ideas. I segue into many different types of media, so I am endlessly experimenting. These days, I’m going to YouTube college to figure out different techniques, mostly out of necessity. They eventually all fit together and work as one.”

The artist has recently delved into lithography while working with Gallery Hózhó in Albuquerque. “Earlier this year I spent a week at the Tamarind Institute, a leading lithography studio, and created three prints as part of my Revolt 1680/2180 series. These are my first works in this new medium. I’m really pleased at how they turned out.”

His confidence in his vision came from a childhood fascination with science fiction. “It all started a long time ago, in a Pueblo far, far away! Reminiscing about it all, the most transparent thoughts that come through are definitely loving sci-fi films and TV shows. I watched the first Star Wars film in a theater when I was seven. The film gave me the confidence to dream and create anything I could imagine.”

Often educational, Ortiz’s artwork is staunchly rooted in his culture. He descends from a notable line of Cochiti potters including Laurencita Herrera, his grandmother, and Seferina Ortiz, his mother. The two core themes that drive Ortiz’s work are, as he emailed to me, “1) Making sure that Cochiti clay work, which requires traditional methods and materials, continues and thrives for the next generation of potters; and 2) Educating the world about the 1680 Pueblo Revolt using my art.” In 1680 the Pueblos rose up in a coordinated resistance led by Po’pay against Spanish colonial rule. “Most people have not heard about the Pueblo Revolt, the first American Revolution,” says Ortiz. “It is not taught in our schools and it isn’t in our textbooks. It has been swept under the carpet because of the genocide that happened to our people. It is a history that has to be told.”

Ortiz’s screenplay, Revolt 1680/2180 , shapes the world he is creating. “I've been working on my script for over two decades now. It keeps evolving as I work in different parts of the world, meet new folks, experiment with various art forms, and grow as a person. I can tell you that the storyline is all based on the revolt happening simultaneously in two different time dimensions, 1680 and 2180. This allows me to tell our history with a sci-fi element/feature to it all. With each exhibition or collection unveiling, I release more details from the revolt saga.” This world features a wide cast of characters: The historic Po’pay, Tahu and her Blind Archers, Venutian Soldiers, Aeronauts, Rez Spine Watchmen, Runners, Spirit World Army, Castilians, Stargazers, and more.

A significant character in Revolt 1680/2180 , Tahu, symbolizes women’s empowerment. “She’s the heroine of the movie script,” states Ortiz. She appears frequently in his work. In Tahu, Leader of the Blind Archers , a digitally manipulated black-and-white photograph, she stands in front of a barren forest. She is wrapped in a blanket with a bow and arrows on her back. A black shield covers her eyes, and eagle feathers adorn her hair. This particular image was shot at Cochiti Canyon. “We had a forest fire, so everything was completely black, and it just looked spooky and very desolate and very dystopian—that was just [the view] from my truck driving on the road—but when you got closer and walked into the trees, even though they were all charred and black with no leaves, if you looked really close, they started to bud again. So you see these high, little half-inch green leaves coming out, and buds. It all meant rebirth to me, and strength of the woman coming back into play, and how important it is, so it was the perfect background for it.” For another image from this set that uses the same shot of Tahu, Ortiz approached his sisters and nieces to participate and asked them to wear their feast day outfits. The Cochiti women and girls stand among the trees with Tahu, dressed in mantas, moccasins, shawls, and blankets, representing the Blind Archers. Most were photographed in one session, with several family members added to the image later. “Some of my nieces were not able to make it, so I photoshopped them into it. So it’s a combination of both, of reality and digital.”

Other characters in Ortiz’s world, the Venutian Soldiers, are “futuristic, herculean superheroes, over eight feet tall, who fight mainly at nighttime and possess extraordinary strength and magical powers,” who team up with “Tahu of the Blind Archers and her twin brother, Kootz of the Runners, after their Pueblo was destroyed by nuclear weapons during the first Castilian invasion.... They are forced to wear gas masks and oxygen tanks around their necks in order to survive.”

In Odyssey of the Venutian Soldiers , Ortiz costumed and styled eight Venutian Soldiers for a photo and film shoot at the Paint Mines Interpretive Park in Calhan, Colorado. They are in predominantly black clothing and gas masks, and several hold staffs or spears, while one holds a flag with a “turkey track ” X , Ortiz’s trademark. They stand among cream-white rocks, echoed by white clouds in the blue sky. “Some of them were professors and some were students,” reveals Ortiz. “That was pretty cool, because, working at universities and doing residencies and workshops, it’s cool to be able to incorporate the people that I’m working with and the students.” The resulting video was recently shown in the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Art’s exhibition, Indigenous Futurisms: Transcending Past/Present/Future . Odyssey is on view at the Montclair Art Museum through March 2021.

Venutian Soldiers Quest (2020) embodies ancestral Cochiti clay practices. Made with Cochiti red clay, white and red clay slip, and wild spinach for the black paint, the piece exemplifies the graphic style of painting for which Ortiz is known and features a three-dimensional Venutian soldier emerging from one side of a black horned vessel. Two-dimensional Venutian soldiers flank the other side, painted from characters costumed and photographed by Ortiz in a prior series. One is covered in a robe and the other wears a corset; both carry bows and arrows and wear gas masks. A looping motif with black spikes, Ortiz’s signature element, serves as a graphic detail in the piece. For Ortiz, this was an opportunity to play with three-dimensional forms joining into two-dimensional, painted surfaces. “I’ve done it before, but not on this scale—it’s a big piece.” The areas where 2D and 3D merge on the figure play with the eye; Ortiz notes how he painted the back of the jacket to make it look like it had an edge. The sculptural back foot also flows seamlessly into the painted back leg, and the figure holds a two-dimensional staff.

When asked his thoughts on COVID-19 given his post-apocalyptic themes, he sees parallels. “You know, the COVID-19 pandemic is eerily similar to the storyline behind my Venutian Soldiers—almost feels like a prediction that is becoming a reality. It’s really frightening to witness in real time. The masses are reliving, fighting for existence, as our people did. It is an awakening that we are all very much alike, more than anyone thought. I hope we can learn from our history. We are better together—align, protect, inform, and shape a new future.”

The work of Don Reitz (1929–2014), the former owner of the ranch and a major Euro-American ceramicist, was a major influence on Ortiz’s latest pieces. Don’s ceramics surrounded the house, the studio, and the kilns, able to withstand all kinds of weather conditions. Ortiz “could immediately feel his presence there” and he asked Don Reitz to guide him. His artworks, dramatically unlike Cochiti’s pottery, surprised Ortiz. “He had walls that were like five inches thick, and just very textured and cut. He really manhandled the clay,” Ortiz says, comparing Ritz’s creations to volcanic rocks.

In Cochiti, the pottery would typically be hand built, dried, sanded, meticulously painted, and then fired once outdoors in a specially made kiln, fueled by wood. If the piece has an air bubble, it will burst during the firing—there’s only one shot. Cochiti pottery uses a low-fire process with low-fire clay. At Reitz Ranch, raw clay pieces are first bisque-fired at 1800°F. Layers of glaze may be added through multiple firings for a final piece. The process of soda firing in a gas kiln, which has Asian origins, can dramatically affect the look and feel of a piece as ashes land on the pottery and create texture. Ortiz focused on the form of his sculptures and allowed the firings to decorate them, diverging from his usual precise painting. With the high-fire process, temperatures can get up to 2300°F. It takes a team to fire pottery in one of the large wood kilns at the ranch. Together, they keep the fire going 24/7 for over a week.

“This is just a whole new education that I never expected, but I so love it now, and it just works really well to continue to tell the story. It looks like we just excavated all these pieces.... And it’s just fun, because now it fits into the storyline where the Aeronauts are coming back from the future to the present time to collect artifacts and designs and shards and taking them back to the future to store them, protect them, and keep them safe until we get to that time, and so that our traditions of designs, or shapes, or anything that is in clay, stays alive in the future,” Ortiz explains.

Ortiz released a new series this August, The Revolt Chargers , created during the Reitz Ranch residency. He shared an excerpt from the new chapter:

Chargers are armored secret passkeys to gain entrance to the Aeronauts Survivorship Armada Stargate. Those who possess the Chargers can find gates that are located throughout Earth’s lithosphere. Aeronauts Cuda and Steu originally owned the Chargers. They are highly coveted and protected, hiding in plain sight. The Aeronauts shared this primordial knowledge with the Watchmen, who are stationed around Earth’s realm surveying for any advances of the Castilian Army.

The inspiration for the Rez Spine Watchmen’s patrol areas is cultural. “Of course it’s talking about the Native traditions—the four directions,” notes Ortiz.

The Revolt Chargers series departs from Ortiz’s typical black-and-white scheme with a wide array of shifting earth tones. Within the series are seven high-fired, atmospheric-fired plates called “Chargers,” representing the passkeys in Ortiz’s world and created in collaboration with Smith. Ortiz points out a particular piece, Omtua . “That’s a Tesuque name for an actual runner that was part of the actual revolt,” he says. The piece is roughly formed and etched and overlaid with pieces of clay. The overall effect is akin to stone. A small face representing a runner, a foot messenger in the Pueblo Revolt, accents the plate’s edge. Ashes fell on and fused to the piece, creating additional texture. “It looks like dirt just dropped on the face,” Ortiz observes.

Ortiz introduces several new Watchmen in the form of a jar in the case of Ion , and six hand-built, sculpted busts and heads for Dorn , Rainor , Rayl , Saasha , Sy , and Talus . Ortiz has been sculpting faces lately, and he continues to amp up the realism with this series. The underlying goal is for the characters to potentially serve as models for movie prosthetics.

Rainor, Admiral of the East Realm Rez Spine Watchmen , a mottled grey-green sculpture with three tubes connecting to the head and tusks around the mouth, is one of his favorites. Ortiz stresses that Rainor and other pieces have details and a physicality that need to be experienced in person: “Everybody needs to hold them, feel the weight, touch them—the texture— and look really close, and see some parts in the crevices are super watery-looking, even though they look matte.” With Rainor , tiny crystals are embedded in the surface. “And it’s really hard to capture the real texture of it, because if you were to see any of these pieces in person, it looks like his nose is sweating. It looks like it’s moist. If you see when he’s looking left, the profile left, you can slightly see the reflection on his nose,” Ortiz explains.

Talus, Recon of the South Realm Rez Spine Watchman (2020) depicts a tusked, helmeted being. The high-gloss sculpture is colored an oily black with sections of cream and caramel “drips” moving down the piece, forming glass. “I had no idea this goes down,” admits Ortiz. “But once you work with people that do this for a living and have studied this, they’re like, ‘Oh my God! You got the drips! It’s so juicy!’ They’re so excited. I’m like, ‘What the hell are you guys talking about?’ Then, ‘Ooh, now I get it.’” The most prominent aspect of the sculpture is the ridged helmet that, combined with the effect of the glaze, looks almost insectlike. A knob representing hair tied in a bun extends from the back of the head. Ortiz made the bust in April 2019 during a workshop at ASU, where it was first bisque-fired then fired again after glazing at the Reitz Ranch. He wanted to sand the piece, as is customary in his process, but his colleagues told him to leave the marks where he worked the clay, as the texture would produce a more dramatic result. The piece was covered with a dark glaze, then ashes were sprinkled directly on it, which created the cream areas.

Saasha, Recon of the East Realm Rez Spine Watchmen (2020), features a sandy-colored bust with a feminine face. A long, dark scratch runs down her fore head, across her left eye, and down her chest. Ortiz’s “turkey track” mark etches her forehead. Tusks emerge from each side of her mouth with an additional horn on her right shoulder. A slab of clay rests against the left side of her face and neck. Melded to the top of Saasha’s head is a rounded shape with an opening and a triad of spines. This serves as a head crest, the inspiration for which Ortiz says is “basically updating what our women wear for feast day dances, and turning them into warriors as well.” She communicates telepathically from the future into the past with Po’pay and Tahu.

With this piece, Ortiz attempted to re-create an atmospheric firing in an electric kiln. “It came out pretty cool. She reminded me of bread—like feast day bread,” he laughs. In a more serious tone, he explains the meaning behind his stylistic decisions. “The circular motions, the scrapes that I put on the headdress, are supposed to represent the universe and a black hole, basically, and then the little white speckles are stars and all—the galaxy,” Ortiz explains. “But within the tiny scratches, down the face or around her eyes, I put black slip in it.” She was fired three times to achieve her coloration, as the process of high-fire pottery allows for multiple firings and layers of glazing. First was the bisque, then a matte black underglaze and a white outer glaze, “so once it got super-hot, then it blended it together, and just the reduction or smoke made it a tan color and black.”

One of the other watchmen, Dorn, Magnate of the East Realm Rez Spine Watchmen (2020), a glossy, olive-green bust with a masculine face and a headdress that echoes Saasha’s, shows how different processes produce different results. “If you look at Dorn, that piece is one of my favorite, favorite pieces, because that one came out of the soda fire, and it did its own thing, like it just completely transformed.... All the holes that I poked in it, all the texture I gave it, that’s just Don Reitz’s aesthetic coming through....”

“Maybe in the movie these pieces could come alive from rock, from stone,” Ortiz considers. “I don’t know. There’s just so many options. That’s why it’s never-ending, that’s why I keep saying that. It just keeps going and going!”

What’s next for Ortiz? “I thought I was going to get a little time off, but it’s actually amped up. We all have to move forward, given the circumstances,” says Ortiz. Several monumental pieces are waiting to be fired. “These are the largest pieces that I have attempted. I made some that are drying at ASU and more at Reitz Ranch. It will take at least six months to dry before we bisque them. They have internal structures for support so they have to dry slowly. We are planning to fire them in the Reitzagama [a specially modified, oversized kiln]. I’m really excited for this!” He further shares his plans for winter 2020 to spring 2021. “As soon as it’s safe to travel again, I look forward to a residency at the iconic Archie Bray in Montana to create a new body of work,” says Ortiz. Several exhibitions are in the works for 2021 and 2022.

Ortiz encourages a spirit of experimentation for Native creatives looking to push their art to the next level. “Learn as much as you can of any subject you want to pursue. The internet is a goldmine to figure anything out. Do not be intimidated by failing; these are our best teachers. Focus, manifest, and never stop creating.”

Written by Neebinnaukzhik Southall (Rama Chippewa).

The leading source for thoughtful and thorough coverage of the Native Art World. Get a copy of this issue here .

Cultural Impact

Wed, 19 Aug 2020 01:54:00 GMT

If you Google “the first revolution in America,” you’ll get more than five million results for the American Revolution, the one in which Anglo colonists sought independence from the British Crown. Yet almost 100 years earlier, the real first revolt took place in this country when 46 Pueblos throughout New Mexico organized a rebellion and, in one fell swoop, drove the Spanish conquistadors from their lands. “Most people do not know about the Pueblo Revolt of 1680,” says Virgil Ortiz. “It isn’t taught in our schools; it isn’t in our history books. It has been swept under the carpet for hundreds of years because of the genocide against Indigenous peoples.”

Ortiz, who comes from Cochiti Pueblo and was taught to work with clay by his mother and grandmother almost before he could walk or talk, is an artist of many genres. But the story he’s telling through his art is always the same: the perseverance in the fight for justice and equality. It’s the quintessential American tale, and—as we’ve seen in recent months with the momentum of the Black Lives Matter movement and other protests, not to mention New Mexico’s recent removal of colonial statues—it won’t end until the battle is won.

The youngest of six children, Ortiz says he “had the most time to experiment with clay, sitting next to our mother.” After school each day, he’d go home to clay. “I thought every family worked with clay,” he says. “I did not even know that it was art that was being created.” The practice involved going on trips to nearby mountains to harvest the clay and gather wild spinach, which is boiled down for days into a sludge and set into corn husks, where it becomes a deep black paint. The pottery is shaped using the ancient coil-and-scrape method, then painted and fired outdoors in the traditional manner, although Ortiz sometimes uses a kiln when he’s not at the Pueblo, where he has a home and studio.

Around the age of 14, Ortiz started to create new figurative pieces that were totally different from what he’d learned from his family. That’s when he caught the eye of Robert Gallegos, a collector and dealer from Albuquerque who visited the Pueblo several times a year to purchase clay works from Cochiti potters. “He has known
me since I was a kid,” says Ortiz. “Robert kept an eye on the children of the potters who would naturally pick up the art, continue with the tradition, and pass it on to the next generation. He knew it was a dying art form.”

Secret Passkeys & Portals

Sat, 08 Aug 2020 17:24:00 GMT

BEHIND VIRGIL ORTIZ’S FANTASTICAL VISION △

The visionary image-maker and storyteller unleashes his latest collection. The Revolt Chargers embodies Ortiz’s passion for creating new characters, shapes, textures, and carvings, provoking a new chapter in his 1680/2180 Pueblo Revolt saga — the First American Revolution.

Omtua

Occident ^✦ Possessor: Taoky

These one-of- a-kind chargers were conceptualized during Ortiz’s recent residency at the Reitz Ranch Center for Ceramic Arts, a historical landmark in modern-day American ceramics. They represent Ortiz’s first foray into wood and experimental atmospheric firings, as well as new construction methods, a distinctly new direction in his decades-long ceramics journey. Paired with the contemporary collegiate education of Andrew ‘Augusta’ Smith, Ortiz’s expertise in traditional methods and iconic design brings this cross-cultural endeavor to a brilliant crossroads, combining spiritual messages with organic, ancient surfaces. New depiction methods range from relief carving to abstracted expression, combining the influence of masters like Don Reitz with a newfound knowledge of ancient historical practices from around the world. Unlike any works from Ortiz before, the ASxVO collaboration continues to push the limits with this explorative collection.

Dorn, Magnate of the East Realm Rez Spine Watchmen

Rainor, Admiral of the East Realm Rez Spine Watchmen

In Revolt 1680/2180 , Ortiz envisions a dystopian future 500 years after the Pueblo Revolt in which time-travelers return to the time of the revolt to aid their ancestors. A new chapter reveals more details…

Rainor summons the Spirit World Army, “Prepare the Survivorship Fleet for transport to Earth’s realm! It is time for the uprising against the invaders!” Po’pay’s plan will soon be revealed.

Dorn , donning a helmet adorned with a Stargate crest, joins the Aeronauts, pilots of the Survivorship Armada, and launch their descent to earth to join their comrades to prepare for battle. Po’pay dispatches the Revolt Runners carrying knotted cords more than 50 miles to co-conspiring Pueblo leaders —the number of knots signal the days remaining before the uprising. The Watchmen soldiers, armed with impenetrable chargers used as war shields, start sealing off the roads and storm the Castilian settlements. The enemy is besieged and driven out. Sadly, the aftermath was devastating, the Pueblo lands were destroyed. The Aeronauts quickly gather the survivors and search for any remaining clay artifacts from the battlefields. They realize that challenges and persecution will continue, so it is imperative to preserve and protect their clay, culture, language, and traditions from extinction.

Austrial ^✸ Possessor: Rainor

Orient ^✴ Posessor: Dorn

Chargers are armored secret passkeys used to gain entrance to the Aeronauts Survivorship Armada Stargate. Those who possess the Chargers can find gates that are located throughout Earth’s lithosphere. Aeronauts Cuda and Steu originally owned the Chargers. They are highly coveted and protected, hiding in plain sight. The Aeronauts shared this primordial knowledge with the Watchmen, who are stationed around Earth’s realm surveying for any advances of the Castilian Army. ▽

Time Travelers: Bridging Past and Future

Thu, 23 Jul 2020 00:06:00 GMT

In January 2020, Virgil Ortiz spent a week at Tamarind Institute, a leading lithography studio where he created the three prints as part of his Revolt 1680/2180 series. In the storyline, time-travelers move between the historic Pueblo Revolt of 1680 when the Pueblos of New Mexico banded together to overthrow the Spanish conquistadores to the futuristic revolt of 2180 against the violent Castilian invaders who destroyed the lands of the Puebloans and subjugated the people who lived there.

Ortiz’s narrative portrays the fearless visionary of the Pueblo Revolt time-traveling forward 500 years—Po’Pay, the historic organizer of the revolt and spiritual leader from Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo. Ortiz also created characters within his storyline: Tahu, the leader of the Blind Archers, and her twin brother, Kootz; the Watchmen, time travelers in spiky armor; Dorn , Magnate of the East Realm Rez Spine Watchmen who protect the earth from attacks by the Castilian army; the Aeronauts, who summon the fleet in preparation for battle; and the Runners who relay messages and organize the revolts.

Go Behind The Scenes: Revolt 1680/2180 Takes an Army

Ortiz spent h ours and hours with an oil pencil, a technique he found to be similar to the fine lines he uses in painting his ceramics. Working late into the night to produce the carefully hatched images. In the proofing, he added the red triangle and circle which was placed both in front of and behind the figures to produce a three-dimensional object .

Translator ha s three eyes, one looking to the future, one on the present, and one to the past. As the Commander of the Spirit World Army, he moves others through time and space, bringing together the ancestors of the past with the warriors of the future. For the Translator, Ortiz used a liquid form of lithographic ink to reproduce a watercolor.

Throughout his career, Ortiz has experimented and expanded his practice to include new techniques and media, learning new ways to fire, new glazing, new shapes, and challenging himself to build larger figures. He is also constantly exploring different media, including costume design, jewelry, photography, video, and, most recently lithography, with his first attempt at Tamarind. For the artist, “Working with different mediums provides a gratifying diversion while I work on various projects. I am never bored. I can pencil, paint, or digital sketch ideas for any ceramic idea, or a fashion or costume garment. Or, I can build an idea or character in clay, then reverse this process and recreate costuming and garment print designs that will appear on the fabric. Utilizing various mediums is essential for my work and creative process.”

During the week at Tamarind, he worked with the Institute’s master printer Valpuri Remling and her apprentices who assisted him through the process. The collaborative process is familiar to the artist as he often works with others to complete his projects, including ceramic artists, weapon experts, and videographers. Ortiz found some aspects of the process challenging and the team helped guide him through the process, and he views these prints as “an inevitable and natural expansion of my creations.” Though this was Ortiz’s first works in the medium, his prints employ many different qualities in the production of lithographs demonstrate the flexibility of the medium, which can reproduce and combine the qualities of a drawing, a painting, an etching, or a photograph, as well as adding new features of its own.

GFxVO: Action, Emotion & Intensity

Wed, 01 Jul 2020 22:19:00 GMT

Playing with Fire captures moments of action, emotion, and intensity. Through a deep-seated connection to the dynamic conformation of clay, the collaboration is not just a physical connection of working on the same piece, it is also conceptual in nature.

Pueblo Revolt Matriarchs more than 300 years ago emphasized their wisdom and heroics—much like present-day women.

Po’Pay , medicine man and visionary leader of the Pueblo Revolt of 1680—the First American Revolution.

Grayson Fair ‘s art is about capturing moments of action, emotion, and intensity. Each piece created preserves a moment, a snapshot of himself. Virgil Ortiz’s figurative work often focuses on capturing a moment or a feeling of others–the future, present, or past, and specific to these works, the strength and struggles of the Pueblo Revolt Runners . The moment that Fair seeks to capture must work in harmony with the story that Ortiz is working to tell with his sculpting, Fair must react to Ortiz’s sketches with action, and Ortiz reacts to Fair’s movements with his own.

Tagu , a warrior, confidante, lieutenant to Po’Pay.

Recon Ringers: twins, stealth, transmit secret messages to
the Revolt Army.

The nature of these pieces and the circumstances of their creation lead to the desire for a more radical, visceral surface treatment in the form of alternative firings. The decision to Raku and Soda fire these pieces allows textures and colors that are just as varied and intense as the moments they sought to capture in the forms, and just as unfamiliar as this type of collaboration is to them both. Raku is an ancient form of firing in which the pieces are removed from the kiln at peak, glowing temperature and dropped into buckets full of combustible materials, leading to drastic color shifts and textures uncommon to other forms of firing. Soda firing, on the other hand, is a more modern form of firing in which a kiln is fired to a much hotter temperature, and soda ash and baking soda are sprayed into the kiln, creating a volatile atmosphere of glaze that strikes pieces along the path of the flame. The difference in these firings is much like the dichotomy of their collaboration, the combination of figurative and abstract, modern and ancient, narrative and momentary.

GFxVO Collection

ASxVO: Shot Callers

Thu, 30 Apr 2020 22:30:00 GMT

Exceptional, handcrafted, one-of-a-kind cups, sippers, and highballs for entertaining or gifting.

The gift of art: one for them, one for you.

Go Behind The Scenes: ASxVO Atmospheric Experience

Sipper featuring a "Turkey Track" — Ortiz's signature design element.

What has come of the time at the Reitz Ranch shares the central theme of the entire VO experience, the works are monumental and unexpected, the collaborations more involved, and the context worldlier. The process for these works is deeply involved, using firing methods in which the atmosphere of the entire kiln is the glaze, causing unpredictable results unique to each piece that is impossible to replicate.

The ASxVO collection is the first of more to come, including large scale sculptural collaborations, wood-fired wares, and more of the finest VO home goods.

Afro & Indigenous Futurism Come Together at the Met

accounts@telegenicmarketing.com (Telegenic Marketing) — Tue, 10 Mar 2020 19:42:00 GMT

A parade of p eople in elaborate, exaggerated dress and masks obscuring their faces parade into a sacred temple many millennia old, united by an incantation about aiming to transcend this mortal coil. Could be an ancient rite — or if legendary multi-hyphenate artist Nona Hendryx and her band of collaborators have anything to do with it, just another Saturday night at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

T he incantation in question was Sun Ra’s 1960 composition “Rocket Number Nine,” the temple was the Met’s Temple of Dendur, and the parade featured Hendryx and an ensemble of musicians and dancers — all combined to connect the New York landmark with something at least conceptually aligned with the kinds of rituals it might have housed in its original Egyptian home. “Nona Hendryx and Disciples of Sun Ra in the Temple” was planned by Hendryx as part of Harlem Stage’s yearlong series, “The Cosmic Synthesis of Sun Ra and Afrofuturism,” of which she is the artistic director.

The ambitious, immersive performance featured polished (but not too polished) versions of classic Sun Ra compositions like “Space Is The Place,” “When There Is No Sun” and “Enlightenment” as the centerpiece of a multimedia conceptual journey, from the kaleidoscopic lights projected onto the ancient temple to the fittingly space-age, gender-bending, avant-garde costumes designed by Cochiti artist Virgil Ortiz to even a metallic, sculptural treatment on the mic stands. “Living sculptures,” as Hendryx referred to the dancers,” performed not onstage but around the audience in the aisles. No detail was left unexamined, fitting given Sun Ra’s long history of high-concept performances — today, the Sun Ra Arkestra still performs in full Afrofuturist regalia.

Hendryx first saw Sun Ra in the late 1960s, when he had relocated from New York to Philadelphia just as Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles were transforming from, as she puts it, a “girl group,” into the more experimental LaBelle — who themselves eventually adopted elements of Afrofuturism both in their costumes and their songs, which were mostly written by Hendryx.

“It was really considered this odd, cult-like, singular musical space,” Hendryx told Billboard of the Arkestra’s reputation at that time. “I was intrigued by it and wanted to know more, so I saw the Arkestra play in a small club in Philadelphia. I was floored.”

Hendryx has remained connected to Sun Ra and the experimental, Afrofuturist music scene throughout her career, even making an album with Kahil El’Zabar (an alumnus of Chicago avant-garde institution the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) in 2011. It made her a natural choice to helm Harlem Stage’s Afrofuturist series, which includes movie screenings, speculative fiction workshops and performances by up-and-coming experimentalists like Moor Mother and Black Quantum Futurism, whom Hendryx sees as the heirs to the Afrofuturist tradition.

“They’re also out of Philadelphia — which is interesting, you know?” she says. “Two young Black women who have totally embraced quantum theory Afrofuturism, not just from a musical perspective but with the knowledge of who we are, and what we do here in the time that we’re here, and … what is time and what does it mean to you?”

It was easy t o consider those big questions during the hour-and-a-half long performance, where the music — managed beautifully by Arkestra alum and trombone player Craig Harris — seamlessly moved through hard bop and hip-hop, reggae and rock, the concept superseding any notions of genre orthodoxy. “The way I would describe myself most is a purveyor of funk,” Hendryx says. “Like Sun Ra, mashing it all up to create something that is me.” As her rich alto echoed alongside various glitchy synths and campy space sounds in the storied space, travelling skyward didn’t seem so far-fetched — the band themselves could be seen reflected in the Temple’s enormous slanting panes, playing among the stars.

Dancer Jaime Rodney as Thoth, God of magic, wisdom, and the moon.

H endryx answered a few more questions about the series a few days prior to the performance.

When did you start to get into Afrofuturism?

I think it was the late ’60s into the ’70s for me. A lot of the people I was engaging with were poets and writers in New York — people who were exploring the African experience and diaspora, like the Last Poets and Nikki Giovanni. Having conversations with Alvin Ailey, Ellis Haizlip (who created the TV show Soul! )… they were very progressive in their thinking, but also very connected to their African roots. There was so much going on at that time, so much exploration of music, pushing boundaries — people were just exploring like mad. It was a ripe time.

What made you want to take on this project ?

So that I could correct the lack of understanding that everything comes out of Africa, as far as we know – breaking those gaps between the African, the Egyptian, the Indigenous people of the Americas. That is all really part of Afrofuturism. Afrofuturism has always been, and is always evolving.

This series is paying tribute to a specific tradition, but Afrofuturism is (of course) about looking forward and back at once. What does it mean to you that when people look back at your work with LaBelle now, they see it as ahead of its time?

I’m much more interested in creating the next thing — being able to really engage with young people and pass on what it is that I’ve been able to evolve over time. Beyond the music, helping them understand that there’s a legacy to know and own and be responsible for — to tell them that whatever LaBelle has meant to culture, if Black people don’t take it and own it as part of our culture than somebody else will. That’s what’s important to me. By Natalie Weiner Billboard.com .

THE BUZZ :

Interview with Virgil Ortiz: Temple of Dendur will be the setting for Sun Ra Tribute Show

Nona Hendryx Takes Over the Met’s Temple of Dendur in the Ultimate Tribute to Sun Ra

Inside Indigenous Futurisms

Mon, 17 Feb 2020 18:33:00 GMT

For the last two decades, I have been developing a screenplay titled Revolt 1680/2180. It is not just a story of persecution and revolt, but also a story of resilience—one that seems to be more critical than ever in today’s political and cultural climate.

With every exhibition, I release more details of my interpretation surrounding the events and repercussions of the 1680 Pueblo Revolt—the first American Revolution against foreign colonizers. The revolt was an uprising of most of the Indigenous Pueblo people against the Spanish military and religious forces in present-day New Mexico. The Pueblo Revolt remains a significant part of our history, and I have always felt it my duty to educate and share it with the world. It is important to pay respect to the past in order to advance into the future.

This installation is a visual experience granting the onlooker personal access and insight into my creative process of how my characters are created for photography, digital art, and brought to life for the big screen. The garments and costumes illustrate how I mentally “sketch” my ideas and concepts for future collections. Typically, I construct my vision into existence by draping, fabricating, and photographing models in the costumes on location. Each item, product, or garment that I have produced and that are currently in production will define what my movie characters will wear.

The enactment occurs simultaneously in two different time dimensions, 1680 and 2180. The Venutian Soldiers’ Pueblo was destroyed in the first Castilian invasion. Taoky, doyen of the Rez Spine Watchmen, guides the Venutian Soldiers on their journey to seek new land to inhabit. She aids them in rebuilding their ways of tradition and life on sacred ground.

No-len, Admiral of the Rez Spine Watchmen, and his comrades are stationed around Earth’s realm, surveilling for any incursion from the Castilian army. The Watchmen transmit intelligence telepathically to Po’pay and Taoky to tip off the Revolt Runners to reveal encoded intel to the Pueblo leaders as they amass to combat the invaders.

Indigenous Futurisms highlights artworks that present the future from a Native perspective, and illustrates the use of cosmology and science as part of tribal oral history and ways of life. The science fiction and post-apocalyptic narratives depicted in these artworks are often reality for Indigenous communities worldwide. The imagery and narratives also emphasize the importance of Futurism in Native Cultures. Artists use Sci-Fi related themes to pass on tribal oral history to younger audiences and to revive their Native language. The works in this exhibition create awareness about how cultural knowledge and tribal philosophies are connected to the universe, science, and the future.

Art Meets Social Justice

Wed, 10 Apr 2019 23:11:00 GMT

In 2017, Virgil Ortiz conceptualized his first show titled Taboo . It was a unique opportunity for him to engage the unacceptable or forbidden through his work in clay. The show's success reflected not only his creativity but also spoke to people in a way that allowed them to explore their own feelings about these issues. Two years later, Ortiz is returning to these sensitive subjects in Taboo II . His new work is intended to inspire dialogues concerning the difficulties and challenges faced by communities worldwide and provide awareness and provoke positive change.

What is Taboo?

These are the topics we avoid in polite conversation, to that which society proscribes as outside its current social, sexual, cultural or political mores. Many actions or even social groups, which were once considered “taboo”, are now part of the mainstream. When does that which is forbidden become that which is acceptable? Ortiz has spent a career engaging challenging themes through his provocative pottery figures and vessels.

He continues a century of Cochiti Pueblo potters using their clay art as means for social commentary. Ortiz is redefining Native art through his artistry. His works in Taboo are both beautiful and at times a bit unnerving. That’s just the way he likes it. He challenges the viewer to take in the complexity of design and form, while simultaneously processing the content. It may all be a bit taboo for Native art, but what is “cutting edge” today will certainly be the standard of tomorrow.

Puppy Play

Dogs. We dress them up, we parade them, we lavish them with gifts. For many, that’s not enough—they want to enter the world of dogs themselves. Sure, Puppy Play looks like a fetish with the leather, collars, hoods, and tails, but it’s a world scene created by men and women, and

it’s one that is not about mastery; it’s about love, affection, and mental healing. It seeks to show a way to navigate our lives away from the ordinary into the unknown. It may seem silly to wear a tail and ears, but is it any more foolish to dress up our dogs in a dress and shoes?

Falld

Growing up and living with Dyslexia, Asperger syndrome, and ADHD is an unimaginable personal and social challenge. During my time at Colorado College, I had the opportunity to learn from 15-year-old Foster what it’s like to live with these disorders. As a kid, he thought he was a failure. He showed me one of his own drawings which expressed how he felt about his failures. He saw himself as an extended figure, surrounded by the words, “falld”, meaning “failed” – an intense expression of his personal feelings and perception. He felt he had to pull himself up every day, so I put him at the top of the mountain, the apex of this piece.

He felt he had to pull himself up every day, so I put him at the top of the mountain, the apex of this piece. He loves to mountain climb, so that seemed appropriate. The other figures are carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders and at the same time, getting ready to toss Foster’s “drawing” away as he overcomes his feelings of failure to achieve personal success. I see him standing tall, beginning to enter a place of non-duality where the understanding of his neurodiversity can have its own meaning outside and separate of how and what it means to others.

Hate is a Drag

Sometimes we stand alone. Sometimes as a group. Gender roles and society often challenge how we see ourselves and are perceived. I wanted to depict a man

getting dressed for drag along with the three fierce drag queens. To me it’s never about race, sex or gender — I see people as people. Yeah, Hate is a Drag.

MMIWG:MIIICH

MMIWG are the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. There is an innate difficulty to grapple with the extent and impact of these missing and murdered American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls. At a rate of 15 missing each day, they are rarely accounted for in federal statistics. The impact ranges from reservations to urban communities.

This piece was created to bring awareness to this epidemic. The spirits of these missing women and girls need guidance to the next life – many of them have not been given a proper burial and send-off. The hummingbirds, or “Miiich” in the Keres language, serve as guides and protectors for these lost mothers, sisters, daughters, aunts and loved ones so that they are able to return home.

This piece speaks to the internal conflicts of those living with PTSD. For this sculpture, I honed in on my recent experience of using art to encourage Veterans with PTSD to share their stories and establish a new sense of self though healing. PTSD is not limited to those who have been deployed, but can impact anyone as the result of a traumatic experience or encounter. The dramatic converging faces depict the internal battle of those who have PTSD.

Their daily experience can be a duality of a suppressed painful past and an attempt to find normality in daily life. On the back I painted Rorschach inspired silhouetted image of Vets to bring balance and overall symmetry to the form and design. The silhouettes speak to the proudest moments of Vets serving our county yet experiencing depression being away from their loved ones.

S pirit World Army

Rise Up

The world tod ay seems increasingly turbulent and uncertain. This traditional storage jar speaks for the degradation of women and their continued pursuit of equality and justice. This has long been an important theme in my art. The women’s fists are uplifted.

They are the ones to hold our leaders accountable or they will be “hung out to dry”. The fists are entwined with the symbolic black snake of the oil pipelines. It is corruption that will eventually eat away at politicians from the inside out. I painted each section of this jar as a call for those who feel impelled to rise up .

Taboo Series

Welcome to the Revolution

accounts@telegenicmarketing.com (Telegenic Marketing) — Mon, 07 Jan 2019 18:14:00 GMT

Pueblo artist Virgil Ortiz’s time-traveling pottery is bringing crowds into museums — and Native history into the mainstream.

Virgil Ortiz isn’t afraid to confront or shock. The Cochiti Pueblo artist regularly tackles difficult, even taboo, subjects with his pottery. Blending graphic-comic imagery with time-traveling history and futuristic fantasy, he seems to have hit just the right nerve to make art a popular vehicle for overlooked education. Imagine millennials flocking to see an exhibition about a 17th-century Native American revolt against the Spanish and you’ll have a sense of the sometimes subversive genius at work here.

Raised “with clay in [his] hands” at Cochiti Pueblo between Santa Fe and Albuquerque, New Mexico, Ortiz has made it his artistic focus to tell the story of the 1680 Pueblo Revolt. It is his most ambitious project to date — and one of the least-known events in American history.

The Pueblo Re volt was an uprising of New Mexico Pueblos against the Spanish colonial rulers of the time. Po’Pay of San Juan Pueblo (today known as Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo) organized thousands of pueblos into a simultaneous assault on mission churches and Spanish settlements including the Spanish capital, Santa Fe. Approximately 400 Spanish colonists, including 21 Franciscan missionaries, were killed; the remaining 2,000 Spanish citizens fled New Mexico. Under the command of Don Diego de Vargas, the Spanish retook Santa Fe in 1692, and an uneasy peace descended. After the revolt, the Spanish afforded the Native population more latitude in practicing their religion and culture. However, they were still an occupied people.

“The Pueblo Revolt, the first American revolution, isn’t taught in American schools, nor is it in our history books,” Ortiz says. “My mission of nearly two decades is to create a narrative of the revolt utilizing the various mediums I work with and make it more interesting and relevant to the next generation.”

An Ancient History For A New Generation

Ortiz’s exhib ition Revolution — Rise Against the Invasion, on view at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College through January 6, is part of the artist’s epic story arc, Revolt 1680/2180, a mash-up of Puebloan history interpreted with sci-fi fantasy iconography relatable to Native and non-Native youth alike. The storyline begins more than 300 years ago when the Spanish colonized the American Southwest. Ortiz transports the viewer forward in time to 2180 and envisions a resolution of the troubling history that restores balance to the multiple cultures that now call New Mexico home. The lead characters are Po’Pay, the real-life leader of the Pueblo Revolt, and Tahu, the imagined female leader. There’s also the Spirit World Army, comprising groups of warriors representing the pueblos involved in the revolt.

The beautiful, evocative Tahu reflects the strength, power, and resilience of the Pueblo women. “Tahu is purposely blinded by the oppressors for her combat prowess,” Ortiz says. “She recruits a ‘spirit army’ and relentlessly battles the enemy [the colonial oppressors]. Tahu is a Pueblo superhero. Her example leads young people to seek the truth and defeat their fear. Tahu is inspired by and honors Pueblo women, including my late mother. Women keep the stories of our people, our traditions, and ceremonies alive. Our mothers teach us to face adversity with a positive outlook. We have endured because we face our fears, both real and imagined.”

Revolution — Rise Against the Invasion continues Ortiz’s exploration of the Pueblo Revolt expressed through ongoing exhibitions of his Revolt 1680/2180 concept. Its theme is one of justice, of reversing the oppression of the Puebloan world by the Spanish occupation. Ortiz’s spirit warriors are rendered in stark black-and-white, sparingly punctuated with vivid color. An AI automaton army of animals representing the mule deer, antelope, and ram recalls Cochiti ceremonies and dance. The denouement of the story arc is seen in Tahu, who clenches a deep red rose between her crimson lips, symbolizing the beauty of living in peace. “Learning to coexist is how we move forward,” Ortiz says. “It represents getting color back in our lives.”

While Ortiz’s imagery is both of the moment and futuristic, his material choices and techniques are deeply rooted in Cochiti pottery tradition. Ortiz says Cochiti potters were known for social commentary in the 19th century; the storytellers have always used the medium to put up a mirror to what is happening in the Pueblo and broader society. Ortiz takes that tradition to another level, delivering his message using sci-fi imagery relatable to young people steeped in American pop culture.

Awareness Through Art

The relationship between comics and ceramics isn’t really surprising. Native artists Jason Garcia (Santa Clara Pueblo), Juan de la Cruz (Santa Clara Pueblo), and Diego Romero (Cochiti Pueblo) use superhero themes and work in a graphic style with a sci-fi influence. John Lukavic, curator of Native Arts at the Denver Art Museum, calls it “indigenous futurism.”

“Artists like Virgil Ortiz are merging their history with modern influences,” Lukavic says. “There’s the sense of control and agency, of creating a future world that could exist from a Native perspective.”

Charles King of King Galleries in Santa Fe and Scottsdale, Arizona, sees more than comic book imagery in the work of Ortiz and other contemporary Native artists. “Pottery, after paintings, is one of the most immediate art forms to be used to create content or a message,” he says. “Social commentary, the environment, and politics have moved from the future to now. There is more immediacy in the voice of the potters. I think it’s a trend of artists claiming their culture, their narrative, the history of the pottery, and its significance.”

A Movie In The Works?

If Ortiz’s work sounds a little like the ethos of Black Panther but in a Native American context, you’re onto something. Both Lukavic and King see parallels between Revolt 1680/2180 and the recent blockbuster movie that sprang from the Marvel Comics series.

Ortiz is hearing the same buzz.

“As a matter of fact, I attended the premiere of Black Panther,” Ortiz says. “I recently presented new work from Revolution at King Galleries in Scottsdale. A recording artist at the opening immediately zoned in on a new piece, literally running toward it, saying, ‘This is it! This is what I’m talking about; this is what Black Panther is like, the same aesthetic and power that the movie has, only it’s another culture!’ So, yes, this is what I have been aiming for, to present the 1680 Pueblo Revolt in a new view and perspective. This allows me to bring a sci-fi setting into my storytelling, a look and feel that has influenced my work since I was a child.”

Turning Revolt 1680/2180 into a major feature film is Ortiz’s ultimate goal. The film industry is interested in the story, Ortiz says, but he wants the movie made on his terms. He has visualized every piece of his futuristic world, down to how the characters look, speak, walk, and behave. “It’s important not to lose control of it,” Ortiz says, “not only so that my story is told the way I want it to be told but because this is my people’s history.”

The Revolution exhibition gives a glimpse into Ortiz’s vision for a feature film, provi ding a peek behind the scenes at the characters, costuming, musical score, and special effects of his planned film. He created every element, moving among multiple mediums: metal, glass, textiles, digital, video, film, original music, and, of course, pottery, in which he combines traditional Cochiti technique with high-fired ceramics.

The exhibition’s theme and the art itself are a departure from staid museum gallery fare. Revolt 1680/2180 is Ortiz’s calling, his passion, and his life’s work. “This is the impact I want to have on the world around me through art and education.”

Pueblo Polymath

“Virgil Ortiz has been a groundbreaker from the beginning of his career,” says Charles King of King Galleries. “He doesn’t allow himself to be constrained by definitions of Native arts. Virgil does it all — textiles, jewelry, multimedia — and has for 20 years. He is not afraid, and that allows other artists to step through the door and work in a variety of mediums.”

Ortiz has a successful track record of branching out. In 2002, he collaborated with designer Donna Karan on a clothing collection. He has his own fashion line, including jewelry carried by the Smithsonian Institution. He spoke to Disney’s Imagineering team during an ideation event and speaks on the fundamentals of the business of art — specifically, how to protect one’s work — to young artists at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe.

Ortiz’s work is exhibited worldwide in museum collections including the Stedelijk Museum’s-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands, Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain in Paris, Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and Denver Art Museum. — K.F.

Virgil Ortiz: Revolution — Rise Against the Invasion has been extended through May 19 at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College in Colorado Springs. His exhibition TABOO II will open April 27 at King Galleries in Scottsdale, Arizona. AFTERMATH: Venutian Soldiers Odyssey will open September 13 at Montclair Art Museum in Montclair, New Jersey.

The Future is History

accounts@telegenicmarketing.com (Telegenic Marketing) — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 00:25:00 GMT

Visualize a figure covered entirely in a metallic sheen, sporting black patent leather combat boots, and a chrome morion helmet, like some portentous apocalyptic avatar, fends off invisible enemies with a large sword. It’s a modern-day depiction of the 1680 Pueblo Revolt as imagined by its groundbreaking creator: Virgil Ortiz.

In a large studio on the historic Cochiti Pueblo, about 45 minutes west of Santa Fe, New Mexico, a figure covered entirely in metallic sheen, sporting black patent leather combat boots and a chrome morion helmet, like some portentous apocalyptic avatar, fends off invisible enemies with a large sword. It’s a modern-day depiction of the 1680 Pueblo Revolt as imagined by its groundbreaking creator: Native American artist, potter, fashion designer and photographer Virgil Ortiz.

Also referred to as the first American Revolution, the revolt was an uprising of indigenous people against Spanish colonizers in the areas surrounding Santa Fe. According to Ortiz, it isn’t taught in American schools nor can it be found in history books. “My mission of nearly two decades has been to create a narrative of the revolt utilizing the various mediums in which I work,” he explains. “I want to make it interesting and relevant to the next generation. I want them to understand our history, how we survived genocide, and how our ancestors kept our art, traditions and ceremonies intact.”

Charles King, owner of King Galleries in Scottsdale and Santa Fe, has represented Ortiz’s work for more than 20 years and co-authored a book on the artist. “In the art world, terms like ‘innovator’ are used so often that they can seem meaningless,” says King. “Yes, Virgil is a creative innovator, but a better term might be that he is a ‘transformative artist.’ He has changed expectations of Native art in clay through his use of form and design. He broke barriers for Native artists to work successfully in multiple mediums at the same time. He is fearless in using the clay to express his own story and create provocative social commentaries on the world around him. In short, he has transformed native clay into something more tangible and more thoughtful.”

Though quiet and unassuming, Ortiz is known for making bold artistic statements that often contrast traditional Pueblo elements with contemporary, even futuristic designs. Considered one of the most innovative potters of his time, the artist has had his work exhibited in museum collections around the world, from the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian to the Stedelijk Museum ’s-Hertogenbosch in The Netherlands and the Fondation Cartier pour l’art Contemporain in Paris, France, among others.

The youngest of six children who grew up on the Pueblo, Ortiz recalls a childhood in which storytelling, collecting clay, gathering wild plants and producing pottery were part of everyday life. His grandmother Laurencita Herrera and his mother Seferina Ortiz were renowned Pueblo potters who taught him the craft.

“I was born into a family of artists,” says Ortiz. “My grandmother and mother worked with clay, and my dad made drums on a daily basis. Being inspired by my family, I picked up their work ethics and created my own approach.

They never fo rced me; they only encouraged me. It is with their support that I was able to develop my own signature style and storytelling with my art.”

In 2002, Ortiz was invited to work with fashion design icon Donna Karan. “Being mentored by Donna was an incredible opportunity,” he says. “I was able to see first-hand the entire process from conceptual ideas, sketches, design, cut and sew, fittings, runway, showroom presentation, marketing and sales. It was this experience that inspired and motivated me to create my own clothing line.”

Over the years, Ortiz experimented in different mediums, and began combining pottery, fashion, video and film. His studio, situated adjacent to his childhood home, is a telling repository of his various artistic pursuits. Clay pots share space with racks of garments, while large, shiny mannequins showcase his evolution from pottery to fashion design. A bright room is used as a photography and video workspace.

“The geometric and traditional Cochiti pottery images are bold yet simple and present the perfect combination for fabric design and textiles,” says Ortiz, who began incorporating them into his fashion work.

Embracing imagery that combines apocalyptic themes, science fiction and historic Pueblo culture, Ortiz produces laser-cut leather jackets, taffeta skirts, cashmere sweaters and silk scarves. Each piece is branded with his “signature”—an elegant, stylized turkey-track X.

Revolution: Rise Against the Invasion

Mon, 15 Oct 2018 21:19:00 GMT

Imagine foreign forces abruptly entering your homeland, enforcing laws, invalidating your religion, prohibiting the expression of your culture, plundering your resources, and executing your family members and fellow citizens. Then, after nearly a century living under this oppressive force, seeing an indigenous counterforce from disparate enclaves unite behind a dynamic leader, rising up to drive the foreign invaders from the land and restore the lost culture.

All of this actually occurred in what is now the Santa Fe/Taos area of New Mexico. The foreign force was the Spanish Conquistadors, and the victims were the Pueblo Natives of the area — events that culminated in the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. Under the leadership of tribal leader Po’pay, the revolt successfully overwhelmed Spanish forces, and although the area was reoccupied 12 years later, the events of 1680 are credited with preserving ancient Pueblo cultural traditions from extinction.

“That was the first American Revolution, but nobody calls it that,” says FAC featured artist Virgil Ortiz. “So, everything I do is based on telling the story of the Pueblo Revolt. It’s not taught in schools; nobody knows about what happened to our people.”

If this exhibition were strictly a history lesson intermingled with traditional pottery, would we be talking about a contemporary ‘Revolution’? Not likely. But the strands of culture Ortiz’s art interweaves are nearly as diverse as the various media used to express it. And most of it is looking forward … in some cases, very far forward.

Evolving Pottery

Following Spanish reoccupation in 1692, native pottery that symbolized anything considered ‘religious’ (in a Native, non-Catholic way) was banned. As a result, everyday life and social commentary came to shape the design of Cochiti pottery, and by the 1880s the pottery began to feature more contemporary characters. Says Ortiz, “They were based on a lot of the operas that came through. The railroad would bring Mexican circus sideshows, so there were these circus sideshow characters, like tattooed people and Siamese twins, and really cool, freak-looking stuff.” But as the 19th Century came to a close, rigid Victorian attitudes frowned upon such caricatures, so this style of Cochiti pottery fell by the wayside. Ortiz grew up the son of potters — one of only a few families still making pottery using traditional Pueblo methods and materials — however, the caricature style was long gone by that time, and therefore not within his parents’ artistic scope. When Ortiz was a teenager, there was a pottery dealer from Albuquerque who occasionally traveled to the Pueblos to make acquisitions, and he was surprised to recognize themes in Ortiz’s work that were similar to the late-1800s Cochiti designs. He was curious to know where Ortiz was getting those ideas from, since it was not a style he had been exposed to.

“I asked my parents to take me down to his showroom, and we walked in, and I was like, ‘What the heck is going on?’ because he had the largest collection of historic Cochiti pieces, and all of my pieces looked like that! My parents pulled me aside and said, ‘Did you see what just happened? It’s like the clay is talking to you.’ So at that age I decided I was dedicating my life to it,” Ortiz recalls. He didn’t start learning about contemporary potting techniques until about four years ago, when he met non-Native ceramicists via social media. “They’d ask, ‘Where do you get your clay from?’ He laughingly recalls, “And all those people who were non-Native couldn’t believe I would go dig my own clay … because all our materials, we’d get them from the earth.” This includes the wild spinach plant they use to paint the pottery, images of which are sprinkled throughout this exhibition. But, he continues, “That attracted people, so I was able to make a lot of connections.” And it was through these connections Ortiz learned about contemporary potting materials, which he has since incorporated into his work. The addition of other clay types, blown glass, and even built-in lights, along with his modernistic design approach give many of his pottery pieces a dazzling, space-age appearance.

Film and Fashion

Although the exhibition reflects on 338-year-old events, other aspects of Ortiz’s work cast this neglected history 162 years forward — into a fantastical future. Seeing the original Star Wars movie when he was 7 years old sparked a lifelong interest in Sci-Fi movies and comic-book heroes for Ortiz. In time, he realized that this would be a palatable way to bring the story of the 1680 Revolt to today’s viewers, inspiring him to write a movie script that reimagines the revolt occurring both in 1680 — and simultaneously 500 years later in the year 2180 — with interplay occurring between the two eras. In the script he bestows the players with supernatural powers and sci-fi costumes. This next-generation rendering also adds new characters. One such example is the female character Tahu — a comrade of Po’pay. Ortiz decided to write in a female main character, because he feels both historically, and currently, “Women are not thanked enough for how much they do.”

Other characters include: ‘Translator’ who communicates from outer space to Po’pay and Tahu in both the past and the future; ‘Watchmen’ who sound alarms of impending threats to their earth realm; ‘Runners’ (who historically relayed messages to tribal leaders to sync the timing of the 1680 revolt) are updated with futuristic gliders; ‘Aeronauts’ go back in time to collect artifacts and transport them to the future so people can learn from them. Movie set-quality costumes used in the film were designed by Ortiz and fabricated from raw materials. Mannequins displaying them are situated on opposing sides — Puebloans facing off against Castilians — as impressive video feeds play on the surrounding walls to tell the story.

Preservation of the Culture

Spanish mission iconography and historic Pueblo pottery culled from Colorado College and FAC collections are also incorporated into the exhibition. Ortiz explains, “I really wanted to tell the backstory of when the Spanish first arrived in New Mexico, and how the Conquistadors destroyed the Pueblo pottery. The Pueblo people were accused of witchcraft and sorcery, and they were forced to stop making the pottery.” Had it not been for the revolt, would the Pueblo culture have been erased? Says Ortiz, “Probably, because all the Pueblos had to go underground to keep existing. [The Spaniards] called it ‘religion,’ but it wasn’t really religion literally — it was just a way of life.”

By melding historic events with modern media, Virgil Ortiz has created his own contribution to the canon of Pueblo folklore in a way that feels anything but archaic, effectively answering his ancestral calling to protect these traditions from extinction, and carry them forward for future generations to learn from. “Virgil Ortiz: Revolution — Rise Against the Invasion” exhibition runs through January 6, 2019 at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College. To learn more, visit csfineartscenter.org/exhibits/virgil-ortiz/.

Twist in Traditional Design

accounts@telegenicmarketing.com (Telegenic Marketing) — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 23:38:00 GMT

Virgil Ortiz dipped a brush into an orb of black paint on his palm, swirled it amid the contours of a model’s neck, then spiraled it downward around his chest. He says the designs could be mustaches or sperm tails.

Crowned in a black helmet of plastic foam blades, the model’s character is named Kade, one of 19 featured in Ortiz’s saga of the 1680 Pueblo Revolt. The number is deliberate, signaling the 19 pueblos remaining today.

Internationally renowned for his pottery, Ortiz is preparing for “Revolution,” an exhibition of pottery, glass, fashion, video and more opening in October at Colorado College in Colorado Springs.

Topped in his trademark black fedora, Ortiz has been germinating a script for a film version of “Revolt 1680/2180,” his sci-fi-meets-pueblo version of the revolt, for years. Its updated characters sport S&M echoes of leather and headgear embellished in pueblo motifs. The story is the artist’s palette and passion. It infuses Ortiz’s pottery vessels, figures, clothing, glass, and videos.

Forward Thinking

“Revolution” is partly an outgrowth of a 2015 show staged at the Denver Art Museum. The exhibit will feature nine objects in the museum’s permanent collection, expanding into the animal figures inherent in Ortiz’s current work.

“It’s the futuristic aspect of it that speaks to me personally,” Colorado College curator Joy Armstrong said. “He’s re-conceptualizing a current event that’s so compelling and exciting. I thought it would be a perfect fit for us.”

Ortiz learned traditional pueblo pottery techniques from his mother Seferina, who learned it from her mother Laurencita Herrera. Famous for the storyteller figures revived by Helen Cordero in the 1970s, Cochiti functioned as a nexus of clay figures long before European contact. When the Spanish invaded New Mexico, they were determined to force Catholicism on the natives.

“They were accused of trading in witchcraft and sorcery. They started making caricatures of the non-natives in clay,” Ortiz said as he worked in the sprawling 4,000-square-foot studio his fellow pueblo members refer to as “the church.”

Those figures included circus sideshow characters such as strong men, opera singers and railroad tourists that stood up to three feet tall.

Once the Spanish caught on to the satire, the art form lay dormant until Cordero revived it with more portable and palatable depictions of seated figures holding children.

“It had lost all the social commentary,” Ortiz explained.

“That’s when I started to tell the story of the Pueblo Revolt in clay.”

As he worked, the figures grew larger and more ornate.

When Ortiz was 15 or 16, his parents introduced him to Albuquerque pottery dealer/collector Robert Gallegos.

“He had the largest collection of historical pieces (from Cochiti) and they were almost exactly like mine,” Ortiz said. “My mouth dropped. From then on, I knew I was going to be a potter.”

Gallegos challenged the young potter to produce bigger and more experimental work.

“Virgil took the challenge,” Gallegos said. “A month and a half later he brings back an S&M figure. I was absolutely shocked, but what was impressive was he had a beautiful male face.

“I realized it was important. If you look at his history, he’s always pushed the limits.”

Profile Rising

Soon Ortiz was selling his work in Santa Fe in his own boutique. A 2002 call from New York fashion designer Donna Karan rocketed him to national recognition in a collaboration translating his graphic designs onto fabric.

“The next step was I was on a plane to New York,” Ortiz said. “I was being like a sponge the whole time.”

He learned about manufacturing, even teaming up with the maker of the famous Ferragamo shoe line for his handbags.

“They all tell our story as well,” he said. “The designs I take are from our traditional pottery designs.”

A silver cuff encircled by the wild spinach flower, the plant used in black pottery paint, hugs his wrist. The triangular-shaped “rez spine” design bisecting his handbags could be cloud motifs or the kiva stepladder.

“For our people, that’s the portal to the next life,” he said.

Ortiz maintains most Americans know nothing about the Pueblo Revolt.

“When I do shows in Prague or Paris or Amsterdam, all the people already know the story of the Pueblo Revolt,” he said. “But when I’m in New York or San Francisco, they don’t know the story of the Pueblo Revolt.”

The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 was one of the most significant events in New Mexico history, according to the Office of the New Mexico State Historian website.

The systematic destruction of Pueblo kivas and the suppression of ceremonial practices reached a critical point in the 1670s.

Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo’s Popay was the principal leader of the rebellion. The natives laid siege to Santa Fe for nine days, cutting off the Spanish water supply. The uprising killed more than 400 Spaniards and drove the remaining 2,000 Spanish settlers south toward Mexico.

“It was the first American Revolution, but they don’t talk about that,” Ortiz said.

Thinking Different

By embroidering the story in a futuristic theme, Ortiz hopes to attract young fans to what he sees as neglected history. He says the Walt Disney Co. has shown interest in his script.

“It’s all still talk,” he cautioned.

A recent pottery jar reveals a more current political target. The design depicts a raging Donald Trump with a viper. Ortiz calls it “My Prediction.”

“This takes us back to the original (pottery),” he said. “This is exactly what they were designed for. He’s greedy, so he’s holding money. It shows him slowly being overtaken by the snake and he’s turning into a skeleton. He’s finally tossed out by a woman’s hand.”

At 49, Ortiz says his bucket list includes creating figures as large as the life-sized terra cotta army in China.

“A lot of people call me innovative,” he said, “but I just refer them back to the traditional work. I don’t think I’m being innovative at all. I’m not really special. I feel like I’m only a bead in a necklace.”

By: Kathaleen Roberts / ABQ Journal

Prelude: ReVOlution is Coming

accounts@telegenicmarketing.com (Telegenic Marketing) — Mon, 13 Aug 2018 17:52:00 GMT

ARTIST STATEMENT

This is a critical moment for the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA) and for Native art. Today, many Native artists feel that they are being discouraged, or that there is an attempt to silence their art, much as happened in the past. Even if it is by accident that some of the older artists didn’t get booths at market this year, there is that feeling that their work doesn’t matter. However, the truth is just the opposite: all these Native artists are coming from a similar background. We all use art to tell our stories.

For me, it is both a personal and cultural experience.

I have been telling the story of the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 for the past two decades. It is not just a story of persecution and revolt, but also a story of resilience — one that seems to be more important than ever to talk about in today’s political and cultural climate. Cochiti Pueblo’s figurative art was destroyed in the 17th century by the conquistadors, who associated it with sorcery and witchcraft. After the revolt and the return of the Spanish, clay once again became a means of personal and cultural expression. By the 1880s, the monos — figures historically created by the women of the pueblo — provided a social commentary on what seemed to be a fast-changing world. Today, the speed of change via social media and the internet makes it increasingly important for Native artists to keep our art relevant and to use art as an educational tool.

The Pueblo Revolt has a strong resonance throughout the Southwest. Since Herman Agoyo began the process of getting the statue of Po’pay into the U.S. Capitol building, Native artists have begun to see how the event speaks to the world today. I have used historic facts to create my own futuristic version of the revolt to help make it relevant and understandable for both kids and those who have never heard of the event. However, there seems to be a slow awakening about its importance: the Denver Art Museum featured Revolt 1680/2180 — a collection of ceramic figures and photographic pieces — in 2015-2016; the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center will be bringing the story forward with Revolution: Rise against the Invasion, which will open in October 2018. Like the other artists, I am working for Indian Market, but it’s not just about sales: I want to continue to make a statement about my art and culture. I have said for years that I want to give “voice back to the clay,” but I think it’s more important right now to give “voice back to our culture.”

I am working on a group of new pieces about the Pueblo Revolt called Prelude: Revolution Is Coming. The work will be in both my Indian Market booth and at King Galleries in Santa Fe — a holistic approach that includes art, culture, clay, photography, my booth at market and the gallery space. It’s time for all of us involved in Native art to work together to keep it from becoming marginalized as just another ethnic art. It’s time for all of us — collectors, galleries, artists and market attendees — to stand together and protect, promote and enjoy this awe-inspiring American Indigenous art in all its forms. Just as the Pueblo Revolt was the First American Revolution, Native art is the First American Art.

Virgil Ortiz (Cochiti Pueblo) — the son and grandson of renowned potters Seferina Ortiz and Laurencita Herrera — won his first Santa Fe Indian Market award at age 14. He is a sculptor, photographer, graphic artist, fashion designer and home decor designer. His work has been exhibited and collected both nationally and internationally. To learn more about Ortiz and his work, visit virgilortiz.com.

About The Cover

The image of Aeronauts searching desert battlefields is from Revolt 1680/2180, Virgil Ortiz’s ongoing film project.

The accompanying narrative and video trailer:

Revolution is Coming It is 2180. The pueblos are in chaos. The invasion of Native land continues. The scourge of war rages everywhere. The time to act is now. Cuda and Steu, the Aeronaut twins, are the captain and head commander of the Survivorship Armada. They summon their fleet and prepare for extreme warfare against the invading Castilian forces. Translator and the Spirit World Army are transported to earth’s realm to aid Po’pay, Tahu and her army of Blind Archers in preparation for an unprecedented revolt. Desperately, the Aeronauts search for any remaining clay artifacts from the battlefields. They know that challenges and persecution will continue, so it is imperative to preserve and protect their clay, culture, language and traditions from extinction.

A larger-scale video, introducing more characters from his “Revolt” storyline, will be unveiled at Ortiz’s “Revolution: Rise against the Invasion” exhibit at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center on October 6, 2018.

Cool Pueblo Pottery

Fri, 03 Aug 2018 17:39:00 GMT

At Indian Market in Santa Fe every August, Pueblo pottery is perhaps the most coveted. Ranging in technique and design, pots, jars, urns, and plates tell a story of traditional craftsmanship, often brought into the 21st century by modern potters. “I am inspired by modern design of all kinds, whether it is fashion, architecture, film, sculpture, or music,” says Ortiz. “These influences transform as I build my figurative clay works.”

Primarily making their homes in the Four Corners region, Pueblo tribes established dwellings and trade centers similar to those located at Chaco Canyon in Northwestern New Mexico and Mesa Verde in Southwestern Colorado. Today, many of the 19 pueblos in New Mexico bring variations and techniques in technology, form, and decorative style to pottery. Cultural traditions, religious beliefs, and family customs also play a part in the formation of clay.

At Indian Market, one can expect to see a variety of contemporary pieces, including hand-coiled figures of demons and devils with tattoo-like designs. Virgil Ortiz, whose work may be found not only at Blue Rain Gallery, but in museums nationwide, integrates cutting-edge imagery into traditionally realized work, winning multiple awards at Indian Market. Ortiz’s mission is to not only revive the style and subjects created in the late 1800s but also to continue to tell the story of the 1680 Pueblo Revolt. Because the historical figurative work of the Cochiti Pueblo appears contemporary in design, it was a natural progression for him to take these influences and add his own interpretations.“

It is an exciting time to witness the birth of these artistic ideas in full force at Indian Market,” Ortiz says. “My traditional work will always be the heart and soul of everything I do. I am now entering into the world of high-fire contemporary ceramics — a new and exciting body of work I plan to unveil during this year’s market.”

Full Speed Ahead

Wed, 01 Aug 2018 21:25:00 GMT

Native American Futurist Virgil Ortiz is a Pueblo artist inspired by two loves: the traditional figurative ceramic style he learned from his mother, and Star Wars. These influences resulted in Revolt 1680/2180, a sculpture series retelling the story of his ancestors’ rebellion against Spanish colonizers in 1680, complete with laser blasters and an ancient astronaut vibe. We spoke to this internationally-renowned artist after his appearance at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts this past October as part of the Hear My Voice: Native American Art of the Past and Present exhibition. In this exclusive interview, we talked about his work, his process, and how he avoids appropriation of his work, even as he collaborates with fashion designers like Donna Karan. You still live and work in your birthplace, Cochiti Pueblo. You’ve traveled the world to exhibit your work, but I’m curious how it’s received back home. Sadly, creating pottery using traditional methods & materials is a dying art form; there aren’t many masters still living in my community at Cochiti Pueblo, NM. I believe my mentors, teachers, and community view my clay works as innovative, when in fact, I am reviving the original style, subject matter and social commentary that was used in the 1800’s. I have dedicated my life to revive these significant pieces and art form, and give voice back to the clay that was once destroyed by the non-Natives. Once they understood where my inspiration was coming from, and by examining photographs of historic pieces, I gained their support.

Your work is like nothing I’ve ever seen; but it has familiar elements, too, drawing from pop culture and other influences. Would you call it traditional? What makes your work so original? I am inspired by all types of cultures, non-Native included. I am fortunate to be able to continue and use the same methods and materials that have been used for a very long time. The only thing different are my subjects. Cochiti figurative clay works from the 1800’s were based on social commentary, so that itself provides me with a vast array of subjects to work with, [which] transcend to what is considered Native art today, yet [are] very traditional at the same time. Can you talk a little bit about Revolt 1680/2180, your exhibit at the Denver Art Museum? I love the way you bring an event that happened over 300 years ago into the future. What’s it about? For the past 15 years, I have sought tell the story of the 1680 Pueblo Revolt, also referred to as the First American Revolution. The Revolt of 1680 is a historic event that hovers somewhere between the unknown, insignificant, and ignored by most unless they live in certain areas of the Southwest. This historical event is not taught in schools, or included in textbooks; it has been swept under the carpet for far too long. By utilizing the mediums I work with, I’ve been able to create a storyline using my art to make it more interesting and relevant to the next generation. The Revolt storyline takes place in 1680 and [is] simultaneously happening in the year 2180. This allows me to incorporate fantastic versions of the original characters and introduce a sci-fi point of view.

DKNYxVO

accounts@telegenicmarketing.com (Telegenic Marketing) — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 21:08:00 GMT

The Art and Times of a Santa Fe Artist . In this issue, you’ll meet people who inspire me: Milla Jovovich, the international model-actress who stars in both our Donna Karan New York and DKNY ad campaigns and an artist I met in Santa Fe: provocateur Virgil Ortiz , whose work directly influenced my spring designs. There’s art that soothes, and then there’s the kind that gets a rise. Meet the Santa Fe-based artist whose soulful art provokes strong reactions. – DK

The work of Virgil Ortiz speaks a language all its own. There is a code conveyed that reaches beyond words, conversing closer to soul: wild spinach, water, clouds, fertility symbols – all appearing in columns and rows. The striking patterns spoke to Donna, who, after discovering Ortiz’s works, was inspired to use them on a dress and a skirt for Spring 2013. These graphically compelling designs, Ortiz says, have belonged to his family for hundreds of years.

“Donna came out to Santa Fe in August for Indian Market, the biggest Native American art show in the world, “33-year-old Ortiz explains. “I showed her some of my pottery, and she said, “nothing happens by chance. I like your work, and I’d like a chance to collaborate with you.” Soon his designs were featured on Donna’s clothes, and his pottery and sculptures were slated to sell in Donna’s New York store. His reaction to seeing his traditional Native American art morphed onto the figures of runway models: “Totally cool. It flipped me out to see it all done in a real feminine style.

There is tension in Ortiz’s work, between the traditional and the modern. He comes from a family of highly regarded figurative artists who work in pottery and are based in Cochiti Pueblo in New Mexico. His mother, Seferina, learned the craft from her mother Laurencita, and handed down the tradition to her children.

They specialized in what are known as “storyteller” figures. Surfacing in the 1800’s, these sculptures depicted tableaux that Anglos traders first thought were sacred images but the realized were caricatures of themselves and other non-Indian neighbors.

Ortiz inherited the impulse to surprise with the odd narrative twist. “When I was six, I created a sculpture of a woman,” he explains. “She had very prominent breasts. Then I next painted her wearing a bow tie and hat, my parents said “Uh-oh, this kid’s in trouble.” In the early 1990’s, Ortiz created a series of sexually kinky sculptures that offered a modern-day continuation of the pueblo’s mission: “All the pieces in the 1800’s were social commentary, and it’s exactly what I am doing, but it’s a different point on the time line.”

Ortiz’s work caught the eye of Robert Gallegos, a local trader. Ortiz recalls, “He called them “the Madonna sculptures’ because this was around the time of Madonna’s Sex book.” So began Ortiz’s ascent as a successful artist, entrepreneur and celebrity on the Santa Fe scene. His Santa Fe store. Heat: A Freak Boutique, sells leather clothing of his design. With his long hair, numerous piercings and penchant for wearing Marilyn Manson-ish contacts that distort or blank out the eyes, Ortiz lives the Goth aesthetic. Until, that is, he returns to Cochiti Pueblo, where his family gathers every month or two. When he visits, Ortiz takes care to put everyone at ease. Off come the scary contact lenses. “It’s a really small pueblo, and I don’t dress like that around there,” Ortiz says. “They understand the deal; it’s all artwork.” – James Servin

Tahu ➳ Leader of the Blind Archers

Wed, 25 Jul 2018 19:53:00 GMT

“You are no longer blind when you can see through your fear.”

For nearly two decades, I have been creating the Pueblo Revolt 1680/2180 stories in clay; the words and advice of my mother keep coming back to me. When I was young I was very close to her and not only did she teach me, my sisters and brother, to make pottery, but she would tell us stories of our Pueblo people. Cochiti is a matriarchal society, with clans passed through the women. It is also the women who, when raising their children, share their stories of the past to help guide our future.

One lesson has stuck with me and lately, it resonates with a growing importance. It is about how the grandmothers would inspire us with positive instructions, saying, “do it this way”, instead of negative critiques, “don’t do it that way”. The mind has difficulty coping with the multitude of negatives and yet responds quickly to the positives. I have used the character of Tahu to convey this advice of the grandmothers and their positive outlook even in the face of adversity.

This attitude of the grandmothers has endured despite nearly 300 years of fear and intimidation imposed on the Pueblo people. They were forced through fear to stop speaking their native languages. Fear of retribution and punishment demanded that they change or hide their religious views. Fear of arbitrary restrictions, rules, and regulations enforced upon them made them adapt unorthodox methods of survival in an ever more complex world. Yet we have endured. It was the women who helped pass down our culture, history and teach us how to overcome our fears, both real and imagined.

My mother would often say, “If it wasn’t for the women, a lot of our traditions and ceremonies would be forgotten.” Blind Archers is a story about survival. It’s about hope, courage, determination, and appreciation. It’s about overcoming challenges and regaining strength. It is from this place of self-worth and empowerment that we can see the world as a place where we can freely express who we are and surround ourselves with people with whom we share a mutual honor and respect. It is inspired by women, but it is a story of how each of us can overcome fear in seeking the truth. May the spirit of Tahu be with you.

Written by Virgil Ortiz

Virgil Ortiz Creations

Daybreak of the Resistance

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Convergence: Defenders Descend from Portal to Pueblo

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Revolt 1680/2180: Runners + Gliders

Watching Over the Past

Revolt Takes an Army

Artisan America

Remixed Across Media

Cultural Impact

Secret Passkeys & Portals

BEHIND VIRGIL ORTIZ’S FANTASTICAL VISION △

Time Travelers: Bridging Past and Future

GFxVO: Action, Emotion & Intensity

GFxVO Collection

ASxVO: Shot Callers

Afro & Indigenous Futurism Come Together at the Met

When did you start to get into Afrofuturism?

What made you want to take on this project ?

Inside Indigenous Futurisms

Art Meets Social Justice

﻿ What is Taboo?

Puppy Play

﻿ Falld

﻿ Hate is a Drag

﻿ MMIWG:MIIICH

S pirit World Army

﻿ Rise Up

Taboo Series

Welcome to the Revolution

An Ancient History For A New Generation

﻿ Awareness Through Art

﻿ A Movie In The Works?

﻿ Pueblo Polymath

The Future is History

Revolution: Rise Against the Invasion

﻿ Evolving Pottery

﻿ Film and Fashion

Preservation of the Culture

Twist in Traditional Design

﻿ Forward Thinking

﻿ Profile Rising

﻿ Thinking Different

Prelude: ReVOlution is Coming

﻿ ARTIST STATEMENT

﻿ About The Cover

Cool Pueblo Pottery

Full Speed Ahead

DKNYxVO

Tahu ➳ Leader of the Blind Archers

“You are no longer blind when you can see through your fear.”

What is Taboo?

Falld

Hate is a Drag

MMIWG:MIIICH

Rise Up

Awareness Through Art

A Movie In The Works?

Pueblo Polymath

Evolving Pottery

Film and Fashion

Forward Thinking

Profile Rising

Thinking Different

ARTIST STATEMENT

About The Cover