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Catalog Data

Artist:
Virgil Ortiz, born Cochiti Pueblo, NM 1969  Search this
Medium:
white bentonite clay with bee-weed (spinach) paint
Dimensions:
14 5/8 × 12 7/8 in. (37.1 × 32.7 cm) diam.
Type:
Decorative Arts-Ceramic
Crafts
Date:
2018-2019
Exhibition Label:
Virgil Ortiz is a storyteller whose artworks carry the history, traditions, and continued resilience of his Cochiti Pueblo people. Like generations before him, Ortiz gathers local clay, hand builds his vessels, and makes paint from wild spinach leaves. He also builds futuristic worlds and characters, where knowledge of the past provides guidance for future generations.
This jar references the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, a successful Indigenous revolution against Spanish colonizers who imposed religious and military persecution of Pueblo people in New Mexico. It advances to the year 2180, when Pueblo lands and people are under attack again. The female warrior Tahu, with her quiver and arrows on her back, leads the army. She is accompanied by figures such as Gliders, running messages across pueblos, and Translator, the army commander, communicating the events across time. Through this story, Ortiz promotes wider awareness of an under-recognized chapter in history while imagining a future in which the people of Cochiti Pueblo again rise up to successfully defend the land.
Topic:
Indian  Search this
Occupation\other\reformer  Search this
Credit Line:
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Kenneth R. Trapp Acquisition Fund
Copyright:
© 2016, Virgil Ortiz
Object number:
2022.54
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
See more items in:
Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
Department:
Renwick Gallery
On View:
Renwick Gallery, 2nd Floor, Room 207
Renwick Gallery, 2nd Floor
Data Source:
Smithsonian American Art Museum
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk75e205617-462b-4b17-9be7-61f7ba63291b
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:saam_2022.54