Native Women artists at the Renwick and the Frist

This is a photograph of the outside poster of the exhibition by Native Women artists.at the Renwick Gallery.in Washington, D.C.

Marie Watt, Seneca Nation of Indians, Blanket Stories: Three Sisters, Four Pelts, Sky Woman, Cousin Rose, and All My Relations, 2007, Seattle Art Museum, General Acquisition Fund, in honor of the 75th anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum,
To the left is Hummingbird Copper Dress, 1989 by Dorothy Grant (Haida) with Robert Davidson (Haida/Tlingit) at the Renwick Gallery/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Marie Watt, Seneca Nation of Indians, Blanket Stories: Three Sisters, Four Pelts, Sky Woman, Cousin Rose, and All My Relations, 2007, Seattle Art Museum, General Acquisition Fund, in honor of the 75th anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum and, to the right, Dorothy Grant (Haida) with Robert Davidson (Haida/Tlingit), Hummingbird Copper Dress, 1989, wool, Denver Art Museum Collection: Native Arts acquisition fund, 2010 at the Renwick Gallery/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Marie Watt, Seneca Nation of Indians, Blanket Stories: Three Sisters, Four Pelts, Sky Woman, Cousin Rose, and All My Relations, 2007, Seattle Art Museum, General Acquisition Fund,in honor of the 75th anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum, at the Frist Art Museum/Photo by Patricia Leslie  

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Navajo artist, Second phase chief blanket, c. 1880, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Gift of Elissa and Paul Cahn, These blankets are valued today about as much as they were by the Navajo nation in the late 19th centuryl. They were often worn by chiefs and their wives/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Jamie Okuma (Luiseño/Shoshone-Bannock), Adaptation II, 2012, shoes designed by Christian Louboutin, leather, glass beads, porcupine quills, sterling silver cones, brass sequins, chicken feathers, cloth, deer rawhide, and buckskin, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Bequest of Virginia Doneghy

Label copy at the Renwick (this photo taken at the Frist) said Jamie Okuma began making "extravagant attire in which to attend powwows" leading to her " successful career creating wearable art." Her heels are her "way of reimaging Native couture." She planned a career in the fashion industry but her success as a beadworker took her in a different direction/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Apsáalooke (Crow) artist, Dress, ca. 1930, cotton, bead, bone, skin, wool, and colorant, Denver Art Museum Collection: The L. D. and Ruth Bax Collection,

From the label copy: "Elk-tooth dresses like this one are important symbols of prestige for Apsáalooke women. Because they can have as many as 500 elk teeth meticulously sewn into the bodice, and because the maker only uses the two canine teeth of the bull elk, a dress like this reflects not only a woman’s sewing skills, but, as importantly, her male family members’ hunting prowess. Today, few elk-tooth dresses are made entirely from real teeth—there are acceptable commercial substitutions—but the dress endures as an object of significance and cultural pride."/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Detail of Jolene Richard, Tuscarora, b. 1956 ...the sky is darkening ..., 2018, courtesy of the artist with special thanks to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Tuscarora women made beadwork of passenger pigeons  which were hunted to extinction by1902, according to the label copy. Beadwork by Tuscarora women helped them survive when they were forced to leave their homes in North Carolina in the early 18th century/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Jolene Richard, Tuscarora, b. 1956 ...the sky is darkening ..., 2018, courtesy of the artist with special thanks to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Apsaalooke (Crow), Infant Boy's Coat, c. 1890, buckskin, cloth, glass beads, sinew, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, pictured at the Renwick with Hide Cradleboard, c. 1890 by a Kiowa artist, attributed to Tahdo Ahtone, 1879-1961, Denver Museum of Nature and Science. By riding in the cradleboard upright, the child could absorb more of her language and culture/Photo by Patricia Leslie

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Apsaalooke (Crow), Infant Boy's Coat, c. 1890, buckskin, cloth, glass beads, sinew, Denver Museum of Nature and Science. At the Frist/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 Hide Cradleboard, c. 1890 by a Kiowa artist, attributed to Tahdo Ahtone, 1879-1961, Denver Museum of Nature and Science.at the Frist/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Keri Ataumbi (Kiowa/Comanche) and Jamie Okuma (Luiseño/Shoshone-Bannock), Adornment: Iconic Perceptions, 2014, antique glass, 24-karat electroplated beads, buckskin, 18-karat yellow gold, sterling silver, wampum shell, freshwater pearls, rose and brilliant-cut diamonds and diamond beads, diamond briolettes, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Gift of funds from The Duncan and Nivin MacMillan Foundation/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The artists pay tribute to Pocahontas, drawing inspiration from 17th century engravings by Simon van de Passe and Thomas Sully’s classic 1852 painting,

 

Anita Fields, Osage, b. 1951, with her coat entitled It's In Our DNA, It's Who We Are, 2018, Minneapolis Institute of Art. At the Renwick Gallery, Feb. 20, 2020.  Printed inside the coat is the Treaty of 1808 when the Osage Indians ceded almost 2.5 million acres including the state of Arkansas and almost all of Missouri to the U.S. government for cash/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Anita Fields, Osage, b. 1951, It's In Our DNA, It's Who We Are, 2018, Minneapolis Institute of Art, at the Frist Art Museum/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Joan Hill (Muskogee Creek and Cherokee), Women’s Voices at the Council, 1990, acrylic on canvas, Gift of the artist on behalf of the Governor’s Commission on the Status of Women, 1990, Oklahoma State Art Collection, courtesy of the Oklahoma Arts Council.

From the label copy: "Women’s Voices at the Council, part of a series that Joan Hill began in 1971 during the Vietnam War (1965–75), depicts multiple generations of Native women and the power they hold to decide between war and peace. Hill focuses attention on essential elements of women’s regalia including turtle shell leggings, and she presents Muskogee/Cherokee cultural aesthetics, symbols, and meanings. She juxtaposes the white background, a Cherokee symbol of peace, with a red disk, possibly symbolizing a threat of war."

This was my second favorite of the show. The contrasts, the colors, the mixture of generations, their positions, the silhouettes, and the solemnity of the time. While the women discuss, the men (to the left) prepare to battle. Leave it to the women to bring peace!
 
Four of the artists at the Renwick Gallery, Feb. 20, 2020. In the white shirt is Anita Fields and to her left is Kelly Church/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Kelly Church (Ottawa/Pottawatomi) with her Sustaining Traditions—Digital Memories, 2018, at the Renwick, Feb. 20, 2020. Black ash, sweetgrass, Rit dye, copper, vial EAB, and flash drive with black ash teachings/Photo by Patricia Leslie


According to the label copy: "The green in this basket represents the emerald ash borer. This beautiful insect has destroyed ash trees, essential to making ash baskets, throughout the Upper Midwest. Placed within this basket, which is shaped like a Fabergé egg is a flash drive containing what Kelly Church describes as 'all the teachings of the past, all of the things happening today, and all of the things we need to do in the future to sustain this tradition [basket weaving].'”

 The Frist Art Museum, Dec. 23, 2019/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Marguerite Vincent Lawinonkie Wendat (Huron), Moccasins, 1838/1847-1854, Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, NY, Gift of Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Lou-ann Neel, b. 1963, Childhood, 2013. According to the label, these are miniature photographs of the artist and 3,000 other children who were removed from their Native homes and sent to residential schools where they were forced to assimilate into Euro-American culture. All together, the images comprise the artist's nephew, Daniel (below) in regalia for his naming ceremony.  Ms. Neel's work was exhibited at the Frist only.

Lou-ann Neel, b. 1963, Childhood, 2013. The artist's nephew, Daniel.  (See description above.)

Lou-ann Neel, b. 1963, Childhood, 2013, Frist/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Dana Claxton, b. 1959, Buffalo Bone China, 1997, video and mixed media, collection of the MacKenzie Art Gallery. In the 1860s the U.S. government began killing 30 million buffalo to drive Natives onto reservations.  It took 30 years to kill almost 30 million buffalo, leaving only 493. Europeans used their bones to make fine china. The video features the artist smashing buffalo bone china, paying tribute to the power of the buffalo and the endurance of the Natives.  In the center are pieces of the broken white china. At the Frist only/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 See description above/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Jennie Ross Cobb, Cherokee, 1881-1959, Cherokee Female Seminary Graduating Class, 1902, courtesy of the Oklahoma Historical Society. Ms. Cobb was the first known Native American woman photographer in the U.S. Her pictures contrast with the stereotypes most other photographers made of Native American women, according to the label copy.  Although the location of the seminary was not given, I believe it is the "centerpiece of Northeastern State University, located in Tahlequah, Oklahoma," as identified by Wikipedia. The white dots in the photo of the photo are reflections of overhanging lights at the Frist/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Slavey (Dene), Dog blanket, c. 1878-1900, McCord Stewart Museum. Used for warmth and "announcement" by sled drivers of teams' arrival to deliver mail, news, and supplies. Indigenous artists.today are reviving these colorful, jingle-jangle blankets/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Anishinaabe, Jingle dress and headband, c. 1900, Cass County Historical Society, Cass County Museum. Used as "healing dresses" today and yesteryear/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Osage artists, ribbon blanket (left), c. 1950 and child's ribbon-work blanket, c. 1915 which belong to Anita Fields (the blanket on the left) and Julia Karen Lookout, both of the Osage Nation. See the backs below.  At the Frist/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The backs of the children's blankets (seen above) with Anita Fields's It's In Our DNA, It's Who We Are, 2018, at the Frist/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Zoe Urness, Tlingit, b. 1984, December 5, 2016, No Spiritual Surrender, 2016, courtesy of the artist. Near a campsite at Standing Rock Reservation in the Dakotas. Thousands from around the world gathered  to protest the Dakota Pipeline designed to carry oil but a threat to lives, damaging water supplies. Although the temperature that day "had hit forty below," the artist says on the label, "I had the camera under my armpit to keep the batteries warm.  I watched this gathering of veterans of military service, from all over the nation, approaching." She moved quickly to take "a one-arm shot." 

Rather than a photograph, this looks like a still from a horror movie. The reds, the blacks, the greys and whites combine with nature.to deliver a powerful message. My Number One Favorite in the show. It is a knockout, summoning up all the power of the protestors who march towards the viewer and summon: "Join us! We shall overcome!" At the Frist.

I was lucky enough to be able to see this intriguing and wide-ranging exhibition, the first major museum exhibition devoted to art by Native Women in two cities, in Nashville at the Frist Art Museum at Christmas, and in Washington at the Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery in February before coronavirus closed the show early.

Most of the pieces shown here were displayed at both museums, but the larger galleries at the Frist (it included 115 pieces; the Renwick, 82) permitted more displays of textiles, baskets, beadwork, pottery, painting, sculpture, video, apparel, and installation art with a broader visual experience for some.

Works by artists from the U.S. and Canada, from ancient times to present day, were chosen by a curatorial team led by Jill Ahlberg Yohe from the Minneapolis Institute of Art (the organizing institution) and Teri Greeves, a Kowa artist and scholar.

They worked closely with an Exhibition Advisory Board of 20 Native women skilled in mixed media who provided guidance for the show, titled Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists. It was "a radical shift in curatorial methodology," remarked Ms. Ahlberg at the Washington opening.


It is divided by three themes:  legacy, relationships, and power which together present "the unique heritage and culture of various Indian tribes and communities."

Visitors from toddlers on up were fascinated by the extraordinary presentation and differences of what their heritage means to these Native Women. 

Smithsonian American Art Museum Director Stephanie Stebich at the opening of Hearts Of Our People at the Renwick Gallery, Feb. 20, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At the February opening in Washington, Smithsonian American Art Museum Director Stephanie Stebich remarked that the timing of the exhibition in Washington to fall in the centennial celebration when American women got the right to vote was not just a coincidence. 

To compare the ways the two museums assembled and displayed the art was fascinating; highly recommended whenever the chance comes along to compare the same exhibition in two different locations.

My impression that many (most?) living artists require their works to be specifically displayed, according to certain measurements and placements in galleries, was changed by this show since placements, heights, and juxtapositions varied from one place to another.

It is a shame, a shame (it bears repeating) that coronavirus will prevent many from seeing this magnificent, inspiring show. The Renwick will just have to bring it back.

Audio tours with several of the artists are found at the Renwick website. 

Most of the labels were multi-lingual with translations in the native language of the artist.
 
Grants from the Henry Luce Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities made the presentation possible.  



A catalog of the exhibition is available for $39.95. 
What: Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists 

When:  Native Women Artists is set to close at the Renwick May 17, 2020 and likely cannot be extended since it moves to the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa for viewing June 28 – September 20, 2020, The Renwick is closed by coronavirus until July 2, 2020, according to the website. It is usually open from 10 a.m.– 5:30 p.m. every day.

Where: The Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery, 1661 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20006, at the White House 17th Street block, adjacent to Blair House.

Admission: No charge

Metro stations: Farragut North or Farragut West

For more information: (202) 633-7970 (recorded) or (202) 633-2850

patricialesli@gmail.com

Turkey a-go-go at the Indian Museum

A Thanksgiving feast at the National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

 You can't bear the thought of getting yourself to umpteen million stores to buy the goods for Big Turkey Day?

Don't want to prepare a menu? Cook?

Forget it, forget the lists, the shopping and driving (the traffic!),  unloading, polishing, cleaning, table setting, and deciding who likes what for Thanksgiving Day. (Oh, and then there's clean-up and floral arrangements and ironing and, and ...)

 Chef Freddie J. Bitsoie invites you to the Thanksgiving feast at the National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

The lad can't wait to get a plate and pile it high with delicacies from Chef Bitsoie's Thanksgiving feast at the National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

Call in your order to the National Museum of the American Indian which is serving a delicious feast for six to eight for only $190 (plus tax).   

Or, come to the museum on Thanksgiving Day and sit down at the restaurant which for years has enjoyed the best reputation for museum food anywhere in this town.

 A Thanksgiving feast at the National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

 Wild rice salad at the National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

 A Thanksgiving feast at the National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie


If you consider what you would spend for the Thanksgiving meal, the meal to go is a bargain, plus, it's homemade without that starchy, Styrofoam pre-made taste often found in grocery take-outs.

For every 25 meals purchased, the museum will donate a free meal to Martha's Table whose goal is to enable strong children, families, and communities through education, healthy eating, and family assists.

 The National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

 The National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

 

The National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

Call in your order for good eatins' or order online by Monday, Nov. 25 to 202-633-7044 or https://smithsonian.catertrax.com. Pick up at the Museum's Mitsitam Cafe on Wednesday, Nov. 27 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Now, for the menu created by Chef Freddie J. Bitsoie, one of few Native American chefs with a national reputation.

Since I tasted all these delicacies last week, I can speak truthfully about their deliciousness:

Maple-glazed roasted turkey (which comes with a thermometer)

Cornbread

Gravy

Cranberry sauce 

Pumpkin and chocolate bread pudding with baked pumpkin bread, custard, and chocolate chips

and your choice of four of these sides:

Apricot, fig and pear dressing of cornbread, fruits, and spices

Buttery mashed russet potatoes

Agave braised butternut squash

Wild rice salad with carrots, pine nuts, scallions, cranberries, lemon and olive oil

Three Sisters Salad with corn, black beans, squash, parsley, lemon, and olive oil. 


(If your taste buds aren't exercised after reading this, you may need a tongue treadmill which I am sure is available on the Internet. Here's an article at NIH I found.)

Ordering the meal to go will give you time to attend the Blackfeet Nation Tribal Festival this coming Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and hear the talk by Curator Cecile R. Ganteaume on Tuesday, Nov. 19, at 2 p.m. about  Pocahontas and "her early impact on European and American thought."  (She was more than just an Indian princess!  Come and learn.)

As if these weren't reasons enough to buy out, it will leave you energy to attend the Native American Heritage and Family Fun Day at the museum on Black Friday, Nov. 29, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

November is Native American Heritage Month and the museum honors the 6.6 million Native American and Alaska Native people living in the U.S. plus millions of other Indigenous people found in the Western Hemisphere.

What:  Thanksgiving at the National Museum of the American Indian

When: 10 a.m.. - 5:30 p.m. , open daily except Christmas Day


Where: Fourth Street and Independence, S.W. Washington, D.C 20560


Admission:  No charge

Closest Metro station: L'Enfant Plaza.  Exit at Maryland Avenue/Smithsonian Museums and, once outside, walk towards the U.S. Capitol.

For more information:  202-633-6644 or 888-618-0572

patricialesli@gmail.com




 

Rita Coolidge delights area fans

Rita Coolidge at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club/Photo by Patricia Leslie

She'll turn 70 next year, but she sure doesn't look it, act it, or sing like it.

Instead, Rita Coolidge sings like she did after she graduated from college and tried her talents on stage, thrilling fans with her classy, signature voice which she did again Sunday evening for a crowd at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club.

Rita Coolidge at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club/Photo by Patricia Leslie

She opened with a number she sang long ago and oh so far away which the Carpenters made legendary, "Superstar," a song no one wanted her to stop singing.

Rita Coolidge at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Dazzling in a ruffled long black dress with curving hemline, silver clasp and lilac wrap, Rita looked like she may weigh all of 100 pounds.  And her long hair may account for half that weight.

Rita Coolidge at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club with John Thomas on keys; John McDuffie (center), guitar, and Randy Landas, guitar/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Rita is her own, who can handle the singing herself, without echoes or fake background voices.

John McDuffie on a mean red guitar with Rita Coolidge at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club.  Behind him is Randy Landas/Photo by Patricia Leslie

In the romantic, sexily lighted Jazz Club hall, she sang "Basic Lady," and when she got to Peggy Lee's "Fever," you got it. 

The first time she heard Peggy Lee sing the song, Rita was just three years old, she said.  It put a spell on the young listener, and right then and there: "I knew what I wanted to be. I knew I wanted to be here tonight, and here I am." She credited Bethesda's Blues owner, Rick Brown, for bringing her to Washington.

Rita Coolidge at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Her most beautiful song of the night was the Cherokee National Anthem, sung by her ancestors in the 1830s while they traveled the Trail of Tears after President Andrew Jackson kicked them out of the Deep South.  The music is reminiscent of "Amazing Grace," and can be as emotionally wrenching for listeners as it is for vocalists.  Rita was born in Lafayette, Tennessee to a Cherokee father and a Scottish/Cherokee mother.

Reading the titles of many of her hits she sang at the Jazz Club may enable them to start spinning in your head: "We're All Alone," (Your Love Has Lifted Me) "Higher and Higher,"  "The Way You Do the Things You Do," and "Can't Stand The Rain."

Also, "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)," and Bob Dylan's affable, "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight," which she varied with a slower, sexier arrangement from Dylan's version.

Lynn Coulter was the drummer for Rita Coolidge's show at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club.  He and Rita made sweet harmony in "Loving Arms"/Photo by Patricia Leslie

She mentioned her ex, Kris Kristofferson (married 1973-1980) and the joy they share in their only child, a daughter, Casey, and three granddaughters. Next spring HarperCollins will publish Rita's autobiography.

Most in the audience stood and applauded when the two hour set ended. Rita Coolidge bowed, and in her graceful way, exited the stage, to return seconds later for the encore and "I'd Rather Leave When I Am In Love" and "Lover, Please, Please Come Back." We will, Rita! 

If your experience is like mine at the Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club, you and your party will spend a totally delightful evening listening to fantastic music in an intimate setting with drinks and/or dinner, and you may be kicking up a heel or two for some of the acts come with dancing, theirs and yours. Cowboy hats, welcome.

What:  Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club

When: 12 p.m.-1 a.m., Monday-Saturday; 12 p.m.-12 a.m., Sunday

Where: 7719 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20814

How much: Prices vary, depending upon artist. See the calendar.

Food and drink: The dining area has a $10 per person minimum which can be applied toward any item on the menu. Check out FAQ here. And here's the menu. I found the food (beet salad:  yummy) and drinks, good and reasonably priced.

Tickets: Call 240-330-4500 or go to the website.

Getting there: The Bethesda Metro station is about 1.5 blocks away, and parking is below the building (free on weekends). See directions.

For more posts on Rita Coolidge and the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club, please click on the links.

patricialesli@gmail.com