Navajo Weavings

ROCKWELL MUSEUM OF WESTERN ART TO EXHIBIT NAVAJO WEAVINGS

March 11, 2004

There are stories woven throughout the warp and weft - the lengthwise and crosswise yarns - of Navajo textiles. These weavings tell of a once-nomadic nation of Native Americans, of their Pueblo teachers, of unique breeds of sheep, of the "Long Walk" and scorched earth, of Anglo traders, of particular communities, and of symbols derived from worldwide cultures. Many of these stories will come to life at the Rockwell Museum of Western Art, during a special exhibit of 21 Navajo rugs from its permanent collection. The exhibit will open April 8 and will run through September 20, 2004.

"This exhibition is aligned with the museum's mission to preserve and interpret our collection of American Western and Native American art, and to foster a deeper understanding of these cultures and aesthetic traditions," says Executive Director Kristin Swain. "For the past two years, we have focused on Western art, with exhibits featuring paintings and sculpture. Now we want to highlight these beautiful Native American textiles from our own permanent collection." The rugs were placed in storage when the museum was temporarily closed for renovation in 2000. This is the first exhibition dedicated to textiles since 1998.

The weavings selected for the Navajo Rug Exhibition span about eight decades, from approximately 1875 through the early 1960s, and represent ten distinct Navajo styles. All but one were collected and donated to the museum by its founding donors Bob and Hertha Rockwell, and their children Robert F. (Bobby) Rockwell III and Sandra Rockwell Herron.

Bobby Rockwell selected the works to be shown and designed the exhibition. Asked to select his personal favorite, Bobby Rockwell said he is particularly partial to a pictorial style rug attributed to the Teec Nos Pos, Arizona region of the Navajo reservation. As he explains, "Each region developed its own distinctive style, although you can also trace influences from one place to another."

The oldest rugs in the exhibit are four colorful Germantown rugs, made with brightly dyed yarns shipped to Western trading posts during the last quarter of the nineteenth century. The Churro sheep -- the source of wool for Navajo weavings- had been wiped out by Colonel Kit Carson and his cavalrymen during the "Long Walk." "Replacement" sheep sent by the government provided meat, but produced poor quality wool for weavings. To keep the weaving trade productive, enterprising traders brought the Navajo weavers new factory-made yarns produced in Germantown, Pennsylvania. These were colored with bright aniline dyes rather than the traditional plant dyes the Navajo had long used. But they were attractive, and the fact that they were ready-made also meant that the weavers could produce rugs faster, to meet the growing demand of the new Eastern customers that enterprising traders cultivated. Among the most popular were Eye Dazzlers, striking geometric patterns made from the boldest colors of Germantown yarns.

Five carpets in the exhibition are the Sand Painting style, in which the designs imitate those of the Navajo ceremonial sand paintings. Traditionally, many of these are square. They depict supernatural beings and elements as well as earthly symbols.

Teec Nos Pos and Two Gray Hills are two other Navajo styles represented in the exhibition. Like many others, these were identified with a particular community on the vast Navajo reservation. Teec Nos Pos (which means "Cottonwoods in a Circle") weavings have bold, often elaborate designs. Many people believe these rugs reflect influences from Persian carpets. There is little recorded evidence of such a transfer of knowledge, but traders in the late 1800s did hire artists to paint pictures of Navajo rugs for their Eastern customers, and they also requested Navajo weavers to make designs their painters developed. These often incorporated elements from many styles of Oriental carpets that were very popular back east. Thus it is possible and even likely that influences from Persia, Turkey, China and other Eastern countries crept into Navajo designs. Another explanation is simply that many symbols are found around the world in multiple cultures. For example, the swastika - traced back 6000 years by many scholars - was widely used by the Navajo until it became associated with the atrocities of the Third Reich. Thereafter, the Navajo people renounced the use of it.

Weavers from the Two Gray Hills area made their rugs from natural, undyed, handspun wool in shades of white, black, and brown. They produced subtleties in color by blending these fibers as they carded them, prior to spinning them into yarn. In addition to the two completed rugs in this style, the Navajo Rug Exhibition will also include a Navajo loom, with a Two Gray Hills rug partially finished.

The exhibition also will include two Chief rugs - bold patterns based on the finest blankets used as gifts to Chiefs and other prestigious people, and expensive trade items. Two of the rugs in the show are in the Ganado style, considered a classic Navajo style. These have dark borders, with black, white and grey designs based on central diamonds.

The Rockwell Museum of Western Art is open to the public seven days a week, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. The museum is located in the renovated 1893 former City Hall, on the corner of Denison Parkway and Cedar Street in Corning. Inside, this historic building conveys the feel of the West, and visitors are immersed in a Western experience from the moment they enter the doors. In addition to the exhibition galleries themselves, the museum provides art packs on several themes for young visitors and a Trading Post gift shop with Western and Native American items including jewelry, pottery, weavings, books, reproductions, and kitchen items. In the adjacent Cantina, visitors can enjoy Western-style lunch, dinner and snacks. Members can enjoy discounts and many special privileges. Further information about the Navajo Rug Exhibition and the Rockwell Museum of Western Art is available by calling 607-937-5386.