I went to the Heard Museum yesterday for member's opening event for a new exhibit called Maria & Modernism. The exhibit was all about Maria Martinez (1887 - 1980), a ceramicist and one of the 20th century's most influential and celebrated artists.
Maria was making pottery at a time when society and industry were changing dramatically.
She was a traditional Tewa woman who embraced a modern lifestyle while still creating ceramics in a traditional manor.
This photo was taken in 1976 and she is standing with a jar she made in 1942.
Maria and her husband Julian traveled extensively taking her work across America. They attended four major World's Fairs, St. Louis in 1904, San Diego in 1915, Chicago in 1934 and San Francisco in 1939. Their pottery fit seamlessly with the streamlined aesthetic of the 1930's and 40's. In every state they visited, Julian would collect some clay and bring it home. This collection features pieces they made from that clay and are named for the various states the clay came from.
This is a close look at the center piece that features images of the artists.
The exhibit included many pieces made by the couple and their children and grandchildren. It also included other pieces and images that relate to the era they were working in. They were working during the Art Deco era and the exhibit included images of that era's modern influences. Tomorrow I'll show you some of those images.
6 comments:
She makes Interesting art.
Her work is wonderful. I attended a workshop with her in the mid 70s in Pennsylvania. She was quite old but was still able to direct people to do what she wanted.
Beautiful work! Looks like she skillfully blended tradition with more modern influences.
Wow! I want to go take a ceramics class, maybe in the fall.
That dress code is so special
My wife and I loved Maria's pottery back in the 70's but never could afford it.
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