April 2025 UPDATE: Less than 100 days in to Trump’s second regime DOGE demolished the NEH, among many other wonderful organizations. Thereby cancelling MY summer program in DC. I hope I will be able to one day reverse this statement & we can bring back a healthy federal government. Until then I resist.
This was my Art Minute assignment made for my NEH Diverse Historical and Cultural Perspectives in Native American and African American Art program.
Brief Overview
Maria Martinez, and her husband Julian, are credited with a revival of Puebloan pottery when they participated on archeological excavations of San Ildefonso blackware pottery shards. With encouragement from Edgar L. Hewett, with the Archaeological Institute of America’s School of American Research, Maria & Julian began producing blackware pottery for sale to tourists in the 1920s & 1930s. This accompanied a revival in indigenous pottery with an emphasis on geometric designs, appearing contemporaneously with the Art Deco style.
Maria Martinez’s artistic and economic legacy is significant. Before her revival, Puebloan pottery was in serious decline and the economic conditions for the San Ildefonso Puebloans was low. Their pottery became a focal point in a movement to provide not only an economic boost to the reservation but also interest in ancestral pottery motifs. According to Puebloan tradition, Maria was the potter and Julian the painter until his death in 1943. However, departing from custom, they signed their pottery to increase its economic value.
I just thank God because [my pottery] is not only for me; it’s for all the people.
Accessibility Description
The pot has a narrow base and bows out about two-thirds of the way up and then narrows again towards the opening at the top. It has a shiny black base with lighter black lines painted on it, it is known as blackware pottery. There is one large band corresponding with the widest part of the pot in which all the decoration is concentrated. This band is topped with a scalloped border. The shapes inside the band are heavily geometric and highly stylized, with curvilinear and sharp diagonal lines intersecting. The jar features patterns that symbolize a bird, rain, and thunderclouds in a repeating and symmetrical format.
Read more: NEH Diverse Historical and Cultural Perspectives in Native American and African American Art: Reading List
Activity
The patron and original intended audience of a piece of artwork can greatly shape how are artwork is made, marketed, and understood. Art created specifically to sell, especially to those outside the creating culture, adds a layer of complexity to understanding the original artwork. The advent and increased rise of the internet in the late 20th century has also shaped new ways to both create and market art. And now the advent of NFT (non-fungible token) art and now AI created art has only added to the millennia of history of how art is made, by whom and for whom.
Use the following question stems to discuss the intersection of art and economics:
- Maria Martinez based her art on centuries old Puebloan pottery specifically to sell to tourists. Does this affect the authenticity of her work? Is it “hers” or does it belong to the community?
- How is “art for art’s sake” different than art made for the market?
- Pottery by Maria Martinez can range from about $2,000 to $250,000. How do you think art is priced? Is some art “priceless”?
- Maria Martinez sometimes signed the pottery of artist working with her to increase their value. What are your thoughts on this? Is an artist’s work unique or can it be made in a community?
After this discussion, look at the following artworks from the AP Art History curriculum:
- Fountain (second version), Marcel Duchamp
- Marilyn Diptych, Andy Warhol
- Narcissus Garden, Yayoi Kusama
- Hide Painting of the Sun Dance, attributed to Cotsiogo (Cadzi Cody)
- Pink Panther, Jeff Koons
- Trade (Gifts for Trading Land with White People), Jaune Quick-to-See Smith
- Kui Hua Zi (Sunflower Seeds), Ai Weiwei
Each of these artworks were either specifically made for the art market or comment on the commercialization of art. What aspects of their form do you believe were emphasized or changed because due to economic influences? Do you believe art looks different for a private patron, as has been the historical norm? What if the artist made it for the artist’s own personal enjoyment?
Note: you do not have to worry about being “right” or “wrong” here, it is about looking at art through the lens of commercialization.
JMF
