“The Iridescence of Knowing” Exhibit Weaves Together Southern Californian Native Artists and the Intergenerational Knowing of Home
By Tavi Lorelle Carpenter
It was opening night at Oxy Arts for their latest exhibition “The Iridescence of Knowing” curated by Joel Garcia and Mercedes Dorame. The community certainly turned out to support the incredible artists featured. I had showed up late, the LA traffic extending my eastward journey inland by an hour. But as I walked into the intimate gallery the flood of excited voices filled my ears.
In my family, art is part of our legacy, passed down by several generations. As a result, I’ve been to quite a few art openings and later this month will be attending one I am featured in at the De Young. But this exhibit was particularly engaging, because of how captivating the art was. I’ve always found openings to be more about networking. However, in this exhibit, the artwork refused to be ignored, capturing the rapt attention of the intermix of art lovers, artists, friends & families, as well as students from Occidental college.
It was actually Occidental students who reminded me of why shows like this are very important. One hadn’t been familiar with Native American people’s plight, commenting that the history and politics that exists in America for Native people doesn’t really exist in England. I wondered if this was really true, given England’s history of colonizing Wales, Ireland and Scotland. But even so, in England itself, wouldn’t he be the Native? I felt inclined to gently reminded him of this, as it’s so often forgotten that we all have ancestral lands, whoever we are. For Native people in the United States, that land is here.
But it was this conversation that made me consider why Native people still existing in our homeland is always a little bit of a surprise, especially amongst the American settler society.
In general, American Indian people are often de-modernized, with the colonial agenda preferring to keep us as relics of the past, rather than the resilient living, breathing people we are. I’ve always felt as though my existence was a little inconvenient for a country that would prefer to ignore its violent beginnings. At the same time, our traditions are often frowned upon, considered to be primitive.
But the sentiment that seemed to exhale from each piece was the strength in being a present day California Indian artist holding hands with their homeland and those who came before.
This was illustrated in every piece, but one that really stood out to me was Cara Romero’s photograph Miztla at Puvunga, part of a series “created for #TOGVALAND-a site-specific installation”. As the viewer, we look at Mitzlayolxochitl Aguilera, as she stands on a sacred site in traditional clothing embraced by the golden light of sunset. She looks out at us with slightly narrowed eyes, standing tall, with an expression that radiates power and maybe a little sadness. Her bare feet are nestled between grasses, firmly planted on the earth, as tall palm trees in the background frame her person. Overhead there is a low flying commercial airplane.
In the description, Romero states:
“This is a tragic story of not having ceremonial grounds to gather in privacy and without the permission of state and private landowners. As Native people, we understand that Mother Earth must hear her languages, songs and dance that emerge from place and cultures to be in balance.”
The juxtaposition of the natural surroundings and a young woman dressed in the legacy of her people against the intrusion of an airplane illustrates the complicated navigation tribes endure to ensure their undeniable right to sovereignty. The power of art will always be in the way it brings clarity to subjects intentionally muddled.
And this connection to place-the absolute truth that tradition is not a quirky aspect of our humanity, but in fact gifts given long ago, passed down so each generation can continue to honor the land we come from.
In the exhibit statement, the curators note that: “weaving, both as a physical technique vital to Indigenous Craft and as a symbolic concept, lies at the heart of the exhibition….[as] the intangible essence of transgenerational cultural memory that bridges time and space”.
Mercedes Dorame and Joel Garcia were certainly successful in weaving together a show that highlights the First People of Southern California, as they’ve existed in time immemorial and in the present day.
If you are in the wider Los Angeles area, I highly recommend taking time to visit Oxy Arts to see this exhibit.
“The Iridescence of Knowing” will exhibit from September 14, 2023 through November 18, 2013. Please visit: https://oxyarts.oxy.edu/exhibitions/iridescence-knowing for more information
To see Miztla at Puvunga please visit the artist’s website: https://www.cararomerophotography.com/tongvaland
The other incredible artists featured included:
Weshoyot Alvitre, Theresa Ambo, Jess Cauldron, Gerald Clarke, Lewis deSoto, Robert Dorame, Katie Dorame, River Garza, Sky Hopinka, Adrienne Kinsella, James Luna, L. Frank Manriquez, Leah Mata Fragua, Samantha Morales-Johnson and Craig Torres.
This piece was reported and written with the support of an Ethnic Media Outreach Grant, made possible by the Stop the Hate initiative, funded by the California State Library (CSL) in partnership with the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs (CAPIAA). To learn more about Stop the Hate or to report a hate incident, visit stopthehateca.org.
