New Mexico Magazine: Now with Cameo Appearances by Wings's Art

Sorry; have to post this. Because I'm proud of him.

This is the cover of the current issue of New Mexico Magazine (June, 2014 edition). Wings had to run some errands yesterday and brought it home with him.

On pages 52 through 55, one of Wings's pieces makes three cameo appearances.

What grabbed his eye was the headline on the left: "Game of Thrones' [sic] Hometown Hero." It's a story about George R.R. Martin, Santa Fe resident, and his purchase, restoration, and reopening of the Jean Cocteau Cinema, the town's beloved art-house 
theatre that closed some years ago. That's the same venue that hosted Wings's one-man show last month.

The article includes several photos of George himself. And in each one, he's wearing his trademark fisherman's cap . . . with one of Wings's turtles pinned to it.

Did I mention that I'm proud of him?

June 9, ETA: When I pulled this together two nights ago, I couldn't get a link for the actual article from the New Mexico Magazine Web site, so I assumed that it was content available only to subscribers. They've apparently since made it available; yesterday, belinda ridgewood sent me the link, which has now been added above. Only one photo, but the turtle makes an appearance.

"Taos Pueblo: Ancestral Places, Sacred Spaces." It's your last chance to see it.

Photo copyright Wings, 2014; all rights reserved.

It's the final day of Taos Pueblo:  Ancestral Places, Sacred Spaces, Wings's one-man show at the Jean Cocteau Cinema in Santa Fe.

Tomorrow, we head down to Santa Fe to dismantle the exhibit, pack it up, and bring it home. Soon, I'll post images of all the pieces here in an online retrospective, but it'll take a few days for me to get everything organized, uploaded, and curated properly, for lack of a better term.

But since there's still one day left to see it, please, send these links viral. As I said last week:

The two most important links to share are this one and this one. Once the virtual show goes up here, I'll ask you to share those links, too, since most, if not all, of the work will still be available for sale (shows are about long-term exposure, not immediate $$ — which is, of course, yet another reason why it's so difficult for Indian artists to do them).

It's taken a lot of hard work to get to this point, and Wings really outdid himself. I'm so proud of him that I really don't have the words to describe it. And we're both profoundly grateful to all of you who helped make it possible.

Chi miigwech and ta'a, from both of us.

The Westeros Wing

President Obama is a big fan, too. [Yes, it's Photoshopped, but it's still hellishly cool. Particularly since it was sent out as an actual White House Tweet.]

Good thing the creator is a liberal Democrat, yes?

Hmmm . . . .  I wonder whether we should send one of Wings's photos from his one-man show to the President and First Lady as a gift? 

In the meantime, back to promoting the final six days of said show. Links are in descending order of importance for sending them viral. You know what to do:

Jean Cocteau Cinema Facebook page official announcement.
Jean Cocteau Cinema Web site official announcement.
My official announcement here.

And please:  Share those links, not the link to this post.

Thanks.

Final Week!

Photo copyright Wings, 2014; all rights reserved.

It's the final week of Taos Pueblo:  Ancestral Places, Sacred Spaces, Wings's one-man show at the Jean Cocteau Cinema in Santa Fe.

Next week, I'll finally be able to post a virtual exhibition here. It may run to two posts, since there are 10 captioned photos and some 35 jewelry pieces.

In the meantime, you can still help promote the show by sending the links viral. Those in the opening graf above can all be liked and shared on Facebook, Tweeted, shared on other social media sites, reposted or cross-posted elsewhere, and circulated via e-mail.

The two most important links to share are this one and this one. Once the virtual show goes up here, I'll ask you to share those links, too, since most, if not all, of the work will still be available for sale (shows are about long-term exposure, not immediate $$ — which is, of course, yet another reason why it's so difficult for Indian artists to do them).

Many thanks from both of us to everyone who has supported his work and gotten us to this point.

Eleven More Days — Please Share!

Taos Pueblo:  Ancestral Places, Sacred Spaces, Wings's one-man show, runs for eleven more days at the Jean Cocteau Cinema in Santa Fe.

Please help us get the word out by liking, sharing, tweeting, cross-posting, re-posting, and e-mailing the following links:

1. The show announcement on this blog;
2. The show announcement on the venue's Web site:
3. The show announcement on the venue's Facebook page; 
4. The venue's main page; and
5. The venue's main Facebook page.

Items 2 and 3 especially need likes, shares, etc; that's most important to sending this viral.

I'm so proud of Wings and his work. Please — help me share it with the world.

Chi miigwech and ta'a.

A Glimpse, and a Request

Photo copyright Wings, 2014; all rights reserved.

Today's going to be another hugely busy day.

I have pieces in the works, one on the truly abominable behavior of a local executive with regard to the Dakotas' "man camps." It's not an easy piece to write, since it involves revisiting a lot of ugly ground I've covered many times before. But it'll be posted before too long.

We also have a great many things to get done here, much of it while trying to beat the weather that's supposed to arrive tomorrow. So I'll be online whenever I can grab a few spare minutes, but it my not be much more than that at any given stretch.

In the meantime, I'd like to ask you for a favor. Wings's one-man-show at the Jean Cocteau Cinema in Santa Fe is ongoing; the image above is just a little glimpse. But the show runs through May 11th, and it needs continued publicity. So if you'd share the following links, whether via e-mail, by cross-posting on your own or other sites, or by sharing on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media, we'd be grateful.

My announcement on this site is here.

The Jean Cocteau Cinema's official announcement is here.

The venue's Facebook page announcement is here.

And the best thing you can do is "Like," "Share," and otherwise post the individual links, not the link to this post I'm writing at the moment. That does more to get the word out, both to support the venue and to support Wings's work.

Chi miigwech and ta'a.

Updates From the Show

So, we're both completely exhausted, but elated.

We wrapped up little details at the venue yesterday — all the thousand and one things that you think are covered but find are missing some suddenly-crucial element. There was one thing we could not get accomplished, unfortunately, but circumstances simply made it impossible. There may yet be a workaround; we'll see.  

The trip itself went, again, incredibly smoothly. All the more remarkable on that score when you consider that we had a sick dog with us; Grif is not well enough to be left unattended, so we bundled him into the back seat. He's doing much better — still staggering like a drunken little old man, and still falling occasionally, but at least he can struggle to his feet and make it from Point A to Point B, however precariously. He's drinking water regularly, and I think he'll be ready to try some watery rice and broth today. [For those who don't know, CVS is canine vertigo; the spinning sensation makes the dogs too nauseated to eat or drink.]

The good news from the venue is that Sam tells us that there's been HUGE interest in Wings's silverwork. He says that people love the jewelry, and comment on it regularly. No sales yet, but that's to be expected; quite often, shows wind up being more about exposure and building a future clientele than about immediate sales. When you consider the events calendar at the Jean Cocteau Cinema for the duration of the show, this has the potential to get his work in front of thousands of new pairs of eyes, and that's a wonderful thing.

Speaking of that events calendar, here's a sample: Monday night, they hosted internationally acclaimed author Junot Díaz for a reading and book signing. Last night, it was a campaign fundraiser for New Mexico Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Grisham. Tonight, it'll be another reading and book-signing event, hosting in person yet another internationally acclaimed author: famed mystery novelist Anne Perry. And from May 1 through May 4, it's the prestigious Santa Fe Film Festival. And throughout the period of the show, there are an endless parade of indie, arts, cultural, cult, and other film screenings; smaller film festivals; live music; variety and magic shows; and other cool cultural events.

Meanwhile, we are the proud new owners of three direwolves: Grey Wind, Summer and Ghost (I've called dibs on Ghost already). No, don't worry; we haven't gone and adopted three wild wolves (although you can do that, here, if you're so inclined). The Martins are long-time benefactors of the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary, and organization that rescues and rehabilitates wolves. Wild Spirit even has a "Westeros Pack." But our three are these, given to us by their spirit mom.

Yesterday was just a whole series of gifts, and reminders to be thankful. But apart from Griffin's continued improvement, the greatest gift we received yesterday was the chance to see and hug a very dear and very beautiful friend for the first time in four months. We love you, darlin'.

And now, I'm two days behind on chores, and the wind's already rising. Time to get to it.

Announcing "Taos Pueblo: Ancestral Places, Sacred Spaces," at the Jean Cocteau Cinema

So, he didn't like any of yesterday's casual shots. Maybe it's for a reason, since online dissemination of images of the pieces in the exhibit really should be kept to a minimum until show is over, hence my use of the GoFundMe image again.

But Taos Pueblo:  Ancestral Places, Sacred Spaces is now up and open to the public. It runs through May 11th at the Jean Cocteau Cinema on Montezuma Street in Santa Fe. 

If you're anywhere in the area but have never been to the venue, it's wonderful and you should see it purely for its historic value alone: It's an old Art Deco-period art-house cinema in a building from Santa Fe's heyday. It closed down permanently something eight years ago, which was a huge loss for the Santa Fe and New Mexico arts communities. When George R.R. Martin and Parris McBride Martin bought it last year, they restored it completely, and the work really shows: It's beautiful. Also very cozy, homey, and inviting, and while I absolutely love Deco art and architecture, it's a real accomplishment to pull it off AND make it feel warmly welcoming to everyone who walks through the door.

It seems that they screen films at various times throughout the day on a daily, or near-daily, basis. They also feature specific events, and the ones that will be occurring during the period of Wings's one-man show are pretty stellar: In-person author appearances and book signings by Junot Diaz and Anne Perry; a political fundraiser for Michelle Lujan-Grisham for Congress; the Santa Fe Film Festival, which promises to be spectacular; and assorted film screenings and festivals, live music, and other events. And you can always drop in to have some coffee at the cinema café, which includes a coffeehouse and bar, even if you don't have time or the inclination to take in a film. Wings's exhibit is right in the café itself, so you can view what I think is some truly spectacular Native art while you enjoy your espresso or your Fire and Blood Game of Thrones Red Ale.

Here's the official announcement from the Jean Cocteau Cinema, both on the venue's Web site and on its Facebook page. Please share them far and wide; "Like" and "Share" them on Facebook, Tweet it, link it elsewhere, and e-mail it to your networks. We'd like this to be a huge success, not just for Wings, but for the Jean Cocteau Cinema, for its wonderful owners and staff (who are just incredible people), and for future artists, especially Native ones, who might follow.

So here's where I ask you to spread word of the show itself.

Yes, we made our goal, thanks to a little [lot of] help from our friends, here and elsewhere. And, yes, people can still contribute, if they're so inclined.

But what I'd like now is for folks to spread the word about the show itself. This is really a big deal for Wings, of course, but as our friend Grey Hawk noted in his diary yesterday, it's also very important from a cultural standpoint. This gives us an opportunity to reach a whole new audience in one of the nation's important cultural centers and introduce them to Native art in a way they've likely never envisioned. I'd love to see the show itself be a huge success for the Cocteau, so that there'll be future such opportunities for Native artists, not only there but in similar venues around the country.

You can read more about the show in detail here. You can read the venue's official announcement here. And if you know anyone inclined to kick in a few bucks, you can send them to Wings's GoFundMe page here, or hit the PayPal button above. 

Most of all, please spread the word: "Like," "Share," "Tweet," e-mail, republish, cross-post, and tell your friends. Let's rock this exhibition!

Chi miigwech.




Photo copyright Wings, 2014; all rights reserved.

Announcing "Taos Pueblo: Ancestral Places, Sacred Spaces," a One-Man Show by Wings.

Photo copyright Wings, 2014; all rights reserved.

Beginning Tuesday, April 15, and running through May 11, the Jean Cocteau Cinema in Santa Fe, New Mexico will host a one-man art show by Wings.

The exhibit's theme is Taos Pueblo:  Ancestral Places, Sacred Spaces, and it explores the identity of Taos Pueblo from an insider's perspective through Wings's chosen media: photography and sterling silver. The show features ten photographs of Taos Pueblo's classic architecture and iconography, presented in a wholly different way. Instead of concentrating on the famed multi-level houses ubiquitous in photos everywhere, Wings brings the existential details into focus:

There is so much more to our ancestral lands, our sacred spaces, that people never see. Some of that is purposeful:  Our traditions require privacy and secrecy, and there is much that is not available to outsiders. But even in the public areas of the Pueblo, what visitors see and what I see are two very different things. 

With this exhibition, I would like to take you on a journey  I want to show you what I see, feel what I feel —  the sights and sounds and smells and sensations of this place, this land, that has embedded in my blood and bone and that of my people for more than a millennium . . . . 

Come with me.  Let me show you this earth, this sky, this light that is wholly a part of me.

Interpretive text will accompany the photos to provide context for viewers.

Complementing the photography, the show will also feature several of Wings's sterling silver Indian jewelry showpieces, each with its own accompanying narrative. 

During the month of the exhibition, the Cocteau will feature numerous film screenings, concerts, and book signings, including events for such diverse and famed authors as Junot Díaz and Anne Perry.

A retrospective of the art from the show will eventually be made available online.

The Jean Cocteau Cinema is owned by renowned author George R.R. Martin and Parris McBride Martin. We are indebted to them for this honor and this opportunity. We also owe special thanks to Raya Golden and Jeff Berg, and particularly to Sam Haozous, for facilitating this entire project.



Copyright Ajijaakwe, 2014; all rights reserved.