Pueblo to Pueblo: The Legacy of Southwest Indian Pottery
The City of Lake Charles will host a new traveling exhibition, Pueblo to Pueblo: The Legacy of Southwest Indian Pottery. The exhibition will be on display at the 1911 Historic City Hall Arts & Cultural Center at 1001 Ryan Street beginning with an opening reception on March 15 from 5:30-8 p.m. and will run through May 25. All ages are welcome at no charge and refreshments will be served.
Also on that evening, visitors can meet & greet Rita Ford, a garden designer and artist of botanical materials who creates floral collages. Her exhibition of Second Life of Plants will hang in the first floor gallery through April 6. A native of a small town in Siberia, Rita lived in St. Petersburg, Russia for 17 years before coming to Louisiana.
Pueblo to Pueblo consists of approximately 70 Pueblo Indian pottery vessels and supporting materials dating from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century. Pottery making in the American Southwest is a tradition that first emerged about two thousand years ago.It is a functional art form that was passed from generation to generation over the span of centuries by people living in permanent villages, called pueblos.Some of the vessels in the exhibition are very conservative and adhere to the traditional style of a particular pueblo while others incorporate innovations specifically designed for the market. It is also during this time period that certain individuals, such as Nampeyo from Hopi and Maria Martinez from San Ildefonso, became recognized for the quality of their work and the exhibition also includes several outstanding examples of their work as well. Visitors will be introduced to the various styles of Pueblo pottery as well as an understanding of the narrative behind its continued development. Pueblo to Pueblo is from the collection of Union Station and The Kansas City Museum, and is toured by Smith Kramer Traveling Exhibitions from Kansas City.
Additional programming for Pueblo to Pueblo at Historic City Hall will include a gallery talk by Dr. Ray Miles, Dean, College of Liberal Arts from McNeese State University, on April 4 at 6 p.m.; and a pottery demonstration by Ken Baskin, McNeese Assistant Professor of Art/Ceramics, on April 20 from noon-2pm.
While visiting Historic City Hall, don't miss 50 Greatest Photographs by National Geographic through April 13. The gallery is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is free, but donations are gladly accepted. For more information, please call 491-9147.