Whoever Smelt it Dealt it
Chaz John returns with new works from the IAIA foundry
From the mind that brought you such works as the painterly Rez Dogs study of literal dogs on the rez and the borderline performance piece “Andrew Jackson’s Dumbass Leg” comes REDHORN, a multidisciplinary solo show featuring bronze sculptures and various other multimedia pieces. That’s right, nerds—Chaz John (Mississippi Band Choctaw and Winnebago) is back, and he’s got a new obsession with the fallen Indigenous city of Cahokia.
Cahokia, John explains, was one of the largest pre-Columbian cities outside of Mexico.
“The thing is, it was, like, a thriving megalithic trading city across the Mississippi River from where St. Louis is today,” John explains. “And then, around 1504, there was this celestial event that was seen throughout the world, and it was profoundly significant to a lot of cultures; but whatever happened in Cahokia, they dismantled everything and adopted a new way.”
The city became a metropolis, John says, and even included suburbs. But all civilizations eventually collapse, and Cahokia did, too. In the now, John’s research on the city has left him obsessed, particularly with the mythos surrounding cosmic beings Morning Star and Redhorn, who may have emerged from the observance of that 1504 supernova. These tenets, along with that of Cahokian ancestry, inform John’s new works, as did a class he took at the Institute of American Indian Arts foundry.
Using bronze along with materials that would have been used in Cahokia—sticks and earth and flora, through which the molten metal is poured—John unearths a bizarre series of sculptures that showcase a series of negative space twists and turns once the metal hardens. Attendees will also find tributes to Mississippian shells, plus photography and illustration, all of which signify a new era for the prolific artist.
“It sounds pretentious, but I feel like I’ve seen every painting in a way where I can look at it and see how it’s done,” John says. “But sculpture…in Cahokia, they weren’t working with oil paints or anything, and I want REDHORN to feel more like a piece of that time.”
Chaz John: REDHORN Opening: 6-8 pm Friday, Aug. 16. Free. smoke the moon, 616/12 Canyon Road, smokethemoon.com
Ramblin’ On
As the end of summer draws nearer (Zozobra goes down in less than a month!), we recommend making time for the last handful of this year’s free Summer Scene shows on the Santa Fe Bandstand. This week, the show to beat comes from popular local tribute acts Moby Dick and Detroit Lightning. The former act practically becomes Led Zeppelin in tone and style—tight pants, baby—while the boys from Detroit Lightning channel their inner Jerry Garcia/Phil Lesh/Bob Weir/Pigpen to dip into a catalog spanning various eras of the Dead songbook. This one will likely be packed, so plan ahead accordingly if you want a good vantage point. (Adam Ferguson)
Santa Fe Bandstand: Detroit Lightning and Moby Dick: 6 pm Tuesday, Aug. 20. Free, Santa Fe Plaza 63 Lincoln Ave., lensic360.org
Market One
Though the included events at this year’s Indian Market from the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts will spill out in the days before and after the main event, the one-two punch of the Saturday/Sunday market proper remains the crown jewel in Santa Fe’s impressive annual market lineup. Tens of thousands will descend upon the Plaza and its surrounding streets to engage with Indigenous creators of all ages, styles and origins, and it might be the only chance we get all year to meet and greet some of the most important artists of our time. Our take? We love the kid artists and want to get in good with them before they become the next generation of tastemakers. (ADV)
102nd SWAIA Indian Market: 8 am-5 pm Saturday, Aug. 17 and Sunday, Aug. 18. Free. Santa Fe Plaza, 63 Lincoln Ave., swaia.org
Market Two
There are, in fact, so many phenomenal Native artists working today that not even the venerable Indian Market could contain them all. And should you wish to find even more artists plying their wares, head to Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino in Pojoaque for the 4th Annual Pathways Indigenous Arts Festival from the Poeh Cultural Center. There you’ll find more than 350 artists, food, music, dance—all the good stuff that led Poeh Executive Director Karl Duncan to coin the term “Indigitainment.” Did we mention the included Poeh-Chella music lineup of music and film? (ADV)
4th Annual Pathways Indigenous Arts Festival: 9 am-5 pm Friday, Aug. 16 and Saturday, Aug. 17; 9 am-4 pm Sunday, Aug. 18. Free. Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino, 30 Buffalo Thunder Trail, poehcenter.org