Navajo Beadwork: Architectures of Light

By Ellen K. Moore

Sunset. Fire. Rainbow. Drawing on such common occurrences of light, Navajo artists have crafted an uncommon array of design in colored glass beads. Beadwork is an art form introduced to the Navajos through other Indian and Euro-American contacts, but it is one that they have truly made their own. More than simple crafts, Navajo beaded designs are architectures of light.

Ellen Moore has written the first history of Navajo beadwork--belts and hatbands, baskets and necklaces--in a book that examines both the influence of Navajo beliefs in the creation of this art and the primacy of light and color in Navajo culture. Navajo Beadwork: Architectures of Light traces the evolution of the art as explained by traders, Navajo consultants, and Navajo beadworkers themselves. It also shares the visions, words, and art of 23 individual artists to reveal the influences on their creativity and show how they go about creating their designs.

As Moore reveals, Navajo beadwork is based on an aggregate of beliefs, categories, and symbols that are individually interpreted and transposed into beaded designs. Most designs are generated from close observation of light in the natural world, then structured according to either Navajo tradition or the newer spirituality of the Native American Church. For many beadworkers, creating designs taps deeply embedded beliefs so that beaded objects reflect their thoughts and prayers, their aesthetic sensibilities, and their sense of being Navajo--but above all, their attention to light and its properties.

No other book offers such an intimate view of this creative process, and its striking color plates attest to the wondrous results. Navajo Beadwork: Architectures of Light is a valuable record of ethnographic research and a rich source of artistic insight for lovers of beadwork and Native American art.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0816522863
• ISBN13: 9780816522866
• Release Date: October 2003
• Publisher: University of Arizona Press
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.4" x 9.5"

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Contents

Navajo Beadwork : Architectures of Light by Ellen K. Moore. This book is a history of Navajo beadwork (belts, hatbands, baskets, necklaces, etc.) but has a selection of color photographs. Contents: The Ethnographic Process / Underpinnings : Themes of the Book / Beads in Navajo Life and Oral Tradition : A Continuum from Past to Present / Oral History of Navajo Woven and Stitched Beadwork / Architecture of Light : Tsodizin, Nitsahakees / Bringing the Design to Life : Nahata, Iina. The evolution of the art of Navajo beading explained by traders, and Navajo consultants and beadworkers. Features 23 individual artists. 248 pages, 38 color plates.