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Indian dolls on exhibit at Herrett MuseumBy DENISE TURNER Times-News correspondentTWIN FALLS — Colorful Navajo rugs and Indian dolls that represent Kachina spirits stand ready to mark the opening of the College of Southern Idaho Herrett Museum Summer Art Gallery Exhibition.This year’s summer exhibit will open with a free reception for the public at 7 p.m. on June 20. Refreshments will be served, and visitors will have time to take a look around and ask questions of the museum staff. The Indian exhibit, entitled Wooden Dolls and Woolen Rugs,” will continue through Aug. 17.tHopi and Zuni Indian Kachina dolls and Navajo Indian rugs are two of the most popular forms of NorthAmerican Indian art. Navajo weaving can be traced back to the 1600’s, explained Museum Director Jim Woods, who noted that this particular collection of eight mgs was acquired by Mr. Herrett in the early days of the museum. “They are geometric in design and done in red, gray, white, and black,” he said. “Some are very large, larger than the ones most people have seen, and all are made of dyed wools.”Kachina dolls were first made during the 1900’s, according to Woods, and originated because there are so many Hopi spirits that it became difficult to teach the differences between them to the Indian children. “Hopi men began carving these dolls for the young girls, not as toys or objects of worship, but as representations of what the various spirits looked like,” he said. “The girls would hang them in their rooms, and they could be used as teaching tools.”There are 26 Kachina dolls in the summer exhibit, all made by contemporary artist Richard Joshua, who lives in Boise. The dolls have faces with unique masks, range in height from 14 to 28 inches, and wear enlarged boots which cause them to be freestanding.“The dolls are very colorful,” said Woods, who added that they are made of cloth and feathers, with each piece having its own separate meaning. “At different times of the year, male Hopi dancers would dress in Kachina costumes and give performances.” However, noted Woods, the Hopi Indians did not consider it proper to photograph Kachinas, sousing the dolls as a memory device was the alternative. iBoth the rugs and the dolls on ex- |hibit reveal strong European intlu- 1ence on the indigenous Indian peoples, explained Woods. For instance, j early Navajo blankets lacked the distinctive borders that were added once blankets became important trade items. And, early Hopi Kachina dolls were flat and static, while more recent dolls are carved with active postures to satisfy the wishes of non-Indian collectors.The museum will be open this summer on Tuesday from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., on Wednesday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and on Saturday from 1 to 4:30 p.m. For more information, contact the Her-rett Museum at 733-9554.
Newspaper Details
Twin Falls Times News
Twin Falls, Idaho, US
Fri, Jun 16, 1989
Page 60
Full Page
Clipped by
Twin F.
USA 10 May 2024
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