Katsinas by Wilson Tawaquaptewa from the Dick Jemison Collection

August 9, 2009 – August 8, 2010

This year-long installation in the Native American gallery features katsina figures and musical instruments made by Wilson Tawaquaptewa, a Native American of the Hopi Pueblo.  Katsinas (masks and figures) are a central feature of Hopi spiritual life, and serve to connect the living population to spirits that govern life and growth and harmony.  Tawaquaptewa, born in 1873, was a political and religious leader who governed at a time of intense conflict within the Hopi community, with the “Friendlies” advocating for cooperation with the U.S. government, and the “Hostiles” insisting on tradition and resistance. Sometime in the first decades of the 20th century following a period of political imprisonment, Tawaquaptewa began producing katsina figures and other traditional Hopi objects to sell to tourists who flocked to the southwest upon the completion of the trans-continental railway. He altered traditional patterns and designations, rendering the objects art rather than sacred object, thereby protecting Hopi tradition while acknowledging the inevitability of westward U.S. expansion.

Dick Jemison is an artist who divides his time between Birmingham and the American southwest. His interests include the art of African, Oceanic, and Native American cultures, and his own paintings and sculptures evoke elemental forms and experiences.