Last week in Santa Fe

I’ve been visiting New Mexico for 20+ years and have reached a point where it feels like a second home to me.  Most trips include some time in Santa Fe to catch up with old friends and see some art.  My Santa Fe is not the one of jewelry shops and galleries catering to high-end tourists.  My Santa Fe is about visiting artists I know and enjoying one of the best collections of museums anywhere on the planet.  And of course some great green chili-smothered food. 

Last week’s trip included a return to the Museum of International Folk Art (a perennial favorite).  The current special exhibits, particularly Flamenco: From Spain to New Mexico are excellent.

One of the best parts of my trip was going to the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts.  Forward, an exhibit/installation of Eliza Naranjo Morse’s work (see above) is something I could like form a purely aesthetic point of view.  But, when an artist’s work is set in a context of family tradition and it reflects the role we all play in the continuum of time, well that makes it magical and a goal I strive towards myself as an artist. Or in her own words:

“Perhaps we yearn to make our lives good and find balance because even when we are completely challenged there is the unrelenting proof in each of us that we are survivors, that we are the result of our ancestors histories and that eventually we will become ancestors.”

Seeking out Eliza Naranjo Morse’s work will always be on my agenda for future trips to New Mexico.