YAZZIE JOHNSON & GAIL BIRD |
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YAZZIE JOHNSON & GAIL BIRD
“Yazzie Johnson and Gail Bird are two of the most well-known, innovative, and creative American Indian artists working today. They have known each other since they were children and have collaborated in designing and fabricating jewelry since 1972. To many, they are best known for their thematic belts they make each year for the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts Market in Santa Fe, but they also design elegant earrings, bracelets, rings and necklaces which are shown in galleries and museums across the country. They are part of a generation of American Indian artists from the Southwest who have acknowledged and honored the traditions of their respective areas while pushing the creative boundaries and addressing contemporary concerns. Their work is characterized by an extensive knowledge of materials and by their technical skill and keen design sense…
When talking about their work, Johnson and Bird emphasize the importance of materials. They may keep a stone for several years before deciding to incorporate it into a design. Often, the metal work, though important, follows the lines of a stone or is created to reflect the texture or pattern of a stone. The beauty of their work rests not only in the diversity of the stones they use but also in the range of techniques… “We see our jewelry as being very traditional in nature. But we carry the traditions further. The stones we use are of a wider variety than those usually associated with Indian jewelry. The symbols and narrative on our pieces are expansions of traditional symbols and stories.”1
“The Jewelry they produce is distinct from the work of other American Indian jewelers. Their pieces are frequently dramatic and always wearable. By seeking out stones of unusual color and surface pattern or pearls of various shapes and hues, then juxtaposing them in original compositions, they have created a unique style. After years of visiting prehistoric pictograph and petroglyph sites, Gail and Yazzie realized that these ancient peoples had developed a distinctive set of designs, from which they have drawn much inspiration. Over their career of more than three decades, Gail and Yazzi have developed a body of work that is both distinctly their own and continuously evolving.”2
1Diana F. Pardue, pg 15-16, “Shared Images, The Innovative Jewelry of Yazzie Johnson and Gail Bird” Museum of New Mexico Press, 2007
2Martha Hopkins Struever, pg 8, “Shared Images, The Innovative Jewelry of Yazzie Johnson and Gail Bird” Museum of New Mexico Press, 2007
Catalogue
Shared Images, $45
