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Michael
Michael
@mdstamper.bsky.social
3 months ago
A young woman, identified by the title as Navajo (Diné), reclines on a sandy-brown ground. Her medium-brown skin is softly modeled and her dark, wavy hair frames a calm, slightly guarded face as her eyes look out with a steady, yet almost tired dignity. She wears a saturated cobalt-blue dress with embroidered cuffs and a red woven belt, paired with pale leggings and brown shoes. Silver earrings and turquoise necklace, bracelet, and rings catch the light where her hands rest together at her knee. Behind her, a large coiled basket and a painted clay jar sit nearby with geometric designs that echo the curve of her pose. American artist Lou Jene M. Carter positions the sitter between presence and paraphernalia, but she refuses a postcard smile. Instead, her gaze is direct, and the pose is unromantic, almost protective. The basket and pot suggest cultural continuity of objects made through knowledge passed hand to hand; however, the composition also insists on what cannot be reduced to “heritage.” Blue dominates, turning clothing into atmosphere and turquoise becomes a counterpoint with sparks of color that sit close to the body like self-chosen adornment. Carter was born in Payson, Utah in 1933 and later based in Springville. She long supported the Springville Museum of Art as a volunteer and board member. In 1982, when she was in her late forties, she uses pastel’s velvety surface to slow time as edges soften, and the figure seems to breathe. Because the title names the Navajo people, responsible viewership by us means holding two truths at once: this is a carefully rendered individual, and it is also a depiction shaped by an outsider’s lens. The work tries to nudge us from possession to relationship by seeking personhood in the sitter’s expression, and remembering that living cultures are not props. As Carter said of her practice, she “channeled her love of all things beautiful into her art,” and here beauty is in some ways inseparable from respect.

A young woman, identified by the title as Navajo (Diné), reclines on a sandy-brown ground. Her medium-brown skin is softly modeled and her dark, wavy hair frames a calm, slightly guarded face as her eyes look out with a steady, yet almost tired dignity. She wears a saturated cobalt-blue dress with embroidered cuffs and a red woven belt, paired with pale leggings and brown shoes. Silver earrings and turquoise necklace, bracelet, and rings catch the light where her hands rest together at her knee. Behind her, a large coiled basket and a painted clay jar sit nearby with geometric designs that echo the curve of her pose. American artist Lou Jene M. Carter positions the sitter between presence and paraphernalia, but she refuses a postcard smile. Instead, her gaze is direct, and the pose is unromantic, almost protective. The basket and pot suggest cultural continuity of objects made through knowledge passed hand to hand; however, the composition also insists on what cannot be reduced to “heritage.” Blue dominates, turning clothing into atmosphere and turquoise becomes a counterpoint with sparks of color that sit close to the body like self-chosen adornment. Carter was born in Payson, Utah in 1933 and later based in Springville. She long supported the Springville Museum of Art as a volunteer and board member. In 1982, when she was in her late forties, she uses pastel’s velvety surface to slow time as edges soften, and the figure seems to breathe. Because the title names the Navajo people, responsible viewership by us means holding two truths at once: this is a carefully rendered individual, and it is also a depiction shaped by an outsider’s lens. The work tries to nudge us from possession to relationship by seeking personhood in the sitter’s expression, and remembering that living cultures are not props. As Carter said of her practice, she “channeled her love of all things beautiful into her art,” and here beauty is in some ways inseparable from respect.

“Navajo Girl” by Lou Jene M. Carter (American) - Pastel / 1982 - Springville Museum of Art (Utah) #WomenInArt #LouJeneCarter #Carter #LouJeneMountfordCarter #AmericanArtist #SpringvilleMuseumofArt #artText #pastel #art #SouthwesternArt #WomensArt #WomanArtist #WomenArtists #SMoFA #WomenPaintingWomen

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