Michael Kabotie
Encyclopedia
Michael Kabotie was a Hopi
silversmith
, painter, and sculptor.
, and he grew up in the village of Shungopavi. Kabotie graduated from Haskell Indian School in Lawrence, Kansas
in 1961. While in his junior year, he was invited to spend the summer at the Southwest Indian Art Project at the University of Arizona
. Participants included Fritz Scholder
, Helen Hardin
, Charles Loloma
, and Joe Hererra (who became a life long friend and his primary artistic mentor).
artist Michael Kabotie made art works for close to fifty years. His father Fred Kabotie helped develop many of the overlay techniques that have come to typify quality Hopi silverwork, and Kabotie learned these techniques as a teenager. He began to paint soon after high school and had a one-man show at the Heard Museum
soon after dropping out of college.
In the early 1970s, Kabotie founded a group of painters called Artist Hopid, which was dedicated to new interpretation of traditional Hopi art forms. After that, Kabotie painted, made jewelry, wrote poetry and essays, and lectured around the country. Kabotie’s paintings and silverwork have an organic graffiti-like quality with dynamic motion and symbolism, with a rich color palette on canvas and an added dimension when rendered in silver.
Michael Kabotie lectured across America, in New Zealand, Germany and Switzerland. His works are in such museums as the Heard Museum
in Phoenix, Arizona
, the Museum of Mankind in London
, the Sequoyah Research Center
in Little Rock, Arkansas
, and the Gallery Calumet-Neuzzinger in Germany.
. Michael Kabotie's son Ed Kabotie is also an artist and musician.
Hopi
The Hopi are a federally recognized tribe of indigenous Native American people, who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. The Hopi area according to the 2000 census has a population of 6,946 people. Their Hopi language is one of the 30 of the Uto-Aztecan language...
silversmith
Silversmith
A silversmith is a craftsperson who makes objects from silver or gold. The terms 'silversmith' and 'goldsmith' are not synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product varies greatly as does the scale of objects created.Silversmithing is the...
, painter, and sculptor.
Background
Michael Kabotie was the son of the famous Hopi artist Fred KabotieFred Kabotie
Fred Kabotie was a celebrated Hopi painter, silversmith, and educator.-Background and education:Fred Kabotie was born into a highly traditional Hopi family at Songo`opavi, Second Mesa, Arizona, Kabotie. His father belonged to the sun clan and he belonged to the Bluebird Clan...
, and he grew up in the village of Shungopavi. Kabotie graduated from Haskell Indian School in Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...
in 1961. While in his junior year, he was invited to spend the summer at the Southwest Indian Art Project at the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
. Participants included Fritz Scholder
Fritz Scholder
Fritz Scholder was one of the most renowned Native American artists of the 20th century. Born in Breckenridge, Minnesota, Scholder was one-quarter Luiseño, a California Mission tribe. Scholder's most influential works were post-modern in sensibility and somewhat Pop Art in execution as he sought...
, Helen Hardin
Helen Hardin
Helen Hardin was an American painter.-Background:...
, Charles Loloma
Charles Loloma
Charles Loloma was an American artist of Hopi ancestry. He was born in Hopi Third Mesa to Rex and Rachael Loloma. He served in the military in 1941 to 1945, where he was stationed in the Aleutian Islands. Thanks to the GI Bill, Loloma was able to go the Alfred University in New York. In 1954 he...
, and Joe Hererra (who became a life long friend and his primary artistic mentor).
Art career
HopiHopi
The Hopi are a federally recognized tribe of indigenous Native American people, who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. The Hopi area according to the 2000 census has a population of 6,946 people. Their Hopi language is one of the 30 of the Uto-Aztecan language...
artist Michael Kabotie made art works for close to fifty years. His father Fred Kabotie helped develop many of the overlay techniques that have come to typify quality Hopi silverwork, and Kabotie learned these techniques as a teenager. He began to paint soon after high school and had a one-man show at the Heard Museum
Heard Museum
The Heard Museum of Native Cultures and Art is a museum located in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. There is also the Heard Museum North Scottsdale branch in Scottsdale and the Heard Museum West branch in Surprise....
soon after dropping out of college.
In the early 1970s, Kabotie founded a group of painters called Artist Hopid, which was dedicated to new interpretation of traditional Hopi art forms. After that, Kabotie painted, made jewelry, wrote poetry and essays, and lectured around the country. Kabotie’s paintings and silverwork have an organic graffiti-like quality with dynamic motion and symbolism, with a rich color palette on canvas and an added dimension when rendered in silver.
Michael Kabotie lectured across America, in New Zealand, Germany and Switzerland. His works are in such museums as the Heard Museum
Heard Museum
The Heard Museum of Native Cultures and Art is a museum located in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. There is also the Heard Museum North Scottsdale branch in Scottsdale and the Heard Museum West branch in Surprise....
in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, the Museum of Mankind in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, the Sequoyah Research Center
Sequoyah Research Center
The Seqouyah National Research Center , located in Little Rock, Arkansas, is home of the American Native Press Archives . ANPA is one of the largest repositories of Native American publications in the world. The Center is also home to the J.W...
in Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
, and the Gallery Calumet-Neuzzinger in Germany.
Death and legacy
Kabotie died on October 23, 2009 from complications of the H1N1 swine flu in Flagstaff, ArizonaFlagstaff, Arizona
Flagstaff is a city located in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2010, the city's population was 65,870. The population of the Metropolitan Statistical Area was at 134,421 in 2010. It is the county seat of Coconino County...
. Michael Kabotie's son Ed Kabotie is also an artist and musician.
Sources and external links
- Artist's website
- Exhibition of Kabotie's work at the Museum of Northern Arizona
- Obituary at Flagstaff Arizona Daily SunArizona Daily SunThe Arizona Daily Sun is a daily newspaper in Flagstaff, Arizona, USA. It publishes an entertainment supplement on Fridays called the Sundial....
- Artist Hopid