Nampeyo and Her Pottery [Hardcover]

Barbara Kramer (Author), James Kramer (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1996

Nampeyo, the famous Hopi-Tewa potter (ca. 1860B1942), is known for the grace and beauty of her work, but very little accurate information has been available about her life. Romantic myths, cultural misunderstandings, and outright distortions have obscured both Nampeyo the artist and the person. Based on an exhaustive search of first person accounts, photographic evidence, and interviews with descendants, Kramer provides the only reliable biography of the artist.

By the turn of the century, Nampeyo had revitalized Hopi pottery by creating a contemporary style inspired by prehistoric ceramics. Military men, missionaries, anthropologists, photographers, artists, and tourists all collected her unsigned work. This biography contributes to an understanding of changes on the Hopi reservation effected by outsiders during Nampeyo's life and the complex response of American society to Native Americans and their art. Kramer also presents the first stylistic analysis of vessels made by Nampeyo.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Hopi-Tewa potter Nampeyo has long been recognized for her works, but little has been written about her life. Interviews with her descendants and consultations of first person accounts lend to a biographical sketch which constitutes the only full-length, reliable coverage of the artist. Essential for any studying Hopi pottery in general and Nampeyo in particular. -- Midwest Book Review

From the Back Cover

At the beginning of the twentieth century, Hopi-Tewa potter Nampeyo revitalized Hopi pottery by creating a contemporary style inspired by prehistoric ceramics. Nampeyo (ca. 1860-1942) made clay pots at a time when her people had begun using manufactured vessels, and her skill helped convert pottery-making from a utilitarian process to an art form. The only potter known by name from that era, her work was unsigned and widely collected. Travel brochures on the Southwest featured her work, and in 1905 and 1907 she was a potter in residence at Grand Canyon National Park's Hopi House.

This first biography of the influential artist is a meticulously researched account of Nampeyo's life and times. Barbara Kramer draws on historical documents and comments by family members not only to reconstruct Nampeyo's life but also to create a composite description of her pottery-making process, from gathering clay through coiling, painting, and firing. The book also depicts changes brought about on the Hopi reservation by outsiders and the response of American society to Native American arts.

"Nampeyo emerges here as representative of the enduring values and lifeways of a culture and as an icon of that culture's ability to sustain and renew itself in the face of historical, economic, and political change. . . . Those interested in the nature of [her artistic] vision and its achievements will find a wealth of material here. . . . For general readers and scholars alike, the most powerful impression left by the book may well be that of Nampeyo herself--not so much as a personality whose inner life we experience, for written and oral records do not offer us that, but as a fixed yet ever-brightening star in a changing cultural universe." --Native Peoples --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Univ of New Mexico Pr; 1 edition (August 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826317189
• ISBN-13: 978-0826317186
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 7.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,513,410 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Readable and authoratative biography of a legendary artist, March 10, 1999

By 

Andrew Poupart (Santa Clara, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nampeyo and Her Pottery (Hardcover)

Barbara Kramer writes a much needed biography of Nampeyo, the Tewa potter. This book is a comprehensive look at Nampeyo's life, as both a member of the Hopi/Tewa nation, and as a seminal artist. Kramer also succesfully challenges much of the conventional wisdom surrounding Nampeyo's life and work, some of which has persisted for almost a century.

While setting the context in which Nampeyo lived and worked, Kramer also draws a vivid picture of life in the Hopi/Tewa villages at the close of the 19th Century. Beset by archeologists, ethnographers, and missionaries, the Hopis attempted to maintain a way of life and culture that had sustained them for generations.

Kramer writes in a clear, accessible style, and makes liberal use of quotes and other references from Nampeyo's extended family. For anyone interested in the history and development of 20th Century Hopi pottery, this book is a must read.