The World of Flower Blue: Pop Chalee-An Artistic Biography (Red Crane Art Series) [Hardcover]

Margaret Cesa (Author), Michael O'Shanghnessy (Photographer)

Book Description

Series: Red Crane Art Series | Publication Date: September 1, 1997

Painter/artist Pop Chalee was born to a Taos Pueblo Indian father and a European mother. As a young girl, she moved between the two worlds of her parents, but identified most with her father's heritage and life on the pueblo. Influenced by two important women, society matron Mabel Dodge Luhan, wife of her uncle Tony Lujan, and art teacher Dorothy Dunn, Pop went on to become a major force in Native American art.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A meticulously documented and fully rendered portrait of a unique artist. -- AB Bookman's Weekly

From the Publisher

Border Regional Library Association southwest Book Award - 1998

Winner of the 1998 Ralph Emerson Twitchell Award for Significant Contribution to the Field of History in the Fine Arts of New Mexico.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Red Crane Books; 1st edition (September 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1878610651
• ISBN-13: 978-1878610652
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 9.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,561,416 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AN OUTSTANDING NATIVE AMERICAN ARTIST, September 23, 2000

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The World of Flower Blue: Pop Chalee-An Artistic Biography (Red Crane Art Series) (Hardcover)

One hallmark of Native American art, a reverence for the earth, is gloriously celebrated in the work of Taos Pueblo artist Pop Chalee, now displayed in a beautiful volume, The World Of Flower Blue.

While it is regrettably true that a score of Native American women artists receive scant attention, Pop Chalee was one of the first to gain national recognition and commercial success. The daughter of a Native American father and Swiss mother, Pop Chalee, who adopted her Tiwa name, Flower Blue, utilized her rich multi cultural heritage to create an enchanted world rooted in ceremonial and daily activities.

It's said that Jackson Pollack, one of the great Abstract Expressionists, may have been influenced by Native American sand paintings, others try to categorize Native American art as expressionism or postmodernism. Chalee's work defies such narrow perimeters, as is seen in her exultant renderings of dancing figures and nature.

A graduate of the noted 1937 class of the Dorothy Dunn Studio at the Santa Fe Indian School, Chalee was trained in what is known as "Traditional Indian Painting," representations of native scenes painted in flat colors with clear outlines. Among the school's goals "was to encourage the study of tribal cultural traditions while allowing for individualism." Chalee was more than an individual, expanding her oeuvre beyond paintings to jewelry, textile designs, and murals.

Chosen by the artist to be her biographer, poet Margaret Cesa has delivered a sympathetic yet candid portrayal, a journey into the world of Native American artists that few visit. In doing so, she, too, helps to smooth the path for those who follow Pop Chalee.

A debt of gratitude is owed to "Flower Blue," who broke down barriers and left the world a rare heritage of magical beauty.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Award Winning Artistic Biography of Native American Painter, January 13, 1999

By 

Mary A. Sarber "MysteriesAreIt" (El Paso, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The World of Flower Blue: Pop Chalee-An Artistic Biography (Red Crane Art Series) (Hardcover)

Pop Chalee was a Native American artist trained at the Santa Fe School of Indian Art during the seminal 1930s. Her style was traditional, and consequently her work has been ignored in recent years. This book should restore her reputation. Superb color plates. Winner, Border Regional Library Association's 1998 Southwest Book Award.