Nathan Begaye
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nathan Scott Begaye | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1958[1] |
| Died | December 2010 (aged 51–52) [2] |
| Education | Institute of American Indian Art (Santa Fe, New Mexico), New York State College for Ceramics at Alfred University. |
| Known for | ceramics |
| Movement | Postmodernist Indian Pottery |
| External images | |
|---|---|
 Photo of Nathan Begaye | |
| Snow Cloud, 1998 | |
| Yeh! Bichai, 1980s | |
| Sorrow, Half Breed, 2005 |
Nathan Begaye (1958–2010) was a Native American ceramics artist of Navajo and Hopi descent.
Nathan Begaye was born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1958 to a Navajo father and a Hopi mother.[3] He was raised by his maternal grandparents in the Third Mesa and Tuba City, Arizona.[3] His aunt was noted Hopi potter Otellie Loloma. His upbringing in the Navajo/Hopi communities was steeped in tribal traditions, and he was schooled in the lore, history, religion, symbolism, and customs of the Navajo and Hopi peoples.[3]
Art career
Begaye's interest in pottery began early, at age 10, and he had his first public exhibition only one year later.[4] He learned traditional techniques and pigment recipes from people in his tribal community, both Navajo and Hopi.[3] As they were tribal secrets, he kept these to himself even when he became a teacher later in life.[3] After receiving a SWAIA scholarship,[5] he left home at age 14 to study ceramics at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, NM.[3]
Although his upbringing was very conservative, Begaye used unexpected and unorthodox techniques in his work.[3] Said to utilize a "maverick sense of form, texture, color, and design,"[6] Begaye's work was often personal and autobiographical.[3]
Notable collections
- Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA
- Robert Nichols Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
- Emerging Clouds, 1998 and Cloud, 2004 and untitled large jar, 2004, SM's-Stedelijk Museum 's-Hertogenbosch/NL
