COMFORT ZONE ABANDONED

Abstract Sculpture

Nora Noranjo-Morse (Santa Clara Pueblo/American)

Nora Noranjo-Morse told me she was sure no one would be interested in this sculpture.

Why? A member of New Mexico’s Santa Clara Pueblo, she thought it might not be ‘Native American’ enough. Nora’s candid replies to my email inquiries opened my eyes to the artistic and ethical challenges indigenous artists often face.

Nora shared with me the trajectory that took her out of her creative comfort zone—from initially making traditional pieces like her famous Pueblo clowns (kosa)—to more abstract pieces like mine…

 As a woman of color working within the confines of market demand, I responded with culturally identifiable work that got my foot in the door of native art. I quickly realized in order to evolve as an artist I would need to take some creative chances. Cultural commodification influenced my creative process in ways that were limiting for me on many levels. But once I made this piece around 2010, I felt liberated. Of course there are cultural references abstracted from the Pueblo world. My objective was to meld my cultural touchstones and my contemporary perspectives. I knew once I made this piece there was no turning back.

Nora’s response to my question about the removable black piece between its two ‘towers’ reveals her commitment to not crossing certain cultural red lines…

It is also an abstracted form of sacred objects in Pueblo culture that I am not at liberty to discuss except to comment that it is primal, raw and life-affirming.

When I bought this sculpture in a gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico, I had no idea I was becoming the guardian of an important milestone in the creative development of this talented and thoughtful artist.