Nora Naranjo-Morse
Nora Naranjo-Morse (Santa Clara Pueblo) has received national recognition for her work as a potter and a poet. For the Alcove Gallery, Noranjo-Morse created her first installation which addressed issues concerning the commercialization of Native Culture in a time when, again, the Southwest has been "discovered". Noranjo-Morse's video productions are in collections internationally.
Noranjo-Morse describes a childhood experience at the Jack Denver Curio Store and Motel in Taos, "Halfway through the evening, young Indian girls dressed in what was then called 'Squaw Skirts' and other Southwestern style clothing, paraded through the arena in what became a 10 minute commercial for a local seamstress who fashioned her garments for this particular occasion. I was one of the young Indian girls and as an impressionable child, this stands out as one of the most significant memories of my youth. Although at this tender age, I could not begin to identify or even process these tumultuous emotions, I understood, somewhere in my child's intuitive intelligence, the meaning of being a 'Professional Indian'."
The great West, initially explored for its rumors of enormous wealth, continues today to be discovered" by Americans for its extraordinary beauty and fascinating cultural textures. The brilliant visuals of spectacular mountain ranges, gushing rivers and what has always been seen as the exotic, primitive, rich but simple lifestyle of the Southwest Indians continues to hold immeasurable economic possibilities. What Was Taken...And What We Sell asks the questions of both non-Indian and Indian audiences concerning the marketing of the land and its people.
Artist Code: 447
Videography
2011, 52:00 minutes, colour, English
2005, 09:40 minutes, colour, English
2000, 05:45 minutes, Colour, English
1997, 08:00 minutes, Colour, English
1996, 03:00 minutes, Colour& B&W, English
What Was Taken... And What We Sell
1994, 11:00 minutes, Colour& B&W, English
Critical Writing
by . Visual Anthropology Review, Fall 2004, v. 20, no. 2. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004.
by . The Independent, Dec. 1999.