Original Painting of Koosa Clowns Climbing Pole [SOLD]

Abel Sanchez, or Oqwa Pi, as he was known in his Native language, had very little art instruction except for a few classes he took at the Santa Fe Indian School.

Clara Lee Tanner in her book, Southwest Indian Painting: a Changing Art, says that Sanchez was noted in history for preserving and carrying on "many of the trends that might be thought of as 'native,' inasmuch as they were developed by Indians without any instruction."

Characteristic of Oqwa Pi's style, there were no backgrounds, foregrounds, or ground lines, and he painted heads that were disproportionate to their bodies.  The latter fact alone makes his art primitive, charming and true to the folk art style.

The artist's subjects appear to be in action, but in a very subtle way.  Notice how some of the clowns are climbing the pole, with legs wrapped around the pole for stability, and others are heading toward the pole for their turn.  The action illustrated is very characteristic of his style.  All of the attention is focused on the clowns and their actions.  There are no background buildings, no ground plane or anything else to detract from the main subject.  The only additional items are the stacked red squares on the lower edges of the painting and the rainbow above the pole with a clown lying down. While overall simplistic, he has captured the spirit and mood of this wonderful Pueblo ceremony.

I have witnessed this ceremony at Taos Pueblo but not at San Ildefonso before.  From this presentation, it appears that the two pueblos perform this ceremony in the same manner.

Condition:  The painting is in original excellent condition.  There is some waviness of the paper but no damage of any sort.  The painting has recently been framed using all acid-free materials and a beautiful wood frame. 

Provenance:  from a Santa Fe resident

Recommended Reading:  Southwest Indian Painting: a changing art by Clara Lee Tanner