Research Activities
As is explicit in its name, the Indian Arts Research Center exists primarily as a research institution, focused especially on the Collection. We define the word “research” broadly, to include not only traditional scholarly pursuits but also inspirational quests by Native artists wishing to explore their objective heritage.
Research currently being conducted by IARC staff
Katsinam project. Dr. Kathleen Whitaker, Director of IARC, and Shannon Parker, Collections Manager, are interviewing Hopi carvers in order to better understand how Hopis negotiate their identity as artists and tribal members in an increasingly complicated world. Subjects considered with the carvers include their home and village life in relation to dominant outside culture, how market forces affect their art, the religious strictures which surround the carving of katsinam, and the tensions as women take up carving.
Textiles. Dr. Whitaker, a recognized authority on Southwest Native textiles, pursues her interests in three principal areas: 1) social, political, and economic viability of Navajo weaving; 2) physical analysis of textiles from the past 200 years as materials have evolved; and 3) interactive ideas of weaving through time and cultures. Recent presentations by Dr. Whitaker have included “Navajo Blankets and Rugs, Past and Present: The Mexican Connection,” at the symposium “Marketing Native North America,” hosted by The British Museum in London; “Pueblo Weaving,” at the Millicent Rogers Museum in Taos; and “Pueblo and Navajo Weaving,” for the docents at the Museum of Indian Arts and Cultures in Santa Fe.
Interviews with Sallie Wagner, who, with her husband Bill Lippencott, ran the Wide Ruins Trading Post on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona from 1938 to 1950, illuminate the changing history of Navajo artistic production. From the early 1950s Ms. Wagner has lived in Santa Fe, where she has played an active role in the cultural life of the city. The Wagners were collectors as well as traders, and Ms. Wagner has left most of her collection to the School for Advanced Research. In an attempt to learn as much about this collection as possible (its provenance) Dr. Whitaker has interviewed Ms. Wagner for the past two years. Discussions range from life on the Reservation in the 1940s to circumstances of collection to key personalities Ms. Wagner has interacted with in Santa Fe, accompanied by information related to her extensive photograph collection. Of particular importance has been information related to the life and career of Beatien Yazz (Jimmy Toddy), a celebrated Navajo painter and Ms. Wagner’s godson (see The Collection: Painting and The Collection: Additions to the Collection). Videotapes have been made of Ms. Wagner discussing each of the paintings by Yazz with which she is familiar. Daniel Kurnit, Administrative Assistant at IARC, has been transcribing these interviews as well. Volunteers Diane Webster and Jim Fusco have assisted both Dr. Whitaker and Mr. Kurnit. This body of documentation will be of enduring value to future researchers interested in Navajo culture, the trading post system, the Wagner collection, the painter Beatien Yazz, and the Santa Fe cultural scene in the mid twentieth century.
Research Associates
Research Associates are honorary appointees at the Indian Arts Research Center. They come to this position from a variety of backgrounds, but because of their intellectual contributions they receive unlimited access to the Collection for independent research endeavors (sometimes in collaboration with IARC staff). These have resulted in important publications based on the Collection.
Projects (current or recent)
Dr. Duane Anderson. Santa Ana pottery. The Pottery of Santa Ana Pueblo, Museum of New Mexico Press, 2005, with Francis Harlow and Dwight Lanmon. See also Dr. Dwight Lanmon.
Dr. J. J. Brody. Native painting, Mimbres pottery. Mimbres Painted Pottery, Revised Edition, SAR Press, 2005.
Ms. Katherin Chase. Southwest Native painters. Indian Painters of the Southwest: The Deep Remembering, SAR Press, 2002.
Mr. Larry Dalrymple. Native basketry. Indian Basketmakers of the Southwest, Museum of New Mexico Press, 2000.
Ms. Gloria Emerson. Navajo artist and poet. At the Hems of the Lowest Clouds: Meditations on Navajo Landscapes, SAR Press, 2003.
Dr. Jill Furst. Mojave culture and pottery. Mojave Pottery, Mojave People, SAR Press, 2001.
Dr. Frank Harlow. Pre-contact and modern pottery. The Pottery of Zia Pueblo, SAR Press, 2003. See also Dr. Duane Anderson and Dr. Dwight Lanmon.
Dr. Ann L. Hedlund. Textiles. Blanket Weaving of the Southwest, Joe Ben Wheat and Ann Lane Hedlund, editor, University of Arizona Press, 2003.
Ms. Cindra Kline. Silver esoterica. Navajo Spoons: Indian Artistry and the Souvenir Trade, 1880s-1940s. Museum of New Mexico Press, 2001.
Dr. Dwight Lanmon. Pueblo pottery. The Pottery of Zia Pueblo, SAR Press, 2003. See also Dr. Duane Anderson. Santa Ana Pueblo Pottery (with Drs. Duane Anderson and Frank Harlow) and Pueblo Man-Woman Potters and the Pottery Made by the Laguna Man-Woman, Arroh-a-och, in American Indian Art Magazine, Winter 2005.
Ms. Susan Brown McGreevy. General Southwest art. Indian Basketry Artists of the Southwest: Deep Roots, New Growth, SAR Press, 2001.
Ms. Nora Naranjo Morse. Native artist and filmmaker. Clay Beings, with Roger Salles, Indian Arts Research Center, 2003.
Mr. Mateo Romero. Native American painter. Painting the Underworld Sky: Cultural Experience and Subversion in Art, School for Advanced Research Press, forthcoming 2006.
Mr. Richard Spivey. Pueblo pottery. The Legacy of Maria Poveka Martinez, Museum of New Mexico Press, 2003.
Interns
Internships are available for high school, undergraduate, graduate students, or museum professionals-in-training interested in anthropology, art history, history, museum studies, or a related field. Each internship lasts a minimum of one semester (16 weeks) and is appropriately designed to suit the education and maturity level of the student. Internships are geared toward maximizing job market viability in the museum/academic institution field.
The IARC encourages interns to work with the IARC collections on individual projects based on their academic or professional interests. Depending on interest, interns may work on projects relating to collections handling and cataloguing, community outreach/programs development, or academic research. While these internships are unpaid, the IARC can work with the student’s school or university department to establish academic credit.
Intern minimum and maximum allowable time commitments are as follows:
| High School | 3–8 hours per week (recommended 4 hours) |
| Undergraduate | 4–16 hours per week (recommended 8 hours) |
| Graduate | 4–20 hours per week (recommended 12 hours) |
The IARC has three general intern types, and each intern will fall into one of these. Interns, however will also spend at least 8 hours (for high school) or 16 hours (for college level) exploring aspects of the other two areas in order to gain a broader knowledge of how the IARC functions as a collective whole.
Collections Intern
Collections interns will work with the Collections Manager on a specific project relating to the IARC collection. Duties may include preventative conservation, handling of objects, collections database entry, and other responsibilities as assigned. Collections interns must be at least 18 years of age.
Registration Intern
Registration interns will work with the Registrar on a specific project relating to the IARC collection. Duties may include documentation of the IARC collection, photography, collections database entry, and other responsibilities as assigned.
Program Intern
Program interns will work with the Program Coordinator on educational and outreach opportunities relating to the overall mission of the IARC. Duties include assisting with program research, development and production. Other duties may include community outreach, artist fellowship assistance, and other responsibilities as assigned.
Applications for internships are accepted on an ongoing basis. Applicants must submit a letter or interest, resume/curriculum vitae, as well as one contact for reference. Letter of interest should state reasons for wanting to be an intern at the IARC, including goals, what he or she hopes to achieve from the experience, how the internship relates to career plans, and what the intern believes he or she can contribute to the IARC. Applicants must also state what semester(s) they are applying for and approximately how many hours per week they are able to work.
For inquiries on Student Internships at IARC, please contact us at:
Indian Arts Research Center
School for Advanced Research
P.O. Box 2188
Santa Fe, NM 87504-2188
Phone: 505-954-7205
Fax: 505-954-7207
Email: iarc@sarsf.org
Visiting Researchers
Researchers are welcome at the Indian Arts Research Center. All researchers must fill out the Research Request Form and submit it to the Collections Manager 30 days in advance of their proposed visit. Requests submitted fewer than 30 days in advance will be reviewed; however, it may not be possible to accommodate them. Requests are reviewed twice a month. Notification of approval or other decisions are provided by email or phone. Please contact the IARC Collections Manager for more information or questions at 505-954-7205.
