The Deep Remembering: The Art and Aesthetics of Southwest Indian Painting
November 2–5, 1998

“The Deep Remembering: The Art and Aesthetics of Southwest Indian Painting” was the title of the convocation held at the Indian Arts Research Center in November 1998. The event brought together ten outstanding Native American artists from both traditional and contemporary schools of painting to discuss their inspirations, influences, marketing concerns, and evolving artistic directions. Reyna and Yazzie, the 1998 Dubin Artist Fellows at the School for Advanced Research, facilitated the three-day conference.

In some aspects the Indian art convocations are patterned after the SAR advanced seminars in which “cutting edge” concerns in anthropology are discussed by groups of invited scholars during a week’s residence on the SAR campus. The results of the discussions are synthesized in scholarly books published by the SAR Press. Similarly, the convocations on Indian art bring together ten accomplished Native American artists in a designated medium. They meet together morning, noon, and night while living at the SAR Seminar House. As with the advanced seminars, a summary publication is now planned for each convocation.

The participants in previous convocations have chosen to extend their group effort in various ways. This year the additional product of the convocation will be a book on Native American painting written by Kathy Chase, a research associate at the IARC who was instrumental in planning and facilitating the convocation.