NEWS RELEASE                      

For Immediate Release

 
Contact: 
 
Tatiana Lomahaftewa-Singer, Curator of Collections,
IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts
  505.428.5899, or [email protected]
Eric Davis, Marketing & Communications Director, IAIA
505.424.2351, or [email protected] 
  
Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA)
Museum of Contemporary Native Arts
Acquires IAIA Print Collection
Santa Fe, NM - December 21, 2018. 

The IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA) recently acquired a large collection of student prints collected by long-time IAIA instructor and artist Seymour Tubis (1919-1993). Ninety prints spanning a wide variety of printmaking methods including woodcuts, linocuts, embossing, monotypes, and others were donated by Tubis's daughter, Nina Tubis Wooderson of Santa Fe. Tubis collected the prints during his time at IAIA between 1963-1981 where he taught painting, printmaking, and layout and design. Over sixty IAIA student artists are represented in the donation including established Native artists Bill Warsoldier Soza (Cahuilla/White Mountain Apache), T. C. Cannon (Caddo/Kiowa), Sakahaftewa Ishii (Hopi), Steven Premo (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe), Sandy Fife (Mucsogee Creek), and Anthony Gauthier (Hochunk).

Tubis (standing far left) with IAIA Student Printmakers, c. 1970. Photograph by Kay V. Wiest.
Courtesy of the Seymour Tubis Papers, IAIA Archives.

The Tubis Print collection is a representation of the experimentation that occurred in the IAIA print studio from 1963-1981, which established a standard of modern printmaking practice for Native artists. Lloyd Kiva New (Cherokee), longtime leader of IAIA wrote of the collection in 1982 "...the best of the prints are those that appear to come forth as a very strong personal statements, reflective of the reality of each artist's set of personal experiences and individualist points of view...a new set of expressive media has been added to the working repertoire of a rapidly increasing number of Indians."

Barry Horsechief (Pawnee). Merge.
c. 1977. Serigraph. Courtesy of Tubis Print Collection, IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts.

 
IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts Curator of Collections, Tatiana Lomahaftewa-Singer (Hopi/Choctaw) says of the donation, "Many of these of these prints we have never seen before which is very exciting. Some demonstrate pure exploration with the printmaking process while others illustrate the students exploration with modern art concepts such as abstraction and minimalism. This was groundbreaking given the time period they were executed. What is most impressive is the print quality of many of the prints is very well executed in an artform that is very technical by artists that were very young, between the ages of 16-21."

Benjamin J. Martinez (Navajo).
Hippies, Yippies, or American Teenagers.
c. 1967. Color etching.
Courtesy of Tubis Print Collection, IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts.

 
This collection will be the foundation of an exhibit on the development of IAIA printmaking practice at the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts opening in August of 2019 in the Second Floor Kieve Family Gallery. For more information on this donation or the art collection at the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, contact Tatiana Lomahaftewa-Singer at 505.428.5899.
 

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Offering undergraduate degrees in Studio Arts, Creative Writing, Cinematic Arts and Technology, Indigenous Liberal Studies, Museum Studies, and Performing Arts -- an MFA in Creative Writing -- along with certificates in Business and Entrepreneurship, Museum Studies, and Native American Art History -- IAIA is the only college in the nation dedicated to the study of contemporary Native arts. The school serves 495 full time equivalent (FTE) Native and non-Native American college students from across the globe.  IAIA is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission -- and is the only college in New Mexico accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design. 

 
About IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts -- The mission of the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA) is to advance contemporary Native art through exhibitions, collections, public programs, and scholarship. MoCNA's outreach through local and national collaborations allows us to continue to present the most progressive Native arts and public programming. MoCNA's exhibitions and programs continue the narrative of contemporary Native arts and cultures.

About IAIA -- For over 50 years, the Institute of American Indian Arts has played a key role in the direction and shape of Native expression. With an internationally acclaimed college, museum, and tribal support resource through our Land Grant Programs, IAIA is dedicated to the study and advancement of Native arts and cultures -- and committed to student achievement and the preservation and progress of their communities.  Learn more about IAIA and our mission at www.iaia.edu .
 
The Institute of American Indian Arts Foundation is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization.  To make a donation on-line, please click here -- or call toll free: 1.800.804.6423.