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Waldo Mootzka

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Katsinam and Sun Emblem, by Waldo Mootzka

Waldo Mootzka (1903–1940)[1] was a Hopi watercolor artist.

Early life

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Waldo Mootzka was born in 1903 into the Hopi tribe near Oraibi, Arizona, also known as Third Mesa[2] on the Hopi Reservation. His father was Tom Mootzka and his mother was a member of the Badger Clan.[3] Based on census data, Mootzka grew up with three sisters–Daisy, Amelia, and Norma.[4] Growing up in Hopi culture inspired most of the subject matter of Mootzka's paintings. However, there is not much said about his young childhood. Once he started to come of age he attended Oraibi day school.[5] Oraibi school was a boarding school that attempted to erase the Hopi culture and replace it with Anglo culture. However, some of the teachers at this boarding school in secret let the students paint.[3] Some individuals used this in order to express their culture.[6] His informal training began at the boarding school, and he also studied at Shungopovi, known as Second Mesa[2] on Hopiland.[5] There is no record of Mootzka being married. Toward the end of his life he started to study silversmithing in Santa Fe.[3] Mootzka died in 1940 following a car accident which exacerbated his tuberculosis.[7]

Career

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Traditional SakwaWaka katsina doll

Mootzka's career started during his time at boarding school observing fellow Hopi painter Fred Kabotie.[5] However, Mootzka never formally trained under anyone, and his watercolor skills were all self-taught. Most of the paintings that Mootzka created were about Hopi life and the ceremonies within it. However, he did experiment more than some of his fellow painters. This might indicate a European influence he gained at boarding school.[3]

Many of his paintings depicted Katsinam figures,[8] depictions of Hopi supernatural beings, or of kachina dancers, as represented in Hopi Kachina figures (Kachina dolls).[9] These Hopi deities differ than the Pueblo peoples living the Rio Grande valley, in that the Hopis were much less influenced by Catholicism due to their remote location on three mesa tops in Arizona.[10]

The Studio School movement

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Ancestral Hopi Sikyatki moth jar, an example of traditional flat-style painting on pottery

Mootzka's art was part of a trend in the 1930s in the Southwest, known as The Studio School movement. The painting style, introduced by Dorothy Dunn, an Anglo teacher at Santo Domingo Pueblo, acknowledged elements of Cubism, Symbolism and other current European sensibilities, yet promoted the "flat style" of painting found in traditional Pueblo pottery designs and murals.[11][12] In the later part of his career Mootzka focused on silversmithing more than watercolor.[3] Mootzka would at times incorporate Art Deco, or more specifically, Pueblo Deco motifs and design sensibilities into his work.[13]

Collections

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References

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  1. ^ Broder, Patricia Janis (1979). Great Paintings of the Old American West. New York: Thomas Gilcrease Institute of American History and Art; Crown Publishers. p. 96. ISBN 0-517-31776-1. OCLC 748457255.
  2. ^ a b "The Hopi People". Hopi Cultural Center. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e Dockstader, Frederick (1977). Great North American Indians: Profiles in Life and Leadership. Van Nostrand Reinhold. p. 180. ISBN 9780442021481. OCLC 1035306823.
  4. ^ "Waldo Mootska United States Census, 1920". familysearch. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d King, Snodgrass (1968). American Indian Painters: A Biographical Directory. Museum of the American Indian; Heye Foundation. p. 123. OCLC 1039494099.
  6. ^ Johansen, Bruce; Pritzker, Barry. American Indian History. ABC-CLIO. p. 414.
  7. ^ E, Alexander. "Waldo Mootzka, Hopi Pueblo Painter". adobe Gallery. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  8. ^ a b "Three Katsina Figures". McNay Art Museum Online Collection.
  9. ^ Colton, Harold Sellers (1959). Hopi Kachina Dolls: A Key to their Identification. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  10. ^ Furst, Peter T.; Furst, Jill L. (1982). North American Indian Art. New York: Rizzoli. ISBN 0-8478-0572-7.
  11. ^ Bernstein, W.; Rushing, jackson (1995). Modern by Tradition: American Indian Painting in the Studio style. Albuquerque: Museum of New Mexico Press. ISBN 9780890132869. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  12. ^ Archuleta, Margaret. "The Native American Fine Art Movement: A Resource Guide. Heard Museum" (PDF). Heard. Retrieved 3 Oct 2020.
  13. ^ Fleming, Lee (3 June 1993). "Art". The Washington Post. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  14. ^ "Fall Corn Dance, Waldo Mootzka, Accession No. 40.91". Brooklyn Museum. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  15. ^ "Search collections: Waldo Mootzka". Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of the American Indian. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  16. ^ "Waldo Mootzka – Gilcrease Museum". collections.gilcrease.org.
  17. ^ "Waldo Mootzka". mfah.org.
  18. ^ "Fine Art". Museum of Northern Arizona. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
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