Resilience

I had the pleasure of spending an hour in our collection storage the other day, something I always aim to do more often. Walking through the aisles of our shelving system, opening drawers and pulling back curtains, I experienced the breadth of objects in our care. Mingei’s collection includes pieces made of fiber, wood, ceramic, even paper bags, and I am continuously amazed at the resilience of these natural materials. Through decades and centuries, colors stay bright and true, stitches remain strong, and texture and structure endures. The combined gifts of both nature and the artisan are unbeatable.

Of course, we have a team of skilled and committed staff who ensure temperature, humidity, and all storage conditions support the long life of each artwork. But still—there is an inherent quality in these handmade objects that were created to last, often through frequent use. In fact, many pieces in our collection were used before we received them! Once in our care, they leave storage, go on view, maybe travel, return to rest, and (we hope) remain stable and accessible for generations to come.

These objects support a foundation of consistency and resilience in the Museum itself. We make strides every day to do a job that won’t ever be finished, to ensure that Mingei has a long future. The staff, the trustees and volunteers, and you—our members—are all stewards of an important and lasting community asset, one that will remain strong, even as the environment around it continues to present unexpected challenges. We are all part of this daily act of resolve! Thank you for the support you provide to help make it all possible.

Jessica Hanson York
Executive Director & CEO

Great Plains peoples have been drawing their histories since time immemorial. Before the 1860s, Plains communities recorded cultural life on stone, buffalo robes, and clothing. With increased movement due to U.S. settler and military encroachment, federal policy also attempted to eliminate buffalo and make traditional materials scarce. Male illustrators turned to paper from U.S. accountants' ledger books acquired by trade or raid as the new medium to continue a tradition of drawing spiritual knowledge and their exploits.

In 1875, at the end of the Red River War, the U.S. army incarcerated 73 Native people as hostages in Fort Marion, the Spanish colonial San Marcos fortress in St. Augustine, Florida. During their three years at Fort Marion, at least 28 Cheyenne, Kiowa, and Arapaho men participated in ledger drawing as a form of expression and adaptation. By depicting Native practices and showing their experience from their own perspective, ledger makers engaged in cultural maintenance even as they were forced to learn and adhere to Western standards. While drawing their world during this time, they documented their lives before the events of the Red River War and during their time in Fort Marion, allowing them to retain a sense of personal and communal agency.

These drawings have long been subject to misinterpretation and appropriation at the hands of collectors and scholars, leading to the establishment of a narrative that has diverged from the Native understanding of their meaning and significance. Recontextualizing these works in tandem with the descendants of the incarcerated and the living Nations of the Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Kiowa, this exhibition works toward recentering the agency of the makers during this period of coercion. These men and women adapted, resisted, and persevered despite an oppressive and assimilationist environment. Contemporary ledger artists draw inspiration from their resilience, and descendant communities honor their memory.

Historic Footprints: Native American Ledger Drawing from Fort Marion presents both historic ledger books and drawings produced at Fort Marion as well as contemporary ledger drawings by numerous artists, including Gordon Yellowman, Dolores Purdy, Dwayne Wilcox, George and Halcyon Levi, and others. The exhibition was conceived and developed by Professor Ross Frank and the students of Ethnic Studies Representing Native America class at the University of California, San Diego, and collaboratively organized with members of the Cheyenne and Arapaho and Kiowa tribal nations, and the staff of Mingei International Museum. Historic Footprints recontextualizes Fort Marion Ledger drawings, foregrounding the knowledge and work of descendants and descendant communities to honor and interpret the visual narratives created by their forebears.

The initial idea for Fashioning An Icon: Virgin of Guadalupe Imagery in Textile Design emerged from viewing a collection of textiles and accessories titled Rosas y Revelaciones—organized by Oaxacan-based arts patron Linda Hanna. The collection highlights textile artists from different regions across Mexico who created garments or accessories featuring the Virgin of Guadalupe in their designs. One that especially caught our attention was a woven palm garment by Monica Díaz Martínez that features a bright pink central image of la Virgen. Most of the works for our exhibition are drawn from Hanna’s collection, and it is their first time on view in San Diego.

La Virgen’s most famous depiction is on a garment, making it fitting to explore her image through textile craft. Seeing the diverse visual interpretations of her image highlights how she has been adapted while remaining a recognizable figure. This led us to consider the broader significance of the Virgin of Guadalupe's image—how it extends outside the confines of religion and past Mexico’s borders.

Here in San Diego, we see the prevalence of her image in clothing, body adornment, and personal objects we encounter in our day-to-day experience. To reflect this meaningful story in our community, it was crucial to include local artists in the exhibition. Claudia Rodrìguez-Biezunski (Sew Loka) and Diana Benavídez explore la Virgen’s iconography through compelling textiles and paper works. Arianna Ytselle’s photography, En Cada Rincón, draws attention to the Virgin of Guadalupe’s presence in the lives of her friends, family, and neighborhoods. While Mingei’s exhibitions do not typically highlight photography, Ytselle’s work marks a unique, important addition to show la Virgen’s continued significance; you can find her anywhere you look, and it is the people who imbue her image with meaning.

Hence, Fashioning An Icon was born—the title a play on three ideas that explore how creative expression through wearable objects has made (fashioned) the Virgin of Guadalupe into the icon she is today. First, the exhibition establishes that the most famous depiction of the Virgin of Gudalaupe is a product of textile craft and explores various textile techniques used to create her image. Second, the show presents historical factors and visual elements that make her a complex and popular figure. Third, it focuses on the powerful intersection of craft, clothing, and popular imagery in representing and retaining ties to cultural heritage across borders.

Traditional crafts and important symbols are generationally inherited and filled with deep meaning. They have been passed down, molded, and adapted by each generation—representing a cultural continuity despite ongoing social, political, and economic changes. Wearing these objects and significant imagery, like la Virgen, for everyday or ceremonial purposes, helps maintain identity and use their long history as symbols of resistance and resilience to continue fighting against societal inequality, discrimination, and cultural erasure both within and outside of Mexico.

We hope these themes, artists, and the works themselves connect and inspire people to think about what stories and images they’ve inherited that have defined their community, family, and individual identities.

Around the world, spoons are essential implements that help us scoop, stir, mash, skim, cook, or eat! Some spoons come straight from nature–a gourd cut in half with its own built-in handle, for example, a coconut shell, a folded leaf, or curved seashell. Others are fashioned by human hands, carved of wood, bone, or horn, or shaped from clay or metal.

Because of their role in the preparation and serving of food, drink, and medicine, spoons are often cultural symbols of abundance, generosity, and good health. Sometimes the act of stirring, serving, or ladling is spiritually sacred. Spoons, therefore, can bear visual references to the concept of blessing or a connection to the divine source of nourishment or healing.

Finally, when the baby birds are old enough to leave the nest, the enclosure is broken, and the mother and babies exit. The survival of the species depends upon the cooperation of the parents. The hornbill, then, is an important symbol of nurturance, interdependence, and cooperation. The transformation that occurs unseen in the secret enclosure of the nest is also symbolic of other hidden transformations that occur in the natural world.

This spoon will be on view at Mingei, part of the exhibition, Across the Spooniverse.

Shop Mingei is honored to feature the work of Chicana fashion designer, Claudia Rodríguez-Biezunski!

Claudia was introduced to sewing at a young age by her immigrant parents. She quickly took to the art form, creating one-of-a-kind pieces for friends and family. That passion for textiles continued throughout her life, and in 2013, she opened her sewing studio, Sew Loka, in Barrio Logan. Today, you can still find Claudia fashioning affordable, sustainable clothing and accessories using reclaimed fabrics. We’ll have a range of her vibrant works in the shop, including her Virgin of Guadalupe upholstery tote bags.

“I create all of the tote bags by hand in my Barrio Logan sewing studio using recycled, repurposed, and reclaimed fabrics,” Claudia says. “Many of the beautiful upholstery fabrics I use to create these tote bags were graciously donated to me by the Visions Museum of Textile Art in Liberty Station. The vintage plaid cotton I use to line the inside of each tote bag was sourced from an estate sale in Chula Vista."

One of Claudia’s stunning jackets will be featured in Mingei’s spring exhibition, Fashioning an Icon: Virgin of Guadalupe in Textile Design.

Chef Tony Coito of ARTIFACT at Mingei took a winding journey to discover his passion for cooking. At 19 years old, he started school for psychology, working in a restaurant kitchen as a dishwasher to make some money. After learning basic cooking techniques, he realized he was hooked. He applied to culinary school, and through years of practice and experimentation, he has become an integral part of Mingei International Museum’s Michelin-recognized restaurant, ARTIFACT.

Enjoy the work of Culinary Director Tim Kolanko, Chef Wesley Johnson, and Chef Tony Coito on your next visit to Mingei! Dine in for an elevated experience at ARTIFACT or stop by CRAFT CAFÉ for a coffee and a sweet treat.

Saturday, May 3, 9:30-11am

Join us for a special morning members' reception celebrating our newest exhibitions: Fashioning an Icon: Virgin of Guadalupe Imagery in Textile Design, Historic Footprints: Native American Ledger Drawing from Fort Marion, and Across the Spooniverse. Connect with fellow members, exhibition artists, collaborators, and special guests as we come together to experience these inspiring exhibitions.

RSVP by April 25
Use the following button or call (619) 704-7497

Ancestors to the Future are Mingei supporters who have named the Museum in their will or trust. These invested patrons collectively help ensure Mingei will continue to thrive, now and for decades to come.