Virgil Ortiz
Find Your Warrior Spirit
Special Edition Fashion Feature:
Blind Archers by Virgil Ortiz
In this special fashion feature we celebrate the artistic vision of Virgil Ortiz, highlighting quotes regarding his ethos and showcasing imagery from his powerful series Blind Archers.
The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 is a historic event that hovers somewhere between unknown, insignificant, or ignored by most Americans unless they live in certain areas of the Southwest. Virgil Ortiz grew up hearing tales of the revolt in his home in Cochiti Pueblo, New Mexico. He was astonished that as he traveled around the United States, hardly anyone seemed to have heard of the Pueblo Revolt.
Tahu, Leader of the Blind Archers
"The Pueblo Revolt – the First American Revolution - had never been taught in American schools nor is it in our history books. My mission is, and has been for nearly two decades, is to continue to create a narrative of the revolt by utilizing the various mediums I work with, and make it more interesting and relevant to the next generation. It reflects the impact I want to have on the world around me through art and education."
BLIND ARCHERS: Tahu's Journey
Over the past two decades, I’ve been creating stories in clay of the 1680 Pueblo Revolt and a futuristic Pueblo Revolt of 2180. Blind Archers: Tahu’s Journey is a story that moves back and forth from the past to the future, focusing on a young Pueblo girl named Tahu. She is purposefully blinded by the invaders for her combat skills and spiritual visions. Unwilling to accept this unjust punishment, she acuminates her skills with a bow & arrow and enlists an army of Blind Archers. Tahu, a humble Pueblo girl with immensity thrust upon her, yet she ceaselessly combats the enemy. She becomes a Pueblo “superhero” and call forth her warriors to the increasing terror of her opposition…"Seek The Truth. Defeat Your Fear!”
This story was inspired by the Pueblo women, including my late mother, who would share their stories of the past as lesson for the future. They instructed us to face adversity with a positive outlook. This belief of the grandmothers has endured despite nearly 300 years of intimidation imposed on the Pueblo people. Yet we have endured. It was the women who help pass down our culture, history and taught us how to overcome our fears, both real and imagined. My mother would often say, “If it wasn’t for the women, a lot of our traditions and ceremonies would be forgotten.”
Blind Archers is a story about survival. It’s about hope, courage, determination, and gratitude. It’s about overcoming challenges and regaining strength. It is from this place of self-worth and empowerment that we can see the world as a place where we can freely express who we are and surround ourselves with people whom we share mutual honor and respect. It is inspired by women, and is also a reminder of how each of us can overcome fear by seeking the truth.
May the spirit of Tahu be with you. – Virgil Ortiz
FACE OFF: Tahu 2180, Leader of the Blind Archers faces off with the enemy.
The seeds for the Pueblo Revolt were sown when the Spanish began to colonize the Rio Grande region in 1598. For the next eighty years, the Spanish were increasingly aggressive in their attempts to Christianize the Pueblo people and suppress or even exterminate indigenous religions.
Tahu Moto in clay.
Ortiz began to identify and give form to characters who would populate his fictionalized version of the Pueblo Revolt: Tahu, a girl blinded by the Spanish conquistadors; Mopez, the leader of the Pueblo Runners; and the Castilians to represent the Spanish invaders. The characters who make up the Pueblo Revolt series are inspired by names and words in Keres and other Puebloan languages. “Tahu” is a word used as a sign of respect for older Pueblo women. “Mopez” means “cardinal” and was the Keres name of Ortiz’s brother. “I wanted to use native language words and names to identify the characters. Part of the Revolt story had to be the actual events, but I also wanted it to tie into our language. If I could get the kids interested in history, I might also be able to get them interested in our language and keep it alive.”
Revolt Series
"I am inspired by all types of cultures, non-Native included. I am fortunate to be able to continue and use the same methods and materials that have been used for a very long time. The only thing different are my subjects. Cochiti figurative clay works from the 1800's were based on social commentary, so that, in itself provides me with a vast array of subjects to work with that transcend to what is considered Native art today, yet traditional at the same time."
Tahu 2180, clay canteen
“It’s important to recognize that Pueblo communities are very much alive and have a level of vitality that speaks to generations of strength, persistence, brilliance, and thriving energy. I have something very important to do before I go. I want to preserve my culture and inspire our youth to accomplish whatever it is they dream to be.”
Virgil Ortiz Artist Statement
The thought never crossed my mind to be anything other than an artist. Art is in my blood.
Hailing from a family of celebrated Pueblo potters, Virgil Ortiz moves into a new era combining art, fashion, video and film at lightning speed. Ortiz, who works and lives in Cochiti Pueblo, New Mexico, is one of the most innovative potters of his time. His exquisite works are exhibited worldwide in museum collections that include: s’Hergotenbosh Museum in The Netherlands, Fondation Cartier in Paris, Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, Virginia Museum of Fine Art and Denver Art Museum.
Ortiz, the youngest of six children, grew up in a creative environment in which storytelling, collecting clay, gathering wild plants, and producing figurative pottery were part of everyday life; his grandmother Laurencita Herrera and his mother, Seferina Ortiz, were both renowned Pueblo potters and part of an ongoing matrilineal heritage. “I didn’t even know it was art that was being produced while I was growing up,” he remembers. Ortiz keeps Cochiti pottery traditions alive, but transforms them into a contemporary vision that embraces his Pueblo history and culture and merges it with apocalyptic themes, science fiction, and his own storytelling.
Historic events like the 1680 Pueblo Revolt may not immediately spring to mind when you think of science fiction, but blending the two has occupied Ortiz for some time. In May 2015, Denver Art Museum curated Ortiz’s solo exhibit Revolt 1680/2180: Virgil Ortiz. Set against Ortiz’s graphic murals, the exhibition featured 31 clay figures and invited visitors to immerse themselves in a storyline that Ortiz has been working on for the past 15 years. The storyline transports the viewer back more than three hundred years to the historical events of the 1680 Pueblo Revolt and then hurtles forward through time to the year of 2180, introducing a cast of characters along the way. The events of the Pueblo Revolt are little known among most Americans today; however, it remains an important and vital part of Pueblo history.
Pueblo culture is reflected in the design components that reach past a traditional Ortiz sculpture and delves right into the world of high fashion. After a highly successful collaboration with fashion mogul Donna Karan, which Ortiz developed boldly patterned textiles based on his graphic decorative painting, Ortiz has since launched his own fashion and accessory lines. His designs are captivating, provocative, and edgy thus creating the high demand for his sharp laser-cut leather jackets, swinging taffeta skirts, cashmere sweaters and silk scarves echoing the voluminous contours and sinuous motifs of Pueblo pottery showcasing the richness of indigenous high fashion.
Ever since Ortiz first began making pottery as a child and creating fashions for friends and family, he’s consistently worked an elegant, stylized turkey-track "X" into each of his pieces. The symbol can be regarded as a sort of artist’s seal — but there’s a deeper, more enigmatic, meaning too. “In the Cochiti culture, those birds are noted for moving around so energetically and unpredictably that they’re almost impossible to nab,” he explains. “So the turkey track’s a reminder to myself to constantly keep everyone guessing about my next designs, to keep everything surprising, groundbreaking.” The turkey-track X is a prominent design feature on his Rez Spine™ leather goods and accessory collection.
Although Ortiz has projects in varying mediums – including a newly launched jewelry line for the Smithsonian – Ortiz is first and foremost a potter. Ortiz says, “Clay is the core of all my creations. My work centers on preserving traditional Cochiti culture and art forms.”
