Contemporary Hopi Painting

Hopi painting, traditional or contemporary, usually involves some creative freedom. The primary difference between contemporary and traditional styles is that contemporary art forms were probably learned in a formal situation, like a school, and express individual expressions for objects of beauty. Traditional art forms have been passed from Hopi to Hopi over many generations.

In the 1930s, Dorothy Dunn developed the "studio style" at the Santa Fe Indian School. The artists studied basic painting forms to learn new techniques and styles and continued to rely on subjects grounded in traditional indigenous values. The style was flat and one dimensional with simple figures and line-type movement. Subjects were semi-abstract forms in decorative water colors, depicting common events.

Hopi jeweler, painter, and potter, Charles Loloma, a staff member at the Institute of American Indian Art in Santa Fe, saw the blending of traditional points of view with contemporary expression as the goal of Indian painters in the 1960s. The Institute and Mr. Loloma have accomplished this goal and have had a monumental influence on contemporary Native American art and artists. Today Hopi painters draw from a great wealth and depth of history, visions, dreams, ancient rituals, and the knowledge and pride of being Hopi.

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