2011年我和Ted去亚利桑那州东北部旅游，拜访那个叫做彩绘沙漠的土地。行程从凤凰城世界著名的美洲印第安人艺术与历史展品的Heard博物馆开始，然后是Wupatki印第安村落废墟遗址、三个地台和霍皮族村庄、石化森林国家公园，以及彩绘的沙漠。最后，我们结束了行程回到Heard博物馆。当就要走出博物馆时，Ted发现了Berlin画廊，那里展示了美国印第安艺术家最优秀的雕塑、绘画和摄影作品。

一幅60乘60英尺的绘画以鲜艳的红色、绿色和蓝色展现的地貌立刻击中了我的视觉。在绘画的中心，似乎有一位身着红色裙裾的舞者正在旋转，绿叶、白水和蓝天飘漩在她的身边。我们完全被绘画呈示出的这个雄伟而神秘土地的精神深深吸引和震撼了。绘画的标题是：“在神话与时间之前，它们只是移动的丘岭”。画家是Stephen Yazzie（斯蒂芬·雅孜），纳瓦霍美国现代画家。这是他的红色地貌系列的代表作，其它作品也陈列在美国几个著名的画廊和博物馆。

后来见到了画家。斯蒂芬带我们去了亚利桑那州美术馆，参观馆内收藏的他的现代艺术作品。在介绍作品时，我们了解到他是怎么成为一名艺术家的。他从小在纳瓦霍土地上长大，在第一次海湾战争中开始画女性人物给战友们解闷，后来获得奖学金就读于艺术学校。作为印第安人艺术家，他的成名作是受聘为Heard博物馆承作的展现印第安人艺术与历史的壁画。我还发现，斯蒂芬和我都对美国的神话学家Joseph Campbell（约瑟夫·坎贝尔）有同样的兴趣，特别是他的那本书“神话的力量”。

以下是斯蒂芬·雅孜本人对他的“神话与时间之前”的注解。

无论我们从哪里来，我们都赋予土地意义，这是非常人性化的。特别是重山峻岭，它们具有灵性，依附着它们的物体因而生长，并且由于我们的家庭、文化遗产和总体历史的故事而增强。但是我们很少想过从这些经过数百万年的自然过程才产生的地貌中汲取意义。这是我关心地球的角度。我觉得有些重要和有意义的思想要超越表像才能发现。

http://www.stevenyazzie.com/

 

 

Stephen Yazzie and Before Myth and Time

 

Ted and I toured Northeast Arizona, The Land of the Painted Desert, in 2011. Our tour began with a visit to the Heard Museum, the world famous museum of American Indian Art and History. We then set out to see the ruins of Indian villages of Wupatki National Monument, the Three Mesas and the Hopi villages, the Petrified Forest National Park, and the Painted Desert. Finally we ended our tour back to the museum. Just before walking out of the museum, Ted spotted the Berlin Gallery, which hosts the finest sculptures, paintings and photographs by American Indian artists.   

 

A large 60’ by 60’ painting of landforms with bright red, green and blue colors immediately struck my eyes. In the center it seems a lady in her red costume is dancing in a spin, swirling around the green leaves, white water and blue sky. We were completely captivated by the spirit of the majestic and mystic land presented in the painting. The title is Before Myth and Time, They were just Moving Mounds. The artist is Stephen Yazzie, Navajo modern American artist. This is one of his red series of landform being exhibited in several galleries and museums in the nation.

 

Later we met the artist. Steven Yazzie gave us a special guided tour of the Arizona Art Museum, where some of his work is on permanent display. While introducing his modern art pieces, he told us how he became an artist. He grew up on the Navajo Land, started drawing female figures entertaining fellow soldiers in the first Gulf War, studied in art schools on scholarships, and made his most important debut as an American Indian artist to commission the mural for the Heard Museum. Incidentally I found that we shared a common interest in the famous American mythologist, Joseph Campbell, and his book The Power of Myth.

 

Here are his own words about the painting of Before Myth and Time.

 

We give meaning to place, no matter where we come from. It’s very human I think. Mountains especially have spirituality so other attached reinforced by meaningful stories from our families, our heritage, and our collective histories, but not often do we consider the natural processes that have taken place over millions of years to create these landforms that we pull meanings from. I’m interested in the earth in this way. I think there are some important and meaningful ideas attached to looking beyond the surface.               

http://www.stevenyazzie.com/