Curriculum Materials: Art in America
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Image 11 Keresan Questions: |
Jar
Although an Acoma Pueblo potter produced this jar for the tourist market, she modeled it after the traditional water jars made at the pueblo in a much earlier time. Usually, a jar made to hold water had a depression in the base to make it easier to carry on one's head. Likewise, the bulge in the middle, visible here, gave it a low center of gravity and provided a handhold for the person carrying the jar, which would be heavy when filled with water.
The designs on this jar also identify it as being from
Acoma Pueblo. The artist carefully
designed the red, black, and white decorations to complement
the shape of the jar. The horizontal black lines organize
the space into four areas-three decorated bands and the
solid base. Each band contains repeated
PATTERNS that encircle
the jar. The organic red leaflike clusters in the uppermost
band flare out as the jar gets wider. Pairs of black
rectangles arranged diagonally form a lively zigzag pattern
in the middle band. The designs on the bottom band, which
covers the broad body of the jar, are more expansive to
emphasize the swelling of the shape. They also draw the
viewer's eye toward the solid unpainted base. The curving
striped triangles at the top of this band point downward as
do the abstract black and white forms between the red
clusters.
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