Carmelita Little Turtle facts for kids

Carmelita "Carm" Little Turtle is a talented photographer. She was born on June 4, 1952, in Santa Maria, California. Carm is from the Apache and Tarahumara Native American tribes. She is known for her unique photographs that are hand-painted and sepia-toned. These pictures often explore ideas about how people act in relationships. They also look at the roles of women and men. Her photos often show her husband, family, and herself in different scenes. These scenes are usually set in the beautiful landscapes of the Southwestern United States.

Carmelita Little Turtle uses special objects and clothes in her art. She says these items have a personal meaning to her. She doesn't use symbols that are forced on Native American people by others. She wants her art to feel timeless. This way, it can make people think about the past, present, and future all at once.

About Carmelita Little Turtle's Life

Carmelita Little Turtle started her education at Navajo Community College. She graduated from there in 1978. Later, she studied photography at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. She also learned photography at the College of the Redwoods in Eureka, California. Interestingly, she first planned to become a nurse before she decided to be an artist. From 1980 to 1983, she also worked as a producer and photographer for Shenandoah Films. This company was in Arcata, California.

Her first art show was in 1982. It was held at the Harwood Foundation in Taos, New Mexico. Since then, her work has been shown in many art exhibitions. She has had both her own shows and group shows with other artists. Her first group show was also in 1982. It was called Native Americans Now. This show was at the California Indian Museum and Cultural Center in Santa Rosa, California. Many of the exhibitions she joined were focused on Native American themes.

You can find her artwork in several important collections. These include the Center for Creative Photography and the Heard Museum. Her work is also at the Southwest Museum and the Southern Plains Indian Museum. In 1993, she received an award called the Western States Arts Federation Fellowship.

People have also written about Carmelita Little Turtle. Lawrence Abbott interviewed her for his book, I Stand in the Center of the Good: Interviews with Contemporary Native American Artists (1994). Joan M. Jensen also wrote about her. This was for a chapter in a book called Women Artists of the American West (2011).

Exhibitions Featuring Her Art

Carmelita Little Turtle's art has been shown in many places. Here are some of her individual exhibitions:

• 1982 – Harwood Foundation, Taos, New Mexico
• 1983 – Southwest Museum, Los Angeles, California
• 1991 – Reflections in Time, American Indian Contemporary Arts, San Francisco, California
• 1992 – Center for Creative Photography, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
• 2016 – Brandywine Workshop Collection, Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe, Arizona

Exploring Carmelita Little Turtle's Works

"Earthman Thinking about Dancing with Woman from Other Tribe"

This is one of Carmelita Little Turtle's most famous works. It is part of her "Earthman" series. The photo is black and white and shows a desert scene. The lighting makes the dry, hot environment stand out. Like many of her photos, she uses her own family as models. In this picture, her husband plays the role of Earthman.

In the photo, Earthman is sitting with his back to a woman. He looks bored or not interested. He rests his head on his hand. The other part of the photo shows only the bottom half of a woman. She is wearing leopard-print leggings and high heels. She holds a red umbrella. This photo suggests a deeper meaning. Even though the woman looks striking, Earthman seems distracted. The title hints that he might be thinking about someone else. Through this image, Little Turtle explores feelings of desire and distance in relationships.

"She Was Obsessed with the Role of a Beauty Queen"

"She Was Obsessed with the Role of a Beauty Queen" is another popular work by Carmelita Little Turtle. It was shown at The Fort Apache Connection exhibit. This photograph was taken in the desert. The sky looks reddish-brown. This color comes from a special technique she used. She used old sepia-toned prints with oils. The colors in the photo make details like the clouds and sky stand out. They give the picture a blurry, romantic, and mysterious feeling.

The main focus of the photograph is on two crashed cars. The cars have different colors. One is yellow, and the other has many colors. This contrast draws your eye to them. In the multicolored car, you can see a man and a woman. The man is in the front seat, looking like he is driving. The woman is sitting on the trunk in the back seat.