Melanie Yazzie facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Melanie A.Yazzie
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| Born | 1966 (age 58–59) Ganado, Arizona, United States
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| Education | Westtown School |
| Alma mater | Arizona State University, University of Colorado at Boulder |
| Known for | sculptor, printmaker, photographer, and painter |
Melanie A. Yazzie, born in 1966, is a talented artist. She is a Navajo sculptor, painter, and printmaker. She also teaches art at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
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Early Life and Education
Melanie Yazzie was born in 1966 in Ganado, Arizona. She is a member of the Navajo Nation. Her family belongs to the Salt Water Clan and the Bitter Water Clan. She grew up on the Navajo Nation lands.
She first studied art at the Westtown School in Pennsylvania. In 1990, she earned a degree in studio art from Arizona State University. Later, in 1993, she received her master's degree in printmaking from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Melanie Yazzie's Artwork
Melanie Yazzie creates art using many different materials. These include printmaking, painting, sculpting, and ceramics. She also makes installation art, which is art created for a specific space.
Her art helps people learn about modern Native American women. She hopes that people can understand her experiences through her work. Her art often shows images of women from many Indigenous cultures. This highlights the importance of female leaders in some Native traditions.
Yazzie's art often includes images of Blue Bird flour sacks. These sacks were used for clothing and household items by many Navajo children. For Melanie, these sacks connect her to her grandparents. They also remind her of special family memories, like butchering sheep.
She is known for her unique monotypes. These are one-of-a-kind prints that tell stories. They often show her "dreamtime friends" and companions. Her prints are full of bright colors and textures. She uses stencils and special soy-based inks that are safe for artists and the environment.
Teaching and Sharing Art
Melanie Yazzie is a professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She leads the printmaking program there. She travels a lot to teach art in Indigenous communities. She visits places both in the United States and other countries.
She has also taught at other art schools. These include the Institute of American Indian Arts and Boise State University. She even taught at the Pont Aven School of Contemporary Art in France.
Printmaking Projects
Melanie Yazzie has organized over 100 international print exchanges. These projects have taken place over 20 years. Artists from places like Siberia, Japan, New Zealand, and Germany have participated. These exchanges help artists connect and share ideas. They also teach people about important issues in today's world.
Some of these print projects are kept at the Artist Printmaker Research Collection. This collection is at Texas Tech University. You can also see other projects at the University of Colorado at Boulder library.
In 2012, the Denver Art Museum invited Yazzie to be an artist-in-residence. She was the first artist to hold this position in their Native Arts department.
Art Exhibitions
Melanie Yazzie's art has been shown in many important exhibitions. Some of these include:
- "Between Two Worlds" (2008) at Arizona State University.
- "Traveling" (2006) at the Heard West Museum.
- "About Face: Self-Portraits by Native American, First Nations, and Inuit Artists" (2005) at the Wheelwright Museum.
- "Making Connections" (2002) in Bulova, Russia.
- "Navajo in Gisborne" (1999) in New Zealand.
- "Watchful Eyes" (1994) at the Heard Museum.
In September 2013, she helped organize an exhibition. It was called "Heart Lines: Expressions of Native North American Art." This show was at the Colorado University Art Museum. It included some of her own art, like "Pollen Girl."
In February 2014, a large show of her work opened. It was called Geographies of Memory. This exhibition was at the University of New Mexico Art Museum. It was the biggest show of her art in 20 years.
Her solo show Histories Beyond Homeland opened in October 2015. This exhibition was at the University of Denver Museum of Anthropology. It featured her landscape drawings. These drawings showed views of the earth from above. She used gouache paint and handmade paper for these works.
The Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian had a solo show of her work. It was called "Memory Weaving: Works by Melanie Yazzie." This exhibit opened in May 2018.
Where to Find Her Art
Melanie Yazzie's artwork is part of many museum collections. Some of these places include:
- New Mexico Museum of Art
- Rhode Island School of Design, Print Collection
- IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Art
- Kennedy Museum of Art, Ohio University
- Rhodes University, South Africa
- City of Boulder, Colorado
- New Mexico Arts in Public Places
- Art in Embassies: US Department of State
- Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of the American Indian
- University of Denver, Colorado
- The Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian
- Institute of American Indian Arts
