Judy Tuwaletstiwa - Artworks

'Chaco' is a series of 10 narrative paintings created simultaneously in 1987. They were inspired by Judy Tuwaletstiwa's time camping in the New Mexico desert, in particular Chaco Canyon.

"The narrative series, Chaco, grew out of time spent camping in the desert canyons of New Mexico, in particular Chaco Canyon. It also grew from my belief that the land is the original source for knowing ourselves.

In Chaco, my objective was to develop a deeper patience with the unresolved stages of my paintings so that I did not force solutions. To accomplish this, I decided to work on ten canvases simultaneously.

First, I built and stretched ten 70” x 42” canvases. On the first day, I started to paint the first canvas. The second day, I started the second painting. Then, a day later, the third, until all ten were underway. Although I knew they would eventually hang one through ten, I painted them in many positions, interweaving themes. Sometimes I would paint two canvases next to one another, #10 near #2, for example. Then, I would I move #2 next to # 5. Sometimes, I would work on each alone. Other times I would paint the ten in a row, in different positions or in their original order. When I became stuck on one, I would work on another, giving the problem area time to resolve itself without my anxiety pushing the brush.

I painted for two months. Then, I camped for a month in the high desert of the southwest, walking in its light, sleeping under its resplendently dark sky. When I returned to my studio, I continued to work on the paintings over the next two months. The night sky entered the story.

Though each canvas stands individually, Chaco is also a layered and interwoven narrative that measures 70” x 420”. Though I had not planned it, Chaco begins with dawn, moves through the day to dusk, into night and dream, and returns to dawn again."

- Judy Tuwaletstiwa, Galisteo, New Mexico

Chaco #1, 70” x 42”