New Mexico Art Tells its History

Kin Nah Zin #223

Kin Nah Zin #223, 1983
Emmi Whitehorse (American, Navajo, born 1956)
collage on paper, 27 1/2 x 39 1/2 in. (69.9 x 100.3 cm) (image)
Gift of Gifford and Joann Phillips, 1985
1985.302.1

Emmi Whitehorse was born and raised in Crownpoint, NM and is a member of the Diné people. She earned her undergraduate and Masters of Art degrees from the University of New Mexico majoring in painting and printmaking. Her abstract paintings reflect both the vast landscape of the Navajo nation and her own personal iconography. She says about her work: To make art, the act of making art must stay true to a harmonious balance of beauty, nature, humanity and the whole universe. This is in accordance with Navajo philosophy. I have chosen to focus on nature, on landscape….The intricate language of symbols refer to specific plants, people and experiences….My work is about and has always been about land, about being aware of our surroundings and appreciating the beauty of nature. I am concerned that we are no longer aware of those.

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