Loloma: Expressions in Metal, Ink and Clay
Although best known for his innovative jewelry designs that incorporate unusual stones and techniques, Hopi artist Charles Loloma began his career as a painter and also was a ceramist. Loloma was a talented artist who was accomplished in all three media, but he excelled in jewelry design and fabrication. Loloma made realistic and abstract drawings throughout his lifetime. Parallels can be seen in designs he incorporated into his drawings and paintings, ceramic forms and jewelry designs.
Loloma began his career as an easel and mural artist. In 1939, at the age of 17, he was selected to paint murals at the Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco. Loloma, Hopi artist Fred Kabotie and two other painters created murals at the exposition while more than 1.5 million people passed through the exposition gates. Loloma’s career as a muralist came to a rather abrupt halt in 1943, when he left Arizona to serve in the U.S. Army in World War II.
From 1947 to 1949, Loloma embarked on a new career when he traveled to New York to learn ceramics at the School of American Craftsmen at Alfred University. Following his studies, he returned to the Hopi village of Hotevilla, where he taught art for a few years. By 1956, he had moved to Scottsdale to make and sell pottery at the Kiva Craft Center. Here, Loloma began to delve into jewelry design and fabrication. By the 1960s, the advances he made in jewelry—including lining the interiors of rings and bracelets with inlaid stones—began to revolutionize contemporary Native jewelry.
Loloma’s Famous Signature
On his earliest paintings and pottery, Charles Loloma signed his work by printing his name in clear block letters. Some of the pottery in the Heard collection illustrates his experimentation with the various ways he signed his work. By 1953, different pottery forms show variations of Loloma’s printed name as he moved toward developing what would become his hallmark, or the stamped signature he used on his jewelry.
Loloma’s jewelry hallmark was stylized, clean and iconoclastic, as was his innovative jewelry. He used just three stamps or dies to create the hallmark. He used one long die to make each of the two L shapes and a shorter die to make the letters O and M and the outline of the A. The horizontal bar on the A was formed by the third and longest die. At times, he used only two dies and formed the A-bar with the L-shaped die. Because each shape required a separate placement of the die to the metal and a separate stroke of a hammer to the die, it took Loloma 11 strikes to make his hallmark.
On some occasions, Loloma would carve his signature into the tufa stone used for casting metal. At other times he signed with a graver, cutting 11 grooves with such precision that this is mistaken for stamping. When he used these other methods, he followed the same format that he used for his stamped hallmark. As early as 1961, Loloma was signing his paintings in the same iconic style as he stamped his jewelry.
Forming Vessels With CLAY
After his honorable discharge from the U.S. Army, Loloma and his wife Otellie received scholarships to study pottery-making at the School of American Craftsmen at Alfred University in New York from 1947 to 1949. Traditional Hopi pottery techniques utilize a centuries-old process of gathering the clay from nearby clay pits, cleaning and preparing the clay, constructing forms from coils of clay, polishing with a smooth stone, painting, and then firing out of doors. At the time Charles Loloma undertook pottery-making, it was traditionally—though not exclusively—a skill of women. Generations of women taught girls, usually family members, with daughters learning from mothers, grandmothers or aunts. Charles and Otellie Loloma learned a completely different technique for making pottery at the School of American Craftsmen. They used commercially processed clay and a potter’s wheel to make pottery shapes. They incorporated natural clay slips and paints used at Hopi when possible. Finished forms were fired in a gas or electric kiln.
Following their studies at Alfred, Charles and Otellie returned home to northern Arizona for a short time, but then they moved to Scottsdale, where they sold pottery at Lloyd Kiva New’s Kiva Craft Center—a series of small shops operated by individual artists. Like the Lolomas and New, the artists at the Kiva Craft Center made a range of handmade goods, from clothing to jewelry to stained-glass items.
The Lolomas applied muted glazes, generally in brown or yellow tones, to their pottery. Otellie favored anthropomorphic shapes, and at times Charles painted animal designs. Often he focused upon texture and incised designs. Some of the designs on his pottery are Hopi basket makers or Corn Maidens. Both of these images are themes he depicted in drawings or paintings, pottery and jewelry.
Designing METAL Jewelry
Loloma rather quickly replaced his work in clay with work in metals. For the first Heard Museum Fair & Market in 1959, a newspaper promotion declared that Loloma would demonstrate pottery-making at the Fair. The accompanying photograph actually showed him holding a carved tufa stone—a volcanic stone used for casting silver or gold. Visitors to the Fair that year purchased jewelry, and Loloma transitioned into exclusively making jewelry.
Through his use of unusual materials—pearls, malachite, charoite, sugilite, gold—and atypical jewelry techniques, as well as innovative designs, Loloma became a leader in contemporary American Indian jewelry. In addition to changing the overall look of the jewelry, he changed the way collectors viewed Indian jewelry. His designs, particularly lining the reverse of an item such as a buckle or the interior of a bracelet or ring, had a tremendous impact on generations of artists that followed him.
Loloma made quick sketches as simple references for his jewelry designs. These were hurriedly drawn and often contained notations as to which stones to incorporate and their positions. The jewelry drawings shown in this exhibit are at times associated with the exact items of jewelry made from them, while at other times similar examples of jewelry have been paired with the drawings.
Through Loloma’s drawings, it is also possible to see the ways in which the complexity of his fine-line drawings translate to intricate inlays. Some of the drawings show a relationship to the height bracelets and multi-stone inlay bracelets he designed. The drawings provide insight into the ways in which an artist reflects his world and translates that reflection into varying artforms.
Drawing in INK
Although he would paint only occasionally, Loloma made drawings continually throughout his lifetime. For him, drawing was a form of relaxation. His drawings reflected the landscape around his home, his vision for his home and studio, and his life and experiences as a Hopi man.
For Loloma, drawing was also a teaching tool. When Loloma’s niece Verma Nequatewa (Sonwai) began working in her uncle’s studio in the late 1960s, Loloma instructed her to draw as one method toward honing her design skills. With a swish of his hand, Loloma would draw extemporaneous circular and linear forms and have Nequatewa fill in the open spaces with intricate designs. Years later, when he taught Georgia Loloma, a former art teacher, the same technique, she found his approach to drawing a fun and intriguing new way of expressing an idea.
The majority of the drawings in this exhibit were made in the early 1980s. Many of them reference corn, while others reflect traditional sashes woven by Hopi men. Several others are architectural drawings for building exteriors or room interiors. Many are abstract representations of northern Arizona’s landscape, with lines that follow mesa outlines and variegated land patterns. The complex rock strata of the mesas, with their striations and variations in pattern, are strongly reflected in Loloma’s jewelry designs with their multifaceted inlay of varying stones.
PED-1 POTTERY
Charles Loloma
Hopi, 1921-1991
1.
Ceramic, c. 1953
In 1951, Charles and Otellie Loloma received an Opportunity Fellowship from the John Hay Whitney Foundation that enabled the Lolomas to experiment with shale clays from Arizona. The Lolomas used native clays and modern construction methods to form ceramics to which they added their own designs.
Gift of Mark Bahti, NA-SW-HO-A12-11
2.
Ceramic, 1953
Heard Museum purchase, NA-SW-HO-A12-1
3.
Ceramic, 1953
Heard Museum purchase, NA-SW-HO-A12-18
PED-2 POTTERY
Charles Loloma
Hopi, 1921-1991
1.
Ceramic, 1953
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Byron Harvey III, NA-SW-HO-A12-3
2.
Jar, c. 1953
Ceramic
Corn was a frequent theme Charles Loloma referenced in his artwork. He incised designs into the clay that could be seeds or corn kernels.
Gift of Karl Johnstone, 4198-1
3.
Bolo tie, late 1950s
Silver, leather
Loloma depicted corn in this tufa-cast silver bolo tie and pendant.
Gift of Mareen Allen Nichols, 4033-220
4.
Pendant, c. 1956
Silver
Heard Museum purchase, NA-SW-HO-J-103
FC1 – TEXTILE CASE
Hopi textiles are worn today, as they were in the past, in Hopi ceremonies. Traditionally, weaving was done by Hopi men and comes from a complex ancestral tradition of woven cotton. Once sheep were brought to the Southwest by the Spanish, weavers added wool to their tool kits. Through his textile drawings, Charles Loloma referenced his life as a traditional Hopi man.
Unknown artist, Hopi
Manta, 1900-1920
Wool
Gift in memory of Doren Indritz, 4708-15
Unknown artist, Hopi
Poncho, 1880s-1890s
Wool
Fred Harvey Fine Arts Collection, Heard Museum, 639CI
Unknown artist, Hopi
Sash, early 1900s
Cotton
Fred Harvey Fine Arts Collection, Heard Museum, 1824CI
Unknown artist, Hopi
Manta, 1880-1910
Wool
Fred Harvey Fine Arts Collection, Heard Museum, 226BL
Unknown artist, Hopi
Manta, 1900-1930s
Cotton
Gift of Jerry and Lois Jacka, 4566-1
Charles Loloma
Hopi, 1921-1991
Drawings, early 1980s
Charles Loloma frequently drew portions of textiles or entire textiles, at times drawing them to fit within the curves of an outline he had first drawn.
Collection of Georgia Loloma
Sketchbook Case 1
Charles Loloma
Hopi, 1921-1991
1.
Sketchbook and watercolor, 1980s
Collection of Georgia Loloma
2.
Pendant, 1980s
Coral, lapis lazuli, sugilite, Lone Mountain turquoise, 18k tufa-cast gold
Private collection
3.
Sketchbook, 1980s
Collection of Georgia Loloma
4.
Pendant, 1970s
14k gold
The Eugene B. Adkins Collection at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, the University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma; and the Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 5843
5.
Drawing, early 1980s
Charles Loloma drew a squash on a paper bag. Details of seeds can be seen in different areas of the drawing.
Collection of Georgia Loloma
Sketchbook Case 2
Charles Loloma
Hopi, 1921-1991
1.
Jeweler’s saw, file and sheet silver used to cut out a Corn Maiden shape, 1980s
Collection of Georgia Loloma
Charles Loloma, 1978
Photograph by
Billie Jane Baguley Library and Archives,
3.
Bracelet, 1960s
Turquoise, silver
Heard Museum purchase, NA-SW-HO-J-65
4.
Bracelet, 1976
Lander turquoise, coral, abalone, turquoise, 14k tufa-cast gold
Private collection
5.
Tufa stone casting molds, c. 1974 and c. 1965
To cast jewelry using tufa or volcanic rock, Loloma first carved designs into a slab of tufa. He secured another slab of the same size to the face of the carving and then poured molten silver or gold through a sprue hole. When the metal cooled, he added a carved face to form a pendant cast from the tufa on the left and shaped a bracelet with the one on the right.
Gift of Mark Bahti in memory of Tom Bahti, 3511-1, NA-SW-HO-Q-35
North Wall Case 1
Charles Loloma
Hopi, 1921-1991
Charles Loloma drew detailed, abstract drawings as well as quick jewelry sketches, often detailing the materials he wanted to use and their arrangement. Some of these drawings are shown with the exact items of jewelry made from them. Other drawings are paired with similar examples of jewelry.
Sketches from the collection of Georgia Loloma
1.
Wrist guard, late 1970s
Bisbee turquoise, leather, silver
Charles Loloma based the designs for a pendant and wrist guard on a style of jewelry made by his friend, Navajo silversmith Kenneth Begay.
Private collection
2.
Earrings, 1970s
Turquoise, coral, lapis lazuli, silver
Loloma’s complex inlay patterns were inspired by designs in Southwestern jewelry that dated to 1900 and earlier and by the rugged landscape of northern Arizona.
Heard Museum purchase, 3453-3 a, b
3.
Cuff links, 1970s
Turquoise, coral, lapis lazuli, ironwood, malachite, silver
Gift of Antonio J. Castillo, M.D., 4053-1 a, b
4.
Earrings, c. 1970
Turquoise, lapis lazuli, silver, 14k gold
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Donald F. McCann, 4556-2 a,b
5.
Ring, early 1980s
Diamond, Lone Mountain turquoise, coral, lapis lazuli, 18k gold
Loloma lined the interior of this ring with inlaid stones.
Private collection
6.
Bird Ring, 1980s
Coral, lapis lazuli, sugilite, turquoise, 14k gold, silver
Private collection
7.
Ring, 1977
Bisbee turquoise, silver, 14k gold
Gift of Georgia Ellen Carlquist in memory of her parents, Eugene and Georgia Carlquist
8.
Buckle, 1970-71
Turquoise, coral, lapis lazuli, ironwood, silver
Gift of Mareen Allen Nichols, 4033-200
9.
Ring, 1970s
Turquoise, fossilized ivory, wood, coral, lapis lazuli, malachite, silver
Gift of Dennis and Janis Lyon, NA-SW-HO-J-91
10.
Hair barrette, c. 1972
Turquoise, coral, lapis lazuli, ironwood, malachite, silver
Gift of Mareen Allen Nichols, 4033-267 a, b
11.
Bracelet, c. 1971
Turquoise, coral, lapis lazuli, ironwood, 14k gold
Gift of Mareen Allen Nichols, 4033-201
Bracelet, c. 1970
Turquoise, lapis lazuli, silver, 14k gold
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Donald F. McCann, 4556-1
North Wall Case 2
Charles Loloma
Hopi, 1921-1991
Loloma sketched designs for jewelry including those that were special orders. Some of these drawings are shown with the exact items of jewelry made from them. Other drawings are paired with similar examples of jewelry.
Sketches from the collection of Georgia Loloma
1.
Buckle, 1970s
Turquoise, lapis lazuli, fossilized ivory, coral, wood, silver
The Eugene B. Adkins Collection at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, the University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma; and the Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 5829
2.
Bracelet, 1980s
Lapis lazuli, turquoise, coral, 18k gold
Private collection
3.
Bracelet, late 1950s
Turquoise, coral, fossilized ivory, ironwood, silver
Heard Museum purchase, NA-SW-HO-J-98
4.
Height bracelet, 1975
Morenci turquoise, lapis lazuli, ironwood, fossilized ivory, malachite, 14k gold
The clean, angular form of this bracelet is characteristic of Charles Loloma’s innovative designs.
Private collection
5.
Bracelet, early 1960s
Silver, 14k gold
Private collection
6.
Bracelet, c. 1960
Silver
Gift of Barbara Haas in memory of Alvin Haas, 3662-3
7.
Single earring, 1969
Royston turquoise, ironwood, 14k gold
In 1963, Charles Loloma traveled to Paris for the first time. While there, his friend René d’Harnoncourt had arranged for Loloma to meet fashion designers. Loloma’s design of a single earring was among his jewelry previewed on the Paris fashion runway.
Gift of Mareen Allen Nichols, 4033-97
8.
Bracelet, 1970s
Turquoise, coral, ironwood, silver
The Eugene B. Adkins Collection at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, the University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma; and the Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 5812
PED 5 – Infuence, etc.
Charles Loloma
Hopi, 1921-1991
1.
Pendant, mid 1970s
Turquoise, coral, ironwood, fossilized ivory, silver
Bequest of William F. and Virginia C. Waterman, 4666-59
2.
Koyemsi drawing, early 1980s
Charles Loloma drew curved lines over the koyemsi to suggest movement. One koyemsi holds a drum.
Collection of Georgia Loloma
3.
Bracelet, c. 1949
Silver
Loloma referred to this bracelet as a drum bracelet. The lines of the bracelet resemble the leather ties that secure the head of the drum.
Gift of Margaret and Hal Gates, 4747-1
4.
Sash necklace, 1970s
Turquoise, ironwood, leather, 14k gold
The Eugene B. Adkins Collection at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, the University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma; and the Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 5833
5.
Bracelet, c. 1966
Turquoise, fossilized ivory, ironwood, silver
Gift of Margaret and Hal Gates, 4782-1
6.
Drawing, early 1980s
Loloma reportedly was fascinated by Egypt and traveled there in 1975. Some of his drawings and jewelry reference Egyptian art.
Collection of Georgia Loloma
7.
Ring, 1975-76
Coral, pearl, 14k gold
Charles Loloma made this ring after a trip to Egypt in 1975.
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Lyon, 3540-1
Corn Drawings—Individual Labels
Charles Loloma
Hopi, 1921-1991
Drawings, early 1980s
Ink on paper
Loloma depicted corn in various areas of these drawings and placed the tassels at the very top. He also drew aspects of textiles and four-pointed stars.
Collection of Georgia Loloma
Charles Loloma
Hopi, 1921-1991
Corn Maidens, 1979
Lithograph, 44/50
Gift of Georgia Loloma, 4417-3
PED-6 CORN
Charles Loloma frequently drew corn as a plant, as kernels or as seeds, and he also depicted it in his pottery and jewelry. Hopi corn has long tap roots to trap moisture in a land that receives less than 10 inches of precipitation in a good year. At Hopi, corn is more than a staple food; it is deeply entwined with a way of life, a value system and beliefs. Virtues of humility, respect, caring for others and caring for the Earth all play a part in farming and the Hopi way of living on the Earth.
1.
Ceramic, 1953
Corn was a frequent theme Charles Loloma referenced in his artwork. He depicted corn as a plant, as seeds and in the form of Corn Maidens.
Heard Museum collection, NA-SW-HO-A12-4
2.
Twin Blue Corn Maiden, 1968
Turquoise, leather, 14k gold
In 1965, Charles Loloma was awarded four ribbons for jewelry in the Fourth Annual Scottsdale National Indian Arts Exhibit, the second year that jewelry was a category in the competition. In 1968, at the Seventh Scottsdale National, he received a First award for this necklace.
Gift of Mareen Allen Nichols, 4033-25
3.
Drawing, early 1980s
Collection of Georgia Loloma
4.
Pendant, 1970s
Fossilized ivory, turquoise, ironwood, leather, silver
The Eugene B. Adkins Collection at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, the University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma; and the Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 5820
5.
Necklace, 1970s
Turquoise, coral, lapis lazuli, ironwood, leather, silver
The Eugene B. Adkins Collection at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, the University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma; and the Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 5821
BADGER LITHO/DRAWING
Charles Loloma
Hopi, 1921-1991
Medicine Man, 1980
Lithograph, 66/100
Gift of Georgia Loloma, 4806-1
Charles Loloma
Hopi, 1921-1991
Study for Medicine Man lithograph, 1980
Ink on paper
Collection of Georgia Loloma
Wall Case 3 – BADGER
Charles Loloma
Hopi, 1921-1991
Drawings, early 1980s
Charles Loloma was a member of the badger and butterfly clans. He occasionally created jewelry that referenced badgers, including a ring that he often wore. In the complex drawing at the top right, Loloma depicted a badger paw on the left-hand side, a wedding sash below, as well as stars, feathers and seeds.
Collection of Georgia Loloma
1.
Bolo tie, 1970s
Turquoise, ironwood, coral, silver
The Eugene B. Adkins Collection at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, the University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma; and the Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 5817
2.
Bolo tie, early 1960s
Silver, leather
Loloma created this badger-paw design in tufa-cast silver.
Gift of Mareen Allen Nichols, 4033-257
3.
Bolo tie, c. 1960
Silver, leather
Heard Museum purchase, NA-SW-HO-J-97
These photographs are of paintings Charles Loloma did early in his career. Two of the paintings are visible in a photograph of Loloma taken in 1949. The drawings appear to be interpretations of stories Loloma had heard. As such, they are narrative genre paintings.
Photographs courtesy of Georgia Loloma
Wall Case 4-Star shapes
Charles Loloma
Hopi, 1921-1991
Drawings, early 1980s
Loloma drew inspiration from his life experiences as a Hopi man, his training as an artist and the land around him at his home in northern Arizona. Similarities can be seen between design details in Loloma’s drawings and metalwork and inlay of the jewelry he made.
Collection of Georgia Loloma
1.
Necklace and earring set, 1962
Amber, coral, silver
Gift of Mareen Allen Nichols, 4033-1, 4033-2 a, b
2.
Bracelet, 1958-59
Spinel or tourmaline, silver
Gift of Ruth Shafter, 4222-1
3.
Ring, c. 1969
Pearl, silver
Heard Museum purchase, 4428-1
4.
Buckle, late 1960s
Turquoise, wood, silver
Loloma depicted the four directions as a four-pointed star in the nearby drawing and carved the design in wood for this buckle.
Gift of Mareen Allen Nichols, 4033-204
5.
Necklace, c. 1970
Bisbee turquoise, silver
Bequest of Mrs. Alice Feffer, 3691-29
6.
Necklace, c. 1960
Silver
Gift of Barbara Haas in memory of Alvin Haas, 3662-5
7.
Bracelet, 1968-69
Turquoise, silver
Gift of Mareen Allen Nichols, 4033-60
8.
Bracelet, 1960s
Silver
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Patrick Houlihan, NA-SW-HO-J-64
9.
Ring, 1960s
Silver
Heard Museum purchase, NA-SW-HO-J-102
Wall Case-5 Landscape
The land of the Hopi villages in Northern Arizona is a high desert with rugged mesas and plateaus set against deep blue skies. The plateaus are composed of layers of colorful sedimentary rocks that have eroded into tablelands separated by canyons and cliffs with steep slopes. These of varying landscape patterns and colors are reflected in Loloma’s drawings as well as his complex jewelry designs.
Loloma drew inspiration from his life experiences as a Hopi man, his training as an artist and the land around him at his home in northern Arizona. Similarities can be seen between design details in Loloma’s drawings and metalwork and inlay of the jewelry he made.
Charles Loloma
Hopi, 1921-1991
Drawings, early 1980s
Similarities can be seen between design details in Loloma’s drawings and metalwork and the inlay of the jewelry Loloma made.
Collection of Georgia Loloma
1.
Wrist guard, 1966-68
Turquoise, coral, leather, copper
Gift of Mareen Allen Nichols, 4033-61
2.
Buckle, 1970s
Fossilized ivory, turquoise, coral, silver
The landscape drawing to the left depicts high mesas that resemble the elongated form of the buckle and bolo tie, both of which have a small, inset turquoise bead.
The Eugene B. Adkins Collection at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, the University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma; and the Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 5830
3.
Bolo tie, c. 1966
Wood, turquoise, leather, silver
Gift of Margaret and Hal Gates, 4712-1
4.
Wrist guard, 1968
Turquoise, coral, leather, silver
At times, drawings have textures similar to those accomplished when the silver is cast using a tufa stone.
Heard Museum purchase, NA-SW-HO-J-99
Cuff links, c. 1960
Silver
Heard Museum purchase, NA-SW-HO-J-104 a, b
6.
Buckle, c. 1960
Silver
Heard Museum purchase, NA-SW-HO-J-101
Landscape Drawings
Charles Loloma
Hopi, 1921-1991
Untitled, early 1980s
Watercolor on paper
Drawing, early 1980s
Ink on paper
In these abstract landscapes, Loloma drew mesa outlines detailing striations in the land formations. The circles may be simple design elements or possibly references to the sun or raindrops.
Collection of Georgia Loloma
Charles Loloma
Hopi, 1921-1991
Drawings, early 1980s
Loloma depicted the northern Arizona landscape in these small drawings and frequently referenced the land in his jewelry.
Collection of Georgia Loloma
Wall Case 6-Architecture
Many of the quick sketches and more detailed drawings Charles Loloma drew reflected his interest in architecture. His high school teacher, friend and founder of the Kiva Craft Center, Lloyd Kiva New, took Loloma to some of the Sunday-afternoon gatherings at Taliesin West, architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter home and school on the outskirts of Scottsdale, Arizona. Loloma met Wright and also created two bracelets for Wright’s wife Olgivanna in the late 1950s.
When Loloma left his teaching position at the Institute of American Indian Arts in 1964, he returned to Arizona and, with the help of other men, began construction on a studio he had designed. Located on the outskirts of Hotevilla, the building was initially a living and working space. Through the years, Loloma designed additional living spaces that were added to the studio. In the 1980s, he considered building another studio and created some conceptual drawings.
Charles Loloma
Hopi, 1921-1991
Drawings, early 1980s
Collection of Georgia Loloma
Letter opener, 1959
Turquoise, coral, ironwood, silver
The architectural lines of the drawing above and the lines of the letter opener bear similarities.
Bequest of Edward Jacobson, 4411-2
Katsina – Individual Labels
Charles Loloma’s drawings frequently feature Hopi Katsinam, the spirit messengers of the universe who bring prayers for nourishment of the Earth, moisture and a long life for all mankind. Katsina ceremonies are an important part of Hopi life. Renewal ceremonies are completed each year to maintain the balance of harmony and nourishment for all life. The Katsinam first appear in the Hopi villages in January and are seen at intervals until they return to their homes in July.
Charles Loloma
Hopi, 1921-1991
Dancing Mudheads, 1980
Lithograph, 66/100
Gift of Georgia Loloma, 4806-1
Charles Loloma
Hopi, 1921-1991
Drawing, early 1980s
Charles Loloma often drew koyemsi, or Hopi clowns, in various stances. This drawing was done in preparation for a lithograph.
Collection of Georgia Loloma
Charles Loloma
Hopi, 1921-1991
Qoqole, 1980
Lithograph, 29/100
Gift of Georgia Loloma, 4806-2
Charles Loloma
Hopi, 1921-1991
Qoqole drawing, early 1980s
This drawing was made in preparation for the lithograph of the same subject.
Collection of Georgia Loloma
Charles Loloma
Hopi, 1921-1991
Drawing and note card, early 1980s
Loloma made a drawing for note cards.
Collection of Georgia Loloma
Charles Loloma
Hopi, 1921-1991
Drawings, early 1980s
Ink on paper
Sösö pa or cricket katsina
Kokosorhoya
Huuhuwa or cross-legged katsina
Collection of Georgia Loloma
Paintings and Drawings
Charles Loloma
Hopi, 1921-1991
Buffalo Dance, c. 1940
Tempera on muslin
This is believed to be the largest surviving mural by Loloma, and thus it is an important historical work of art by this significant artist. In it, he depicted the Hopi buffalo dance, a ceremony held annually in January to pray for moisture and good hunting. At some point in its history, the mural is said to have been removed from a wall at Hopi High School and cut into four pieces. When the Heard was given the work, conservator Gloria Giffords began the restoration process. After working with the painting for months, Giffords commented, “The size of the painting is impressive. These are life-size figures, and I have looked carefully and cannot find a pencil mark. I don’t know if he did it from scratch or did a drawing and cut it out and laid it down and went around it with paint. This is a confidently done piece.” Even though he was creating a large piece, Loloma’s impressive attention to detail is evident in the subtle depiction of the complex weaves of the figures’ clothing.
Anonymous gift, 4449-1
Charles Loloma
Hopi, 1921-1991
Untitled, 1961
Oil on board
Charles Loloma depicted basket weavers in this painting.
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Leslie T. Jones, IAC474
Charles Loloma
Hopi, 1921-1991
Untitled, 1957
Fresco and tempera on board
Loloma depicted women grinding corn in this painting. The influence of Egyptian art can be seen on this painting and other artworks.
Private collection
Charles Loloma
Hopi, 1921-1991
Untitled self-portrait, c. 1948
Graphite on paper
Gift of Steve and Dottie Diamont, 4400-1
Charles Loloma
Hopi, 1921-1991
Untitled, c. 1948
Graphite on paper
Loloma drew this portrait of his wife Otellie and his self-portrait around the same time.
Gift of Steve and Dottie Diamont, 4400-2
Charles Loloma
Hopi, 1921-1991
Drawing, early 1980s
Loloma took advantage of the coffee stain on this paper, turning it into a pendant for a necklace. While making jewelry, he would frequently take a construction accident and transform it into an artistic work. For example, if molten gold did not completely fill a tufa mold leaving a hole when the metal cooled, he would inlay the area with colorful stones.
Collection of Georgia Loloma
Loloma Quotes
I work from the roots of my Hopi life.
Charles Loloma
I went beyond the school education to be able to learn to communicate in the two worlds I live in. I found my success as an artist because I used my art as my way of communicating, not just the words I learned.
Charles Loloma, 1983
As Hopi we are born into an art world. We are dancing. We hear music and are told stories. We are given carvings to play with and to learn from. We must not neglect our ceremonial life; that is our survival.
Charles Loloma, 1983
All Hopis are artists. We are raised on it—theater, songs, making instruments. But we never called it art—it was just part of life.
Charles Loloma, 1978
They claimed my work had no Indian identity. They didn’t realize I was interpreting the depths of Indian vision.
Charles Loloma, 1978
I maintain that people have inner gems. This is why I include inner gems in much of my work. A piece of art should be full of surprises, like a person. When you look inside you should find excitement. There is beauty in a piece of art, a person can absorb it and become more beautiful. This is what I believe, anyway.
Charles Loloma, 1983
When I was taught design there [School for American Craftsmen], I immediately connected quite a number of ways of doing things and composing things, organizing things. And when we were working in color, then I immediately was doing something that was very close to me. In other words, my background—but the idea is I didn’t want to copy directly from our own sources here. So instead, I understood then that the impact of your emotional responses come out in no matter what you do.
Charles Loloma, 1978
Photo Captions
Young Loloma with mural – Denver Art Museum
Charles Loloma stands by a mural in one of the Indian Court galleries of the Federal Building at the Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco, California, 1939.
Photograph courtesy of the Denver Art Museum Department of Native Arts
Loloma and Otellie making pottery – Rochester
Charles and Otellie Loloma at the School for American Craftsmen’s ceramic studio in Crandall Barn, Alfred University, New York, c. 1948.
Photograph courtesy of RIT Archive Collections, Rochester Institute of Technology
2 photos of Loloma working with bracelet
Charles Loloma making jewelry, 1983
Billie Jane Baguley Library and Archives, RC188.4 and RC188.6
Loloma drawing a badger, black & white (this is the big photo on the mural)
Charles Loloma drawing in preparation for a lithograph, 1980
Photograph courtesy of Georgia Loloma
Loloma working with saw, black & white (PED-4 “Tools + Tufa”)
Charles Loloma making jewelry, 1978
Photograph by Glenn Short, Billie Jane Baguley Library and Archives