Glass art becomes poster

Glass Artist Chosen for ’07 Indian Market PosterThe Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA) is pleased to announce Marvin Oliver (Quinault/Isleta Pueblo) as the poster artist for this year’s Santa Fe Indian Market. A celebrated glass artist, sculptor and printmaker, Oliver flew from Seattle, Washington to unveil the poster and original artwork on May 10th, 2007 at La Posada de Santa Fe Resort and Spa.

Using a southwest color palette, but classic Northwest Coast style, Oliver has created the many faces of Raven—mythical, colorful and curious—in visually stunning glass. Shaman Tells the Raven’s Tale, created especially for the Santa Fe Indian Market, is a fused glass, 41.5” x 19” form which incorporates an inlaid cast-glass, dichroic treated face. In Northwest Coast mythology Raven brings light to the world when he transforms himself into a boy (depicted in the piece by the face and human arms) to steal the sun out of the box of daylight. He then changes back to a raven to deliver the sun, moon and the stars into the sky (depicted in Oliver’s piece by the flying birds in the face’s corona). The legs of the boy represent the claws of Raven and the iridescent face on the piece becomes the moon at night and the sun during the day.