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Native Sculptors
by Patty Talahongva
There is no doubt that the European masters Michelangelo, Donatello, and Bernini all influenced Zarco Guerrero. In fact, they inspired him to also recognize the art of his indigenous roots. “I had to go to Europe and look back and see the value of what lay literally in the dirt in my own back yard,” he explains. Born in 1952, and growing up in Mesa, Arizona, he often saw construction projects halted when Native American graves and ruins were unearthed.
“I’m Native American but I’m also Chicano. To me I’m simultaneously both. Just the term ‘Chicano’ itself means pride in your Native heritage,” says Guerrero, and his art reflects his Juaneno Mission Indian Acjachemem roots. Early in his career he worked in bronze, depicting the various stages of life and the circle of protection and unity between Native people and animals.
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Contemporary
Native American
Sculpture of the Southwest
and Vicinity |
