Weaving baskets with photos

baskets052: Weaving baskets with photos

Shadows, lights and reflections cast a kind of mysterious tone on a collection of Native American Indian baskets in a variety of interesting sizes, shapes and designs.

If you never imagined there was a way baskets could be woven together with photos, you might be surprised by what is on exhibit through April 17 at the Kern County Museum, 3801 Chester Avenue in Bakersfield. It is called "Images from Native Life," and the museum has found a thread that connects both together in a creative and educational way .

"Images from Native Life" delicately and aesthetically intertwines actual Native American Indian baskets with photos of Chukchansi Yokuts Indians who practiced the craft of basket weaving in the pioneer days of Kern County.

Searching through its archives, the museum has assembled an excellent collection of California Native American Indian baskets made with materials, such as reeds, indigenous to the San Joaquin Valley. The exhibit includes a fascinating and educational explanation of the basket weaving process.

Equally impressive are the photos and photo engravings of Edward S. Curtis that share space with the baskets. Curtis spent 35 years, from 1895-1930, traveling, photographing and documenting Native American life in the United States. His 20 volume set, "The North American Indian," is in the Library of Congress and includes over 2,000 photogravure plates and narrative, portraying traditional customs and lifestyles of 80 Indian tribes in the Great Plains, Great Basin, Plateau Region, Southwest, California, Pacific Northwest and Alaska. Curtis' exhibit has particular relevance for Kern County residents, featuring photos of the Chukchansi Yokuts Indians who inhabited much of the Southern San Joaquin Valley and were masters of basket weaving. Many of their original designs were captured on film by Curtis. The honest and sometimes candid portraits of the Yokuts paint emotional designs, as well.

The Kern County Museum is open Mon-Sat from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and 12-5 p.m. on Sundays. Museum admission prices are: $8 for adults, $7 for seniors age 60 and older and students ages 13-17, $6 for students ages 6-12 and $5 for children ages 3-5. Children younger than age 3 are admitted free and parking is free.

For more information call (661) 852-5000 or check the museum Web site, http://www.kcmuseum.org.


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