Exhibit will tell history of of Southwest

A medley of Southwestern dance, crafts, tours and cuisine awaits those who visit "A Celebration of the American Southwest" tomorrow at the University Museum, a fete held for the opening of a new exhibit, Beauty from the Earth: Pueblo Indian Pottery. The exhibit features 105 pieces of Pueblo Indian pottery dating from the years 900 to 1950. The works of four Pueblo Indian tribes, the Hopi, Zuni, Acoma and Laguna, will be included. Acoma Pueblo potter Mary Lewis Garcia will also speak tomorrow about her work. Garcia, described by museum spokesperson Pam Kosty as "one of the finest potters in America today," uses no potter's wheel to create her works. She uses a Yuka brush and regional clay in line with traditional styles. Garcia will also be demonstrating the Buffalo and Deer dance of her culture along with her two children and one grandchild. Mariam Cathcart, a Navajo Indian, will perform her own native dance. Visitors can also look on at a Southwestern cooking demonstration or sample Southwestern cuisine at The Museum Cafe. Southwestern jewelry-making, basket weaving, adobe brickmaking and stained glass will be exhibited. In addition, the making of animal hide clothing will be demonstrated. The exhibit details the history of the four Pueblo groups on display. Photographs of the Indians' dwellings are featured alongside bowls, jugs, canteens and pitchers. The oldest group, the Acoma Pueblo, created white pottery and white-black carbon, forming symmetrical designs. Without using a pottery wheel, the Acoma managed to form near perfectly round vessels. "Pueblo pottery is one perspective into which we can look at Pueblo culture across time," said Lucy Fowler-Williams, the keeper of the Native American Collections at the museum. Works on display range from prehistoric Anastazi pieces to the later works of the 1950s. The Zuni Pueblo formed intricately patterned pottery. They include terraced corn meal bowls, such as a pitcher with a clay lizard for a handle. The Hopi used yellow clay, for the most part. The Laguna pottery includes works with bird and floral motifs. Earlier and later pieces are juxtaposed to show the continuity of styles across time. Much of the pottery in the exhibit has not been displayed for years, sitting idle in the museum's basement. After the exhibit closes in Philadelphia, it will tour the Pacific Northwest from 1992-1994, visiting as many as eight sites. The festivities will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow at the University Museum.

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