 |
|---|
Dale Tsosie works to satisfy the passionate relationship that exists between himself and the element of stone. He doesn’t look back on his past artistic achievements, instead, he looks at the present motivations and situations that he encounters; uses his intuition and spontaneity to uncover new ideas and fresh approaches toward his ‘stone spirits’. In 1991, upon his graduation from the Institute of American Indian Arts, Dale received the T.C. Cannon Award for artistic and academic excellence. Since then, he has won every major award given for sculpture at the annual Santa Fe Indian Market, the annual Heard Museum Fair in Phoenix, Arizona, and numerous prestigious art shows throughout the United States. Dale’s latest work reflects his inner thoughts about nature. Texture and design interact with light and shadow, bringing about its natural beauty as it changes throughout the day in the sun’s light.
I enter the stone’s realm and connect to its spirit as I reveal its elegant innocence. As I continue undressing the stone spirit, my soul feels the stone’s serene transformation. The life of the stone takes over and I become the transfigured servant of the stone spirit telling me what and where to subtract to reveal. It definitely is a supernatural phenomenon between us.
Dale loves using sharp angles, geometric shapes and free forms to express his connection to Mother Nature. He comes from a Navajo and Picuris Pueblo lineage. The influence of his ancestors is seen in his work. There is a continuity of ancient creative imagination channeling through Dale as he works. He remembers a Hopi elder admonishing younger artists in a magazine article to “Quit copying our old symbols, make up your own.” Dale took this challenge to create new symbols for the modern Native American culture. He is at the fore-front of this movement of Native American contemporary art. However, Dale is quick to let you know that he identifies and embraces all peoples and cultures. I am a free spirit with all that I do. Living this way provides freedom to go beyond the Native American box. The strength and power of stone helped Dale to overcome obstacles in life in his mid-twenties. Fascinated by stone sculpture, Dale apprenticed with Cheyenne-Arapaho Sculptor, Charles Pratt and Turtle Mountain Chippewa Sculptor, Bruce LaFountain. He began in metal, switched to alabaster, followed by bronze, and finally, fell in love with marble. Tsosie’s work combines simple but refined geometric shapes contrasted with rough textures. He is a master of air chisels and electric power tools. He seldom uses hand tools. This modern technical approach blends well with his contemporary style. The work begins in his home where he sketches models in plastalina clay. The subtraction of stone now takes place, every cut well calculated since nothing can be replaced. Patience and precision are required for compositional success.
Time means nothing when I’m covered with dust. I feel like I’m in a ceremony of proving myself worthy to Mother Earth. A sense of magical energy exists between the stone, tools and I. I count on the spirit of the stone to help me to get the job done.
Recently, Dale stopped creating work for art shows. He released his tenured Santa Fe Indian market booth in order to focus on blazing his own trail in the larger art market.
This allowed me to create what I wanted without having to add a feather, tablita, or native face to the work in order to be accepted in the Indian markets. I have found a place in myself where I am one with all. It was important to experience the beginning I had, but now I have reached another level in my work.
Tsosie risked losing his past for a fresh beginning and it is paying off.