Victor Masayesva Jr.

Victor Masayesva Jr. (born 1951) is a Hopi filmmaker, video-artist, and photographer.[1] Born on the Hopi Reservation of Arizona,[2] and growing up in Hotevilla, Masayesva's artistic career reflects his active participation with the Hopi community,[3][4] his body of work promoting Hopi culture and worldview.[5] Scholar Martin Padget considers Masayesva "one of the most influential Indigenous filmmakers and photographers of his generation."[6] Masayesva's films and photographs are diverse and complex in nature, often employing diverse visual language,[7] and an experimental approach towards media.[8] The majority of his films are in Hopi language and are destined for his community, especially to pass-on traditional teachings to youth.[9] Masayesva has also been personally involved in promoting indigenous media, both in the United States and internationally.[10]

Education and early career

As a teenager, Masayesva was recruited to attend the Horace Mann School in New York.[11][12] He later studied Hopi ceremonies and English at Princeton University.[13][14] and pursued graduate studies in English and Photography at the University of Arizona.[15][16] Following his studies, Masayesva became the director of Hotevilla's Ethnic Heritage Program, where, in 1980, he created a program to teach Hopi language and values in community schools and trained Hopi high school students in video production.[17]

Notable works

Hopiit (1982): Created from footage he had shot during the Ethnic Heritage program,[18] Masayesva's first film is a documentary short intended for a Hopi audience,[19][20][21] presenting a "montage of different views of Hopi landscapes and people during the cycle of a year".[22]

Itam Hakim, Hopiit (1985): In Masayesva's first feature-length documentary, a tribal elder from the Hopi historian's clan recounts stories of Hopi history and philosophy, which Masayesva interprets through visual imagery.[23][24][25] Diverging from documentary tradition, the film uses a variety of camera techniques and changes of perspectives (2). Scholar Sonja Bahn-Coblans writes that in the documentary, "the Eurocentric perception of time and space has distinct difficulty in coping with the 'spherical' and 'cyclical' perceptions of the Native American."[26] Made to commemorate the Hopi Tercentennial 1680-1980, the film received funding from German national television (ZDF) and although initially released in Hopi in the United States, after receiving distribution opportunities Masayesva created an English version.[27][28]

With growing interest in his work from cultural outsiders, Masayesva's succeeding films engaged with misconceptions of Hopi culture and were destined for non-indigenous audiences,[29][30] beginning with Ritual Clowns (1988), which uses computer animation and plays with color to explore Hopi pottery.[31][32] His next two documentaries were commissioned for museums and both explore traditions in Native American ceramic-making:[33] Pott Starr (1990), which also incorporates animation, and Siskyavi: The Place of Chasms (1991).[34]

Imagining Indians (1993): Shot on 16mm film with an entirely Native-American crew,[35] this feature-length documentary critiques representations of Native Americans in Hollywood and other forms of media.[36] Masayesva visited indigenous communities in Arizona, Montana, New Mexico, South Dakota, Washington, and the Amazon to produce the film.[37] It is considered one of Masayesva's "best-known and most critically debated film".[38]

Awards and honours

Masayesva received one of the first Intercultural Media Fellowships from the Rockefeller Foundation, allowing him to use computer animation and graphics in his films.[39] He has received the University of Arizona Distinguished Alumni Award, the Gold Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival the Two Rivers Visionary Award, the Taos Festival's distinguished filmmaker award, and the American Film Institute's Maya Deren Award.[40][41]

His video work has appeared in the Native American Film and Video Festival, the Museum of Modern Art New York, the Long Beach Museum of Art, the World Wide Video Festival, the Whitney Museum of American Art Biennial, Haus der Kulturen der Welt Berlin, the San Francisco Art Institute, and the American Indian Contemporary Arts "Festival 2000".[42][43]

Filmography
Film Year Duration (min)[44][45][46]
Hopiit 1982 15
Itam Hakim, Hopiit 1985 58
Ritual Clowns 1988 18
Pott Starr 1990 6
SISKYAVI - The place of Chasms 1991 28
Imagining Indians 1992 30
Two Faces of One Room 1992 30
TRANS-VOICES 1992 24
Paatuwaqatsi - Water, Land and Life 2007 57
gollark: If you want this, you do it.
gollark: I never implemented that.
gollark: Nope. It can't actually delete things.
gollark: No.
gollark: Minoteaur 7 has highly advanced features.

References
  1. Weatherford, Elizabeth (1995-12-01). "To End and Begin Again". Art Journal. 54 (4): 48–52. doi:10.1080/00043249.1995.10791719. ISSN 0004-3249.
  2. Veerman-Leichsenring, Annette (1996-01-01). "A Popoloc Riddle". Studies in American Indian Literatures. 8 (4): 1–12. JSTOR 20739366.
  3. Weatherford, Elizabeth (1995-12-01). "To End and Begin Again". Art Journal. 54 (4): 48–52. doi:10.1080/00043249.1995.10791719. ISSN 0004-3249.
  4. Rony, Fatimah Tobing (1994-12-01). "Victor Masayesva, Jr., and the Politics of "Imagining Indians"". Film Quart. 48 (2): 20–33. doi:10.2307/1213093. ISSN 0015-1386. JSTOR 1213093.
  5. Bahn-Coblans, Sonja (1996-01-01). "Reading with a Eurocentric Eye the 'Seeing with a Native Eye': Victor Masayesva's Itam Hakim, Hopiit". Studies in American Indian Literatures. 8 (4): 47–60. JSTOR 20739370.
  6. Padget, Martin (2013-05-01). "Hopi Film, the Indigenous Aesthetic and Environmental Justice: Victor Masayesva Jr.'s Paatuwaqatsi – Water, Land and Life". Journal of American Studies. 47 (2): 363–384. doi:10.1017/S0021875813000674. ISSN 0021-8758.
  7. Padget, Martin (2013-05-01). "Hopi Film, the Indigenous Aesthetic and Environmental Justice: Victor Masayesva Jr.'s Paatuwaqatsi – Water, Land and Life". Journal of American Studies. 47 (2): 363–384. doi:10.1017/S0021875813000674. ISSN 0021-8758.
  8. Weatherford, Elizabeth (1995-12-01). "To End and Begin Again". Art Journal. 54 (4): 48–52. doi:10.1080/00043249.1995.10791719. ISSN 0004-3249.
  9. Sands, Kathleen M.; Lewis, Allison Sekaquaptewa (1990-01-01). "Seeing with a Native Eye: A Hopi Film on Hopi". American Indian Quarterly. 14 (4): 387–396. doi:10.2307/1184965. JSTOR 1184965.
  10. Weatherford, Elizabeth (1995-12-01). "To End and Begin Again". Art Journal. 54 (4): 48–52. doi:10.1080/00043249.1995.10791719. ISSN 0004-3249.
  11. Weatherford, Elizabeth (1995-12-01). "To End and Begin Again". Art Journal. 54 (4): 48–52. doi:10.1080/00043249.1995.10791719. ISSN 0004-3249.
  12. Rony, Fatimah Tobing (1994-12-01). "Victor Masayesva, Jr., and the Politics of "Imagining Indians"". Film Quart. 48 (2): 20–33. doi:10.2307/1213093. ISSN 0015-1386. JSTOR 1213093.
  13. Weatherford, Elizabeth (1995-12-01). "To End and Begin Again". Art Journal. 54 (4): 48–52. doi:10.1080/00043249.1995.10791719. ISSN 0004-3249.
  14. Rony, Fatimah Tobing (1994-12-01). "Victor Masayesva, Jr., and the Politics of "Imagining Indians"". Film Quart. 48 (2): 20–33. doi:10.2307/1213093. ISSN 0015-1386. JSTOR 1213093.
  15. Veerman-Leichsenring, Annette (1996-01-01). "A Popoloc Riddle". Studies in American Indian Literatures. 8 (4): 1–12. JSTOR 20739366.
  16. "Electronic Arts Intermix: Victor Masayesva, Jr. : Biography". www.eai.org. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  17. Weatherford, Elizabeth (1995-12-01). "To End and Begin Again". Art Journal. 54 (4): 48–52. doi:10.1080/00043249.1995.10791719. ISSN 0004-3249.
  18. Weatherford, Elizabeth (1995-12-01). "To End and Begin Again". Art Journal. 54 (4): 48–52. doi:10.1080/00043249.1995.10791719. ISSN 0004-3249.
  19. Sands, Kathleen M.; Lewis, Allison Sekaquaptewa (1990-01-01). "Seeing with a Native Eye: A Hopi Film on Hopi". American Indian Quarterly. 14 (4): 387–396. doi:10.2307/1184965. JSTOR 1184965.
  20. Bahn-Coblans, Sonja (1996-01-01). "Reading with a Eurocentric Eye the 'Seeing with a Native Eye': Victor Masayesva's Itam Hakim, Hopiit". Studies in American Indian Literatures. 8 (4): 47–60. JSTOR 20739370.
  21. Padget, Martin (2013-05-01). "Hopi Film, the Indigenous Aesthetic and Environmental Justice: Victor Masayesva Jr.'s Paatuwaqatsi – Water, Land and Life". Journal of American Studies. 47 (2): 363–384. doi:10.1017/S0021875813000674. ISSN 0021-8758.
  22. Weatherford, Elizabeth (1995-12-01). "To End and Begin Again". Art Journal. 54 (4): 48–52. doi:10.1080/00043249.1995.10791719. ISSN 0004-3249.
  23. Weatherford, Elizabeth (1995-12-01). "To End and Begin Again". Art Journal. 54 (4): 48–52. doi:10.1080/00043249.1995.10791719. ISSN 0004-3249.
  24. Sands, Kathleen M.; Lewis, Allison Sekaquaptewa (1990-01-01). "Seeing with a Native Eye: A Hopi Film on Hopi". American Indian Quarterly. 14 (4): 387–396. doi:10.2307/1184965. JSTOR 1184965.
  25. "Electronic Arts Intermix: Victor Masayesva, Jr. : Biography". www.eai.org. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  26. Bahn-Coblans, Sonja (1996-01-01). "Reading with a Eurocentric Eye the 'Seeing with a Native Eye': Victor Masayesva's Itam Hakim, Hopiit". Studies in American Indian Literatures. 8 (4): 47–60. JSTOR 20739370.
  27. Weatherford, Elizabeth (1995-12-01). "To End and Begin Again". Art Journal. 54 (4): 48–52. doi:10.1080/00043249.1995.10791719. ISSN 0004-3249.
  28. Padget, Martin (2013-05-01). "Hopi Film, the Indigenous Aesthetic and Environmental Justice: Victor Masayesva Jr.'s Paatuwaqatsi – Water, Land and Life". Journal of American Studies. 47 (2): 363–384. doi:10.1017/S0021875813000674. ISSN 0021-8758.
  29. Weatherford, Elizabeth (1995-12-01). "To End and Begin Again". Art Journal. 54 (4): 48–52. doi:10.1080/00043249.1995.10791719. ISSN 0004-3249.
  30. Sands, Kathleen M.; Lewis, Allison Sekaquaptewa (1990-01-01). "Seeing with a Native Eye: A Hopi Film on Hopi". American Indian Quarterly. 14 (4): 387–396. doi:10.2307/1184965. JSTOR 1184965.
  31. Rony, Fatimah Tobing (1994-12-01). "Victor Masayesva, Jr., and the Politics of "Imagining Indians"". Film Quart. 48 (2): 20–33. doi:10.2307/1213093. ISSN 0015-1386. JSTOR 1213093.
  32. Padget, Martin (2013-05-01). "Hopi Film, the Indigenous Aesthetic and Environmental Justice: Victor Masayesva Jr.'s Paatuwaqatsi – Water, Land and Life". Journal of American Studies. 47 (2): 363–384. doi:10.1017/S0021875813000674. ISSN 0021-8758.
  33. "Electronic Arts Intermix: Victor Masayesva, Jr". www.eai.org. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  34. Weatherford, Elizabeth (1995-12-01). "To End and Begin Again". Art Journal. 54 (4): 48–52. doi:10.1080/00043249.1995.10791719. ISSN 0004-3249.
  35. "Electronic Arts Intermix: Imagining Indians, Victor Masayesva, Jr". www.eai.org. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  36. Padget, Martin (2013-05-01). "Hopi Film, the Indigenous Aesthetic and Environmental Justice: Victor Masayesva Jr.'s Paatuwaqatsi – Water, Land and Life". Journal of American Studies. 47 (2): 363–384. doi:10.1017/S0021875813000674. ISSN 0021-8758.
  37. "Electronic Arts Intermix: Imagining Indians, Victor Masayesva, Jr". www.eai.org. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  38. Padget, Martin (2013-05-01). "Hopi Film, the Indigenous Aesthetic and Environmental Justice: Victor Masayesva Jr.'s Paatuwaqatsi – Water, Land and Life". Journal of American Studies. 47 (2): 363–384. doi:10.1017/S0021875813000674. ISSN 0021-8758.
  39. Bahn-Coblans, Sonja (1996-01-01). "Reading with a Eurocentric Eye the 'Seeing with a Native Eye': Victor Masayesva's Itam Hakim, Hopiit". Studies in American Indian Literatures. 8 (4): 47–60. JSTOR 20739370.
  40. "Electronic Arts Intermix: Victor Masayesva, Jr. : Biography". www.eai.org. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  41. Resources, Documentary Educational. "DER Filmmaker: Victor Masayesva, Jr". www.der.org. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  42. "Electronic Arts Intermix: Victor Masayesva, Jr. : Biography". www.eai.org. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  43. Resources, Documentary Educational. "DER Filmmaker: Victor Masayesva, Jr". www.der.org. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  44. "Electronic Arts Intermix: Victor Masayesva, Jr". www.eai.org. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  45. "Victor Masayesva, Jr. Ritual Clowns. 1988 | MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  46. Esserres, vince_jamal (at) hotmail (dot) com / Section _Raphik / les. "PAATUWAQATSI : WATER, LAND AND LIFE". www.filmfestamiens.org. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
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