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Shan Kive

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One of my personal favorite things about working in the collections is uncovering. I use the word uncovering to avoid another word that wants to fall right out of the mouth due to its fun, romantic associations; "discovery." Technically, uncovering is a synonym for discovery, but I personally feel the term "discovery" has in many ways been tainted. In particular in association with a Mr. Christopher Columbus. This association is only heightened in the context of the photograph shown below. Ute Indian Camp, Garden of the Gods, Shan Kive. By Stewart Photography. Taken 1913 We recently uncovered this photo in our flat file space, and we were immediately taken in. It is incredible to be able to look at a photograph such as this one that so clearly shows our area, Colorado Springs, in the context of 1912. The physical setting is mainly given by Colorado Springs most famous landmark shown in the background, Garden of the Gods, our unique geological relic that is ac...
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Stories in Yarn

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Last week, on July 5th, Jeanne Steiner's block B summer weaving class popped in for a visit to the FAC to admire seven textiles from our collection. The invitation had been in place for quite a while, and over the previous couple of weeks, we were tasked with learning proper textile handling methods, investigating weaving techniques and traditions of the American Southwest, and researching specific information pertaining to the seven textiles. Upon gathering this information, we organized a presentation for Jeanne's weaving students. Earlier in the summer we had invited Jeanne to come meet with us about what she would like us to share with the class and she encouraged us to basically talk their ears off. So that's what we did. We prepared for our talkathon through a variety of processes. First, we located and pulled each individual textile to get a better sense of the pieces themselves. To gather basic details such as the textile's locality, date, collector, d...
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Emergence, a painting by Andrew Velez

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Hello! It's Amber here. This post is going to be the first of our weekly "museum picks" section of the blog, where Suzy and I will each pick a favorite piece currently on display at the FAC, and share some thoughts, photos and information about them (with copyright permission of course!) This week, I have chosen a painting by local artist Andrew Velez: Emergence , 2010, acrylic on canvas. It is currently on loan, courtesy of the artist, in our gallery of Southwest art. I was captured by Velez's sharp details that continue through the planes as they recede in space. I love the sharp contrast between the warm greens and earth tones in the foreground, and the cool icy blue tones in the background, and the balance created by this stark juxtaposition of color temperature. I love how the saguaro in the forefront is cut off at the top, giving a sense of a full, overflowing landscape, and a sense that nature is uncontainable. Velez's detailed brushwork is incredibly...
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