Post by blackcrowheart on Feb 21, 2006 14:52:50 GMT -5
Fakes flooding Indian arts
Regulation proposed: N.M. legislator seeks a uniform stamp to identify
genuine handicrafts
By Susan Montoya Bryan
www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_3527688
<http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_3527688> ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -
Juanita L. Peters sits on a sidewalk beneath the historic portal in
Albuquerque's Old Town, hoping the few tourists wandering the plaza will
stop to look at her handmade turquoise earrings and necklaces.
A proposal sent back to committee by the New Mexico Legislature could
have made things easier for the Santo Domingo Pueblo resident and other
American Indian artists who rely on their crafts to make a living.
Rep. Patricia Lundstrom's bill would set aside funding for the state
Licensing and Regulation Department to study and propose rules to
establish a certification stamp for arts and crafts made by Indians in
New Mexico. The aim is to boost sales and ensure the expanding market
isn't tainted by fakes.
One other state, Alaska, sponsors a similar program guaranteeing
buyers that items bearing a ''Silver Hand'' seal are handcrafted by an
Alaskan Eskimo, Aleut or other Indian artist.
The New Mexico legislation stems from complaints about imitation art
sold in Santa Fe and Gallup, which is known as a hub for collectible
jewelry produced by artists from nearby Zuni Pueblo, the Navajo Nation
and the Hopi reservation in eastern Arizona.
State and federal laws already prohibit misrepresenting fake Indian
art or jewelry as authentic, but Lundstrom, a Democrat from Gallup, said
they aren't enough. ''It's a big problem. There's no way to regulate
it.''
The Indian art market has estimated sales of more than $1 billion
nationally.
Squash blossom necklaces and bolo ties can be found at roadside
stands across the Navajo Nation, which spans parts of Arizona, New
Mexico and Utah. Trading posts along Route 66 in western New Mexico sell
baskets and rugs as well as jewelry from the Zuni and Hopi tribes. Shops
in plazas in Albuquerque and Santa Fe are filled with fetish necklaces,
silver bracelets, rings, sand paintings, pottery and kachinas.
Some already come with cards that read: ''Certificate of
authenticity. Guaranteed Native American made.''
''With the stamp [under consideration], that is like icing on the
cake,'' said Michael Cerletti, New Mexico's tourism secretary.
''It would be like the Good Housekeeping seal of
approval,'' said Cerletti, adding that Indian culture is one of the top
reasons people visit the state.
Michael Garcia, a lapidary artist and vice chairman of the
Southwestern Association for Indian Arts, said previous attempts at a
certification program in New Mexico didn't work.
''To me, the problem is not with identifying the art and who makes
it. The problem is the fakes. They need to stop it at the borders,'' he
said.
Garcia stopped making jewelry in the late 1970s because imported
imitation pieces flooded the U.S. market. He started up again after the
Indian Arts and Crafts Act, which prohibits sellers from misrepresenting
imitation art or jewelry as genuine, was passed in 1990.
But he still hears instances of Indian work being copied. ''I call it
ripping off a culture,'' he said.
A key to stopping the market from being infiltrated by fakes is
awareness, Garcia said.
''Know who you're buying from. Buy direct from the artist. If you buy
from a gallery, ask where the artist is from,'' he said.
Garcia and the arts association are working to get Indian artists
more involved with museums and galleries nationwide to open markets and
educate buyers.
And the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, which oversees the federal act,
is working with attorneys general on brochures aimed at protecting
authentic Indian art.
Garcia and others pointed out that Santa Fe, Albuquerque's Old Town
and other tourist destinations would not be what they are today without
Indian art.
''My customers come here for the art, especially the art,'' said Tom
Baker, owner of Tanner Chaney Gallery in Albuquerque. ''It's huge. How
do you put a price tag on it?''
Regulation proposed: N.M. legislator seeks a uniform stamp to identify
genuine handicrafts
By Susan Montoya Bryan
www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_3527688
<http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_3527688> ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -
Juanita L. Peters sits on a sidewalk beneath the historic portal in
Albuquerque's Old Town, hoping the few tourists wandering the plaza will
stop to look at her handmade turquoise earrings and necklaces.
A proposal sent back to committee by the New Mexico Legislature could
have made things easier for the Santo Domingo Pueblo resident and other
American Indian artists who rely on their crafts to make a living.
Rep. Patricia Lundstrom's bill would set aside funding for the state
Licensing and Regulation Department to study and propose rules to
establish a certification stamp for arts and crafts made by Indians in
New Mexico. The aim is to boost sales and ensure the expanding market
isn't tainted by fakes.
One other state, Alaska, sponsors a similar program guaranteeing
buyers that items bearing a ''Silver Hand'' seal are handcrafted by an
Alaskan Eskimo, Aleut or other Indian artist.
The New Mexico legislation stems from complaints about imitation art
sold in Santa Fe and Gallup, which is known as a hub for collectible
jewelry produced by artists from nearby Zuni Pueblo, the Navajo Nation
and the Hopi reservation in eastern Arizona.
State and federal laws already prohibit misrepresenting fake Indian
art or jewelry as authentic, but Lundstrom, a Democrat from Gallup, said
they aren't enough. ''It's a big problem. There's no way to regulate
it.''
The Indian art market has estimated sales of more than $1 billion
nationally.
Squash blossom necklaces and bolo ties can be found at roadside
stands across the Navajo Nation, which spans parts of Arizona, New
Mexico and Utah. Trading posts along Route 66 in western New Mexico sell
baskets and rugs as well as jewelry from the Zuni and Hopi tribes. Shops
in plazas in Albuquerque and Santa Fe are filled with fetish necklaces,
silver bracelets, rings, sand paintings, pottery and kachinas.
Some already come with cards that read: ''Certificate of
authenticity. Guaranteed Native American made.''
''With the stamp [under consideration], that is like icing on the
cake,'' said Michael Cerletti, New Mexico's tourism secretary.
''It would be like the Good Housekeeping seal of
approval,'' said Cerletti, adding that Indian culture is one of the top
reasons people visit the state.
Michael Garcia, a lapidary artist and vice chairman of the
Southwestern Association for Indian Arts, said previous attempts at a
certification program in New Mexico didn't work.
''To me, the problem is not with identifying the art and who makes
it. The problem is the fakes. They need to stop it at the borders,'' he
said.
Garcia stopped making jewelry in the late 1970s because imported
imitation pieces flooded the U.S. market. He started up again after the
Indian Arts and Crafts Act, which prohibits sellers from misrepresenting
imitation art or jewelry as genuine, was passed in 1990.
But he still hears instances of Indian work being copied. ''I call it
ripping off a culture,'' he said.
A key to stopping the market from being infiltrated by fakes is
awareness, Garcia said.
''Know who you're buying from. Buy direct from the artist. If you buy
from a gallery, ask where the artist is from,'' he said.
Garcia and the arts association are working to get Indian artists
more involved with museums and galleries nationwide to open markets and
educate buyers.
And the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, which oversees the federal act,
is working with attorneys general on brochures aimed at protecting
authentic Indian art.
Garcia and others pointed out that Santa Fe, Albuquerque's Old Town
and other tourist destinations would not be what they are today without
Indian art.
''My customers come here for the art, especially the art,'' said Tom
Baker, owner of Tanner Chaney Gallery in Albuquerque. ''It's huge. How
do you put a price tag on it?''