Greetings from Arizona. I’m typing this from the comfort of my Phoenix-area office, which is something I didn’t do a lot of in May and June thanks to a hectic bit of travel. “Hectic,” in this case, is three shows in four weeks, in addition to several local Arizona events. There was a lot of typing in hotel rooms and lobbies, airplanes and airport terminals, while waiting for rideshares and even on the New Mexico Rail Runner as it cut through the desert on the way to Santa Fe. You’d be surprised how much gets written via plane, train and automobile.
The three events that I attended, all of them covered in the May and June issues of the magazine, were Native Elements and La Luz de Taos, both in New Mexico, and then Prix de West in Oklahoma. At each venue, I led a panel or Q&A session as part of the event programming. My guests were some of the best artists and scholars in the West: Curt Walters, the most prominent painter of the Grand Canyon since Thomas Moran; Sally Black, the important Apache basket weaver; Arthur Lopez, award-winning santero from New Mexico; Susan Folwell, the master potter from the Santa Clara Pueblo; Michael Grauer, Western scholar and expert on William Herbert “Buck” Dunton; Marla Allison, Native American modernist; and Ezra Tucker, Jim Vogel and Ryan Suazo, three remarkable painters. And that’s not even everyone.
Now that all three events have come and gone, I have two key observations that I want to share.
First, artists are extremely articulate when it comes to the market, their genres and mediums, thematic ideas in Western art and, obviously, their own work. We interview artists all the time, for every issue, so this doesn’t surprise me that much, but their ability to speak in front of an audience about complex and important subjects is impressive. It reinforces something we’ve always championed: meet the artists, ask questions and seek out their knowledge.
And secondly, just as articulate and thoughtful are collectors. The questions that were asked and the ideas that were raised added to these conversations in meaningful ways. Well-informed art collectors and enthusiasts benefit the entire market. It shows at the events, in the moderated panels and in our loyal readers.
We’re all in this together. Every step of the way.
Michael Clawson
Executive Editor
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