Wilburt Talashoma Sr., Koyemsi Katsina carving
Wilburt Talashoma Sr.
1929-
Hopi
Alternative Name
Wilbert Talashoma Sr.
Date
1993
Medium Specific
Cottonwood
Classification
Sculpture: Wood
Dimensions
9 x 7 x 5 in. (22.9 x 17.8 x 12.7 cm)
Accession Number
2018.35.28.298
Credit
Gift of Carol and Don Tallman
Memo / Artist Statement
Koyemsi or Mud-head Katsinas are probably the most well known of all the Hopi kachinas. They appear in almost every Hopi ceremony as clowns, interlocutors, announcers of dances, drummers, and many other roles. They nearly always accompany other kachinas; probably the only time when they do not appear with other personages is during the Night Dances. Koyemsi are usually the ones that play games with the audience to the accompaniment of rollicking tunes. These games are generally guessing games, or simple attempts to balance objects or performances of some common act. (Wright 1973: 238)
Biography
Wilburt Talashoma, Reed Clan, active ca. 1940s-present. Born ca.1920 in Bacavi, Third Mesa AZ, now Moenkopi, AZ.
"I was born in the Hopi village of Bacavi on Third Mesa. In World War II, I served in the 114th Construction Battalion in France and Germany. Today, I am a farmer, a Katsina carver, and (during the Hopi dances) a father of the Katsinas, taking care of the Katsinas between dances." "I have a place in my house where I can work alone, with my radio on...I use several knoves for carving. I like the "old timer" knives...I was the first person to become a Katsina carver in my family., and I guess I started a new tradition." (Plateau 1992).
Wilburt has won numerous awards. He once was commissioned to carve twenty-one dolls for a traveling exhibit organized by the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. His dolls are considered among "the most detailed, well proportioned and realistic." (Schaaf 2008, 302-303)
"I was born in the Hopi village of Bacavi on Third Mesa. In World War II, I served in the 114th Construction Battalion in France and Germany. Today, I am a farmer, a Katsina carver, and (during the Hopi dances) a father of the Katsinas, taking care of the Katsinas between dances." "I have a place in my house where I can work alone, with my radio on...I use several knoves for carving. I like the "old timer" knives...I was the first person to become a Katsina carver in my family., and I guess I started a new tradition." (Plateau 1992).
Wilburt has won numerous awards. He once was commissioned to carve twenty-one dolls for a traveling exhibit organized by the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. His dolls are considered among "the most detailed, well proportioned and realistic." (Schaaf 2008, 302-303)
Inscription
Wilbert Talashoma Sr., Hopi Indian, P.O. Box 217, Tuba City, AZ, 86049 (pen)