In the 1920s, the Denver Art Museum became one of the first art
institutions in the world to collect American Indian material
not be-cause of some historic or scientific interest, but
because of its undeniable aesthetic qualities. Nearly ninety
years later, the DAM has one of the largest and most important
collections of Native American art anywhere. But for months now,
the American Indian Art Galleries in the Ponti building devoted
to displaying the museums collection have been closed while
Native Arts curator Nancy Blomberg rethought and reinstalled it.
The new galleries underwent not only a physical change, but also
an intellectual one, explains Blomberg. The new presentation
focuses on specific artists. People go to the Modern and
Contemporary art floors or the European art floors and expect to
see artists; however, when they come to the American Indian art
galleries, they dont. I want to challenge that. I want visitors
to look at a group of, for example, Navajo weavings and see the
distinct style and han