University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository Anthropology ETDs Electronic Theses and Dissertations 7-1-2009 The omeW n Potters of Mata Ortiz: Growing Empowerment through Artistic Work Kiara Maureen Hughes Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/anth_etds Part of the Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Hughes, Kiara Maureen. "The omeW n Potters of Mata Ortiz: Growing Empowerment through Artistic Work." (2009). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/anth_etds/34 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Anthropology ETDs by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE WOMEN POTTERS OF MATA ORTIZ: GROWING EMPOWERMENT THROUGH ARTISTIC WORK BY KIARA MAUREEN HUGHES B.S., Sociology, The University of Maryland, 1982 M.A., Anthropology, The University of New Mexico, 1993 DISSERTATION Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Anthropology The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico August, 2009 © 2009, Kiara Maureen Hughes iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, I thank the women, men and children of Mata Ortíz, whose abundant generosity and kindness made my life in their community memorable. Without their cooperation, this dissertation would not have been possible. For extending their gracious hospitality, wonderful meals, and an open door to their homes, my profound gratitude is extended but not limited to Amelia Martínez Flores and José Delores Tena Duran, Guadalupe Cota Delgado and Carlos Lopéz Hernández, and their children. Special acknowledgements and sincere thanks are due to the members of my dissertation committee: Dr. Louise Lamphere, who graciously gave her tireless assistance not from any obligation, but as a reflection of her selfless dedication and sincere belief in this project; to Dr. Mari Lyn Salvador, whose enthusiasm for her research and expertise in the field of art and anthropology provided the inspiration for this project; to Dr. Les Field, whose challenging questions and constructive suggestions were invaluable in shaping the form of this dissertation; to Dr. Susan Tiano, for her clear explication of feminist scholarship on women and work so essential to my analysis; to Dr. Carole Nagengast, whose encouragement and guidance through many important stages of the dissertation process is inestimable; and to Dr. Sylvia Rodriguez, for her excellent mentorship during the initial planning of this research project. I gratefully acknowledge financial support from the following departments and associations at the University of New Mexico: the Latin American and Iberian Institute; the Department of Anthropology; the Anthropology Graduate Student Association; the Graduate and Professional Student Association; and the Office of Graduate Studies. Additional thanks are due to the Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society. iv My gratitude is extended to the administrative staff of the Mexican Consulate in Albuquerque, New Mexico for providing the necessary travel documents and support throughout the fieldwork period. Thanks are also due to the National Institute of Immigration in Cuidad Juárez for processing my quarterly reports to ensure the continuation of my research. I offer my sincere appreciation to Grace Johnson at the San Diego Museum of Man, whose assistance made it possible for me to review collected papers and to photograph early examples of women’s pottery within the Spencer H. MacCallum Research Pottery Collection in July of 1997 and 1998. I thank both Dr. Mari Lyn Salvador and Grace Johnson for facilitating my access to the photographs of Juan Quezada’s early work. I am indebted to Walter P. Parks for creating the images and to Ken Hedges for his kind and professional assistance in providing these to me. I sincerely thank Spencer H. MacCallum for having the foresight to amass the collection, and Richard O’Connor, M.D. for his admirable role in its acquisition for the San Diego Museum of Man. I thank the Arizona State Museum and the El Paso Museum of Archaeology for permission to use images of pottery from their collections in this dissertation. I am grateful for my good friends and graduate school colleagues, Marcia Mikulak, Jocelyn DeHaas, Ginger John Levin, and Pamela Price Kogler whose personal experience, advice, and consistent support gave me the confidence to succeed in the completion of this project. Jocelyn DeHaas and Pamela Price Kogler both came through for me many times, generously sharing their computer and photographic expertise. My sincerest thanks go to Erika Gerety for her boundless patience and empathy with graduate v students. To Susan Pinter, I offer my gratitude for her professional skills in the formatting stage of the manuscript. I thank the numerous friends associated with the community of Mata Ortíz who enhanced my research experience. My gratitude in spirit goes to John Davis, who introduced me to many families throughout the village, to Tito Carrillo for keeping me in touch with dear friends in the village over the years and for renting his house to me, and to Julian Hernández and Máyté Lujan Soto of Nuevo Casas Grandes, who gave invaluable advice at the onset of this research. I am indebted to Richard O’Connor, Walter P. Parks, Michael Palhegyi, and Pamela Price Kogler, all of whom kindly gave me permission to publish their photographs. Special thanks to Tony Burton for his gracious permission to reproduce his map, and to Karen Lyons and her professor Dr. Tracy Warren of Eastern Washington University for creating the map of the village. My deepest love and gratitude go to my daughters Bethany McClean and Amity Johnson, my son-in-law Timothy Johnson, and my grandchildren Annalisa, Mathew, and Greyson, for the beautiful ways their love enriches my life; to my sisters Katherine, Brigid, Moira, and Maggie and my brothers Casey, Sean, and Johnny for their life-long love; and to my parents Patricia and John Hughes, for a love of learning and particularly for their encouragement to ask questions. To my parents-in-law, Adela and Benjamin Throop, I appreciate their unwavering support and love through these many years. Last and most importantly, I offer my humble gratitude to my companion, Doug McKinnon for his love and encouragement. I am particularly indebted for his perseverance through endless readings and edits. I thank him for the beautiful music that made my trips across the border so much more enjoyable. vi THE WOMEN POTTERS OF MATA ORTIZ: GROWING EMPOWERMENT THROUGH ARTISTIC WORK BY KIARA MAUREEN HUGHES ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Anthropology The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico August, 2009 THE WOMEN POTTERS OF MATA ORTIZ: GROWING EMPOWERMENT THROUGH ARTISTIC WORK BY KIARA MAUREEN HUGHES B.S., Sociology, The University of Maryland, 1982 M.A., Anthropology, The University of New Mexico, 1993 Ph.D., Anthropology, The University of New Mexico, 2009 ABSTRACT The contemporary production of pottery for global ethnic art markets set in motion a series of economic and social transformations that completely changed the Chihuahuan community of Mata Ortíz. This dynamic art form has included women and men since its initial stages over thirty-five years ago. Today, there are women of talent and expertise represented at every level of pottery execution and quality along the market continuum. Individual creativity and market recognition work together to create a context in which both men and women are able to capacitate themselves by acquiring the skills and competence needed to gain control over their artistic work, either as independent producers or in cooperation with others. In this dissertation, I bring together three aspects of their artistic work – aesthetics, production and the market – to argue that women are able to translate resources derived from their pottery work into growing personal and economic empowerment. By infusing new levels of individual expression into this mixed-gender art form, women dramatically expand the creative boundaries of the community’s viii aesthetic system. Through learning and controlling major aspects of pottery production and the subsequent income from pottery sales, they are changing their social position within the community and the economic position of their families. Women seek to expand their position within the market by actively responding to client taste and market expectation to achieve economic success. Using an ethnoaesthetic approach, I engaged the women in discussions of their art, and the underpinnings of their agency were revealed as they described their perceptions of learning their art; their artistic choices and judgments; their purposeful action in creating signature styles; controlling production processes; and their interactions within the market. These discussions formed the basis for my argument that artistic work can either enlarge women’s capacities to empower themselves or deepen their subordination, depending upon the interaction between these aspects of their artistic work. While some women gained recognition, found new markets for their art and increased their incomes, others produced in response to patriarchal demands to maximize household income, and lacked control over the income derived from their labor. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES