News from MIAC/Lab

AUGUST 26, 2025

The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture presents Màatakuyma: Now It is Becoming Clearer to Me, a compelling exhibition of works by Hopi photographer and filmmaker Duwawisioma (Victor Masayesva Jr.). The title reflects the artist’s lifelong exploration of “existence” and “being” through Hopi ancestral traditions in the modern world. Màatakuyma is on view August 31, 2025 through April 19, 2026.

Featuring images created throughout Duwawisioma’s distinguished career, Màatakuyma blends vibrant color, layered compositions, and cultural symbolism to highlight Hopi culture, history, and agricultural practices. In his work, ancestral time is a vortex—interwoven with modernity—where elements such as cars, casinos, and electronic communication both threaten and challenge traditions, yet must be brought into harmony.

Hopi sovereignty, identity, and the deep relationship between humans and the natural world are central to Duwawisioma’s vision. His art honors corn, water, wind, and land as essential sources of sustenance, reminding viewers that the local is universal, and that harmony is achieved through living in alignment with nature.

Born in 1951 in Hotevilla, Arizona, Duwawisioma attended the Horace Mann School in New York City and studied English literature and photography at Princeton University. Returning home in 1978, he has been an active participant in the civic and religious life of his community. An award-winning filmmaker, his works include Itam Hakim Hoplit (1984), selected for the National Film Archives in 2023, and Imagining Indians (1992), a groundbreaking critique of Native American misrepresentation in film. In 2025, he was named a Fellow of the Center for Art, Research, and Alliances (CARA) for his innovative, boundary-defying artistic practice.

The Hopi Tribe, a sovereign nation in northeastern Arizona, is comprised of twelve villages on three mesas. For centuries, the Hopi have cultivated resilience through ceremonial cycles, farming techniques adapted to an arid climate, and a steadfast commitment to preserving their culture, language, and traditions.

One highlight of the exhibition is the Natwani: Corn Story series, a twelve-image representation of the Hopi lunar agricultural calendar, underscoring corn as both a dietary and spiritual foundation of Hopi life. These images reflect cycles of ritual, planting, and harvest, as well as the balance between nature’s generosity and its challenges.

About the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture  

The Museum of Indian Arts & Culture is a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, under the leadership of the Board of Regents for the Museum of New Mexico. Programs and exhibits are generously supported by the Museum of New Mexico Foundation and our donors. The mission of the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture/Laboratory of Anthropology is to serve as a center of stewardship, knowledge, and understanding of the artistic, cultural, and intellectual achievements of the diverse peoples of the Native Southwest.