Funding for COLORES was provided in part by: Frederick Hammersley Fund, New Mexico PBS Great Southwestern Arts & Education Endowment Fund, and the Nellita E. Walker Fund for KNME-TV at the Albuquerque Community Foundation... ...New Mexico Arts, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, and by the National Endowment for the Arts... and Viewers Like You.

THIS TIME, ON COLORES!

DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHER NATHANIEL TETSURO PAOLINELLI CAPTURES THE REALITY, DIVERSITY, AND VIBRANCY OF ALBUQUERQUE'S CULTURE.

THE INSTITUTE OF AMERICAN INDIAN ARTS "MAKING HISTORY" SERIES CONTINUES WITH ARTIST AND PUEBLO LEADER, GEORGE RIVERA.

WHO, IN ADDITION TO BRINGING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TO HIS PUEBLO AS THE GOVERNOR OF POJOAQUE, CONTINUES HIS WORK AS A SCULPTOR AND ENTREPRENEUR.

EXPERIMENTING, GROWING, AND CONNECTING, AMBER N. FORD USES PHOTOGRAPHY TO MAKE A MEANINGFUL IMPACT ON HER COMMUNITY.

PHOTOGRAPHER RICK BRAVEHEART FINDS THE LAND HAS MANY STORIES TO TELL.

IT'S ALL AHEAD ON COLORES!

>>Faith: Do you always bring your camera around with you?

>>Nathaniel: I always bring it just in case I see somebody that I want to take a photo of.

I'm really just kind of looking for people that have a certain vibe, a certain look to them.

I know right away when I see someone.

From there, I'll just go over and start talking to them and usually make a picture.

The first time I actually asked someone if I could take their photo.

When I was starting with street photography, this woman yelled at me after I asked her and it kind of discouraged me for a minute, but I think if you asked 10 people, probably seven will say yes.

>>Faith: How has your photography evolved since you first started?

>>Nathaniel: When I first started, I was taking a lot of candid photos of people and situations and scenes, and I started to just move closer and kind of insert myself into what was happening and that's where I feel like I kind of have the most fun, just kind of being part of whatever is happening.

>>Faith: Why don't you pose your subjects?

>>Nathaniel: I just want them to be themselves.

That's why I don't pose them.

It's more real to me and it's more authentic and also I wouldn't know how to pose them properly anyway.

>>Faith: So then what makes for a good photograph?

>>Nathaniel: For me, it's not so much the background, it's really the subject.

It's the person, and I don't even know if it's good sometimes, but if I have a really good connection with somebody, I tend to like the picture more.

>>Faith: How do you know you have a good connection with somebody?

>>Nathaniel: I can feel it.

I mean, if we're hitting it off, having a nice conversation, just being real.

I don't have any bad intentions when I go in there and I think people can feel that and see that, and I'm just there to hang out and I want to take their photo because I think they're cool.

>>Faith: What's your favorite place or scene in Albuquerque to photograph?

>>Nathaniel: I really like photographing downtown.

I like Central Avenue downtown and it's really magical sometimes.

All the people out there, all the cars out there, it's exciting and that's where I like to be, right where all that kind of action is happening.

>>Faith: You did the rodeo too, right?

>>Nathaniel: And the rodeo.

Yes.

I also like rodeos too.

>>Faith: What do you like about the rodeo?

>>Nathaniel: It's just the intensity of it.

There's a lot of craziness going on, and when you're really up close to that, those animals are huge.

I just like it.

I think the cowboys look really cool.

I like hanging out at the rodeo, photographing not so much even the riding, I like the people.

I think what I like the most is just being somewhere out of my element, some other environment with my camera, but I always like permission to be there because I don't want to feel like I'm intruding on someone's space I want them to be okay with me being around.

You get a more true photo out of that because if you don't have permission to be there and someone doesn't want you photographing them, you can feel it, and you can see it in the pictures too.

And the people that I photograph, I love them all and I want them to like me too, so I just want everyone to have a good time.

>>Faith: What do you love about photographing low riders?

Because you photograph them a lot.

>>Nathaniel: I do photograph them a lot.

I think the cars for one thing are just amazing works of art.

They're so intricate, and then these guys and gals really spend so much time and effort making them what they are.

They're just a great spectacle to see coming down the street.

And I like the people that drive them even more though.

And I think that's really what puts me there is the people.

And the cars are just an added bonus because you get these really amazing, interesting people and these awesome beautiful cars.

You put that together in a good setting like downtown Albuquerque, and it's a good time.

It's a good place to be.

The people that I photograph maybe are not represented as much in mainstream culture, but I just find them so interesting and so welcoming and easy to get along with and just overall good people.

That's where I feel most comfortable with my camera.

It's exciting for me and that's kind of why I seek subjects like that out.

I don't really have any hobbies other than photography.

There isn't anything on the side that I'm really thinking about or concentrating on, and right now that's just, it's everything in my world.

I try to take pictures, not every day, but almost every day I'm photographing something.

I just can't stop.

I don't know why I've got this drive for it, but it turned on at some point and I'm just going with it.

CARA ROMERO I'm gonna be in the photo and they are going to be pressing the button and they're going to help us.

You guys come forward a little bit.

GEORGE RIVERA Well, I was going to Santa Fe High School, and I took an art class with Phil Carcious.

I just really fell in love with making pottery on the wheel and the arts in general.

And so, he along with Roxanne Swentzell and Rina Swentzell convinced me to enroll at the Institute of American Indian Arts.

That was my first move after high school was to the Institute of American Indian Arts.

I really just was following the ceramics path and so most of what I got good at was three- dimensional art.

Art history really was the most important thing I could have done in terms of getting educated, was to be around all of these artists from around Indian country here in the US and Canada.

Just being exposed to the different cultures and languages and perspectives.

Having friends from across the country that were artists from all these different tribes really gave me probably the ability to understand diversity but also to focus a lot on Native people and also Native issues.

Art history really was an important class for me because then I started seeing art throughout the world and I eventually went and saw all that art around the world in the museums and different places that it exists.

The art history thing really opened up my mind and my eyes to travel.

When I came back to the pueblo from living in Europe in 1987, my goal was to do a cultural center and start to bring back adobe construction and pueblo style architecture.

And so along with that came the need for business development in order to fund the social programs and some of the cultural programs that we were talking about.

There really wasn't a strong revenue source so I got involved in the business side of it and we created many businesses for Pojoaque, and I created a cultural center and museum for my tribe, the Pueblo of Pojoaque.

And then I took the arts into the tribal business side and created the largest resort with the largest Native collection in the area inside of Buffalo Thunder.

And so, it was really about cultural preservation and when the cultural center started, there was a need for classes in the traditional arts.

And we went onto create a museum and ongoing exhibits.

So, really, we became a destination for the arts here in the Santa Fe area and the pueblo area.

So, I'm really glad that I put a lot of years into developing the sharing of the pueblo and Native arts vision that we had.

And in sharing that, many, many students have come out of the cultural programs that we've had.

Some have even gone on to become international superstars in the art world.

But the whole time that I was working on these social issues, art was always part of what I was doing.

I have my studio here.

I'll be making pieces late at night, during the weekends- always working.

So, I think that you know, in terms of what I'll be remembered by if that's what legacy is, just a workaholic in the art world.

And definitely a big contributor to many of the things that the pueblo people have today in terms of economic development.

Amber N. Ford: I love photography because it can be both a documentation of what's already around us, or you can get very creative and fantastical and create scenes.

I tried other art mediums like painting and drawing and ceramics and things like that, and photography is what I liked, loved the most and I was the best in.

And it was what made the most sense for me when it came to figuring out something that would be a career, but also still fun.

I get commissioned to take photographs for other people, but also, I take photographs for myself as well.

And getting hired as a freelancer for places like The New York Times, The Washington Post, most recent Vox Media.

I really enjoy that because every assignment is different.

I get to meet new people, go to new places.

Shooting for a publication can be difficult because you never know what you're gonna walk into, but that also can be the exciting thing.

I never know really what the subject looks like a lot of the times.

Sometimes I'll try to like look them up and yeah, maybe I can find them on LinkedIn to get just get an idea.

But a lot of time it's like, yeah, I'm walking in and just like, hey, let's do the thing.

Also, I've been able over the last couple of years work with some of the larger organizations in Cleveland, institutions.

I just never imagined as a student that now, six years after undergrad, that I would be working with some of the people and some of the institutions that I'm working with now, which is really exciting and really interesting.

I'm interested as I continue to develop within my artistic practice to, to be more considered as a contemporary artist or conceptual artist than just a photographer because I want to be able to choose whatever medium makes the most sense for the concept.

An idea that I have versus trying to make photography always fit.

Like, yes, I can do a lot with photography, but sometimes other mediums do make more sense and I want to give myself the, the time and the space for that experimentation to figure out what works the best.

Like right now for my residency at MOCA Cleveland, my end goal is to have an installation that has both objects and audio versus having a photography exhibition.

MOCA has provided a studio space for me to create work, but also a classroom space for me to do as whatever I please.

So, what I've decided is to create this kind of prompt within the classroom so that people can read a little bit of my thinking and what I'm interested in and want to talk about.

And there are prompted questions for people to participate in if they choose to.

I think that grief unites us because it's something that whether we want to go through or not, we all, we all go through it, right?

We all experience it in some type of degree.

And in that thought, we can also potentially help each other within that process as well.

And I want to encourage people to not just celebrate people when they're gone, but also think about how can we celebrate ourselves and each other while we're still here?

It just really makes me happy that the entire wall is almost full.

That just solidifies the fact that people did need this and I was happy to use this space and opportunity to facilitate that for other people.

Work can come in many different shapes or forms, you know, and as an artist, I just want to continue to grow and, and make things that are, are relevant, um, to me and the time and the people and the community that's around me.

If you're a photographer, in a way, you're a storyteller, and I just thought the land had so many stories to tell, and nature is in danger.

And I would see it more and more when I was out in nature, so I also wanted to find a way to tell its story and hopefully make a difference with some people in how they perceive it.

The national parks service has a program which is for artists and residents where you can apply to be an artist, live in the park.

So, at night it would be just you and the coyotes.

So ever since I've done 16 residencies in 16 different parks and national monuments.

I'm not very good at going someplace for one day to take pictures.

I want to convey the personality and the energy of a place.

So, to be in a national park for six weeks.

The land starts to talk to you.

You see it in different ways.

I'm giving thanks to the land for welcoming us, tell it we will be considerate and respectful of all of its creatures and all of its plants and show it in the best light possible to others not just the beauty of the land but to ask for Its protection in the future, I hope.

So, let's walk a little.

This is like going to church for me.

It is.

There's so much beauty.

I'm always looking for something that calls to me.

Not visually, but energetically, spiritually, just something that says stop and look at me.

I mean just that scene to me is just a beautiful portrait of a tree that stood there for decades.

I believe there's a spirit and an energy in everything whether it's a flower or a tree or a rock, and most people don't have the time to listen quietly to the land and all these little beautiful plants or creatures to say, hey, look at me.

I mean, even these little daisies.

Well, I just see this beautiful arrangement.

It's like this family of contrast.

Normally flowers don't talk to me as much, but these happen to, and it's just like greeting the day.

The sun is out.

They're just, like, looking up at the sun.

It looks glorious to me.

There is a sacredness to this, all of it, and this supports us and life.

People don't think about it.

We're so dependent on nature like this.

You just watch the creatures and the calm, to sustain themselves and then it kind of decomposes and it feeds the earth which creates nutrients and it's a beautiful cycle and it is also in danger which is hard to watch.

The national parks are large.

They're spectacular and a lot of people travel to them, but metro parks are a little piece of nature that everyone can get to easily.

It's a big deal for a lot of people to go to a national park, But the metro parks like right here.

Most cities I go to, they have some kind of park and so people can quickly get away into nature and just have a little touch of It.

It doesn't have a much different of a feel than a national park in a way if you connect with nature.

I'm as happy here as I was in Badlands National Park or Yellowstone.

There's something ancient about this.

Tree roots to me are like the history of the park.

They're so grounded.

They hold the earth together and you can see this.

I don't know how old that tree is.

Maybe a hundred years?

And you can see how it's survived.

It's like fingers or toes that are just gripping the Earth.

That is a beautiful water drop on this leaf, that the sun is hitting and they catch the light like diamonds.

Even this little leaf right here.

Just the drops around the edges and this one here, it's all across it.

I know it's funny someone can get so happy looking at drops of water on a plant and I'm just -- it's nice to see.

It's just drops of water, but no more brilliant than the Grand Canyon.

Glorious.

That is gorgeous.

It's absolute excitement.

I'm in the right place.

I've been accepted and nature is welcoming to me.

There are places where I go and it's not right and I always ask permission before I make a photograph.

So there's been times it's not right, I don't feel like I got permission.

There are other times like this that's just -- it can make you a little teary.

It couldn't be more perfect.

I've been photographing for a long time, and I've never had a single day that was like that, but I do believe it's because I ask permission to be there from the blessed land, and I believe that's part of it.

So, the land had stories to tell, and I think we got some unusual stories.

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Funding for COLORES was provided in part by: Frederick Hammersley Fund, New Mexico PBS Great Southwestern Arts & Education Endowment Fund, and the Nellita E. Walker Fund for KNME-TV at the Albuquerque Community Foundation... ...New Mexico Arts, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, and by the National Endowment for the Arts... and Viewers Like You.