-
Interview with Roger Tsabetsaye
Zuni artist Roger Tsabetsaye comes from a very talented family. His sister, Edith Tsaybetsaye is known around the world for her needlepoint work. However, when you visit with Roger you realize right away he is not a jewelry maker, or a painter, but an artist. This fascinating man sees things a little differently than most of us .
- Perry Null Trading
When did you get interested in jewelry?
- Roger Tsaybetsaye
I was always drawn to art and went to the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York.
- Perry Null Trading
When were you there?
- Roger Tsaybetsaye
In 1963, I was there for two years. I studied silver and metal making process.
- Perry Null Trading
How did someone from Zuni end up in Rochester, New York?
- Roger Tsaybetsaye
I was going to school in Zuni and the curriculum changed. Academics started to be pushed with limited emphasis on art. I knew that art was what I wanted to pursue and was encouraged to enroll at the Albuquerque Indian School.
- Perry Null Trading
Did you do well in school?
- Roger Tsaybetsaye
I was always interested in learning. In elementary school I was the first kid to understand English. Back then all of us Zuni kids entered school only knowing Zuni. However, school wasn’t always easy for me and on occasion I would get into trouble.
- Perry Null Trading
Before you left to the Albuquerque Indian School were you doing any art in Zuni?
- Roger Tsaybetsaye
I started out painting. I was part of a group of young artists who made the original Thunderbird design for the high school. Later I made the symbol for the Zuni Veterans of all Foreign Wars.
- Perry Null Trading
What sparked your interest in art?
- Roger Tsaybetsaye
My culture, it is filled with spiritual symbols and figures.
- Perry Null Trading
So you get to the Albuquerque Indian School, how does this experience move you forward in your pursuit of art?
- Roger Tsaybetsaye
This school encourages art, so it was really the right place for me.
- Perry Null Trading
What kind of art are you doing here, painting?
- Roger Tsaybetsaye
Yes, I was painting again. I did some art for the school yearbook that was a Zuni Rain Priest making rain sticks and talking to a young man and woman, representing rebirth of past. That led to my art really being recognized for the first time.
- Perry Null Trading
What happened?
- Roger Tsaybetsaye
I became a recipient of a Rockefeller Scholarship that recognized art students with the most promise.
- Perry Null Trading
Where did the scholarship take you?
- Roger Tsaybetsaye
To the University of Arizona in the summer of 1962. I began doing lots of abstract art that incorporated my culture, things like Mudheads, Rain Priests a return to the spiritual world. The program had about 25 of us and I took part of this course for three summers, it really took Indigenous Art in new directions.
- Perry Null Trading
So you go to the Rochester Institute of Technology after this experience?
- Roger Tsaybetsaye
Yes, this is when I begin making jewelry. Something that resembles Traditional Arts, but at the same time is Roger Tsabetsaye art. My work is not defined by Zuni but instead my interpretation.
- Perry Null Trading
Today, how much jewelry are you making?
- Roger Tsaybetsaye
My Grandson has me doing more unique pieces, something that is going to be very collectible. This summer I believe a Coffee Set I made is going to be on exhibit by the Peabody Museum.
- Perry Null Trading
Thank you for taking the time to visit with us.