Cara Romero Explained

Cara Romero (born 1977) is an American photographer known for her digital photography that examines Indigenous life through a contemporary lens. She lives in both Santa Fe, New Mexico and the Mojave Desert.[1] She is an enrolled citizen of the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe.

Biography

Cara Romero was born in Inglewood, California. and was raised on the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe of the Chemehuevi Reservation. Her father is Chemehuevi, and her mother is German-Irish.[2] Romero majored in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Houston. She later studied photography at the Institute of American Indian Arts and commercial photography at[3] Oklahoma State University.[4] Romero is married to Cochiti Pueblo artist, Diego Romero,[5] and the couple have two sons.

Romero was the first executive director of the Chemehuevi Cultural Centre. In 2007–2010, she was an elected member of the Chemehuevi Tribal Council, she became the Chairman of the Chemehuevi Education Board, and the Chairman of the Chemehuevi Early Education Policy Council.

Life

Growing up as a child of divorce, Romero found herself living a "very bicultural, biracial experience" as she would go back and forth from living in the Chemehuevi Reservation to then a "majority-minority school district" in Houston, Texas.[6] During her time living in Houston, Romero came to the realization that the people around her did not truly understood what it meant to be Native American in America.

Romero studied Cultural Anthropology at the University of Houston in the mid-1990s. She took two elective courses that then changed her mind on Cultural Anthropology and switch to Photography. One being a Native American course where she described it as being "taught as bygone, or in historic contexts," she says. "I realized that most people didn't have a really good grasp of contemporary Native peoples."[3] Her next class was a black and white photography class where they focused on the content of the picture rather than if she could take good photos. This sparked her interest in photography, "I just knew that it's what I wanted to pursue".[3] With this interest in photography it then brought her to the Institute of American Indian Arts in 1999. She then went on to study at Oklahoma State University where she focused on digital photography. She combined what she learned at each of these institutions and created her work that we see today.

Work

Romero was influenced by the photography of Edward Curtis early in her career.[7] Later, she felt that her initial approach was not genuine to her own experience and began to experiment with different techniques and settings for her photographs. She began to use digital tools, such as Photoshop, to combine her photographs and also to use more color photography. Romero's contemporary work includes a large amount of staging to create a sense of theater and expresses a diverse picture of Native American identities. The Santa Fe New Mexican describes her work as a "sometimes whimsical, often complex examination of modern culture with a distinctly modern Indigenous worldview." The Hyperallergic[8] also describes how her photography is "non-realist photography"[9] and "prioritizes storytelling and imagination."[9]

Water Memory is part of a triptych called Water Memories.[10] Romero captured Water Memory in 2015. Cara Romero describes her photo Water Memory by saying,  "Visually, the photograph was strong, because it could be so many things"[11] "It draws out that universal thread of the Great Flood. But I'm also from a tribe that was flooded out of ancestral lands—the Army Corps of Engineers actually forcefully dragged people out of their homes to create Lake Havasu. The oral histories tell of how there were already inches of water in people's homes before they were made to leave. Now Lake Havasu feels haunted—there are homes and floodplains below—and when I submerge myself there, I feel all that water memory."[12] She also explains that Water Memory was such a turning point in her photography career by saying "It brought outcomes I never imagined possible, like the Smithsonian collecting my work." "After that, my art became an examination of things that were important to me—things that scared me but that I knew to be true. I started working with female figures. I wanted to break through the exploitative white-male lens that had dominated Native American photography for over a hundred years."[13] Cara Romero's photograph Water Memory is printed with archival pigment print and the whole Water Memories series is also printed in archival pigment print.

The Bristol Post quoted her series, Water Memories, as "breathtaking," and that it "exposes the fragile and essential relationships that exist between people, water and life."[14] Water Memories was shown in 2016 at the exhibition, "STILL," held at the Rainmaker Gallery in Bristol. Romero's work, shown at "CAPTURED" (2015) at the gallery contained both "intimate portraits and playful reconstructions of iconic masterworks."[15] Romero's powerful female portraits were featured prominently in a spring 2017 exhibition 'We Are Native Women' at Rainmaker Gallery, celebrating the strength and diversity of Native American women on the 400th anniversary of the death of Pocahontas. Her work was also presented at a conference 'Pocahontas and After' at the British Library, London in March 2017.

In the 2017 show, "Broken Boxes," held at form & concept gallery in Santa Fe, Romero's photograph, TV Indians, was described by the Albuquerque Journal as her "highest production project yet."[16] The photo juxtaposes Puebloans with media depictions of Native Americans. Romero has been awarded a fellowship by the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation in 2017,[17] In October 2018 Romero's photographs were exhibited by Rainmaker Gallery in the international exhibition 'Life Blood' as part of the Bloomsbury Festival and The Native Spirit Film Festival, London. In 2020, Romero was one of ten recipients of the NDN Collective's Radical Imagination Artist Grants[18] to install billboards and public displays of her photographs in the Los Angeles area.[19] Romero has also won several awards including ribbons at major art markets.[20]

Romero has also been featured at the Four Winds Gallery in Pittsburgh,[21] the Robert Nichols Gallery in Santa Fe,[22] [23] and the Desert X outdoor exhibit in Coachella Valley.

Awards

Public collections

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Moments of truth: Photographer Cara Romero. Abatemarco. Michael. April 16, 2022 . Pasatiempo.
  2. News: Photographer Cara Romero: Creative Conversations. Ortiz. Sara Marie. The Santa Fe New Mexican. 2017-11-29. en.
  3. Web site: Abatemarco. Michael. Moments of truth: Photographer Cara Romero. 2021-05-07. Santa Fe New Mexican. 26 March 2021 . en.
  4. News: Cara Romero - Bioneers Program Director Indigenous Knowledge. Bioneers. 2017-11-27. en-US.
  5. Web site: Joyce . Erin . Cara Romero Stands Defiant Against Institutional Categorization . Hyperallergic . 12 January 2023 . 14 January 2023.
  6. Artist talk: Cara Romero. (2022b). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-OSGiCVSBc&ab_channel=SaintLouisArtMuseum
  7. Edwards. Jason M.. September 2016. Through an Indigenous Lens. Native People's Magazine. 29. 5. 39–45. EBSCOhost.
  8. Web site: "The World I Wish People Knew": Photographer Cara Romero on Redefining Contemporary Native art. Anne. Wallentine. 6 January 2021. Hyperallergic.com. 17 March 2022.
  9. Web site: Wallentine. Anne. 2021-01-06. "The World I Wish People Knew": Photographer Cara Romero on Redefining Contemporary Native art. 2021-05-07. Hyperallergic. en-US.
  10. Web site: Cara Romero. 2021-04-09. Rainmaker Gallery. en-GB.
  11. Web site: Cara Romero Remakes Native Photography. 24 January 2019. Newmexicomagazine.org. 17 March 2022.
  12. Web site: 2019-01-24. Cara Romero Remakes Native Photography. 2021-05-07. Newmexico.org. en-us.
  13. Web site: 2019-01-24. Cara Romero Remakes Native Photography. 2021-04-09. Newmexico.org. en-us.
  14. News: Indigenous Artists Find. 11 March 2016. Bristol Post. 28 November 2017. LexisNexis.
  15. News: Photos Explore. 27 February 2015. Bristol Post. LexisNexis.
  16. Web site: New show pushes artists to 'break their boxes'. Megan Bennett . Abqjournal.com. en-US. 2017-11-29.
  17. News: Twelve native artists honored for work. 2017-04-28. The Columbian. 2017-11-29. en.
  18. News: NDN Collective Selects Ten Indigenous Radical Imagination Artists from across Turtle Island. NDN Collective. 2021-01-08. en.
  19. News: 'The World I wish People Knew': Photographer Cara Romero on Redefining Contemporary Native Art. Hyperallergic. 2020-01-08. en.
  20. News: Cara Romero - Rainmaker Gallery. Rainmaker Gallery. 2017-11-28. en-GB.
  21. News: Four Winds Gallery: The Photography of Cara Romero. xxxxx. Four Winds Gallery. 2017-11-28. en-US.
  22. News: Robert Nichols Gallery Shows Work By Photographer Cara Romero, 419 Canyon Road. 2014-12-26. The Santa Fe New Mexican. 2017-11-28. Z058. Newspapers.com.
  23. Web site: About Cara Romero. ROBERT NICHOLS GALLERY. 2017-11-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20171201080942/http://www.robertnicholsgallery.com/about-cara-romero.html. 2017-12-01. dead.
  24. [Heard Museum]
  25. Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA) "All 2023 Best of Show Winners" https://swaia.org/2023-schedule-of-events/2023-best-of-show-ceremony-and-luncheon/. Retrieved 2023-08-19.
  26. [Museum of Photographic Arts]
  27. [First American Art Magazine]
  28. [Heard Museum]
  29. [Heard Museum]
  30. Web site: The 2nd Annual Foto Awards. Las Fotos Project.
  31. [Heard Museum]
  32. [The Santa Fe New Mexican]
  33. [Heard Museum]
  34. [The Santa Fe New Mexican]
  35. [Heard Museum]
  36. [The Santa Fe New Mexican]
  37. [Heard Museum]
  38. [The Santa Fe New Mexican]
  39. [Heard Museum]
  40. [Heard Museum]
  41. [The Santa Fe New Mexican]
  42. [Heard Museum]
  43. [The Santa Fe New Mexican]
  44. [The Santa Fe New Mexican]
  45. [Heard Museum]
  46. Book: Native American Rights Fund . Native American Rights Fund . Visions of the Future: A Celebration of Young Native American Artists . Fulcrum Publishing . 2007 . 978-1555916558 . 85,86.
  47. Web site: Speaking with Light: Contemporary Indigenous Photography. Amon Carter Museum of American Art.
  48. Web site: Cara Romero. Cara Romero Photography.
  49. Web site: Asheville Art Museum expands collection with twelve new acquisitions. artdaily.com. 13 January 2024.
  50. Web site: Indigenous Futures. Autry Museum of the American West.
  51. Web site: Collection. Birmingham Museum of Art. 5 September 2023 .
  52. Web site: World Cultures. Bristol's Free Museums.
  53. Web site: Cara Romero. University of Arizona Center for Creative Photography. 11 March 2022 .
  54. Web site: Cara Romero at the Coe. Coe Arts Center. 9 December 2020 .
  55. Web site: Cara Romero. Colby College Museum of Art.
  56. Web site: When I Remember I See Red: American Indian Art and Activism in California. Crocker Art Museum.
  57. Web site: Last Indian Market. Wellesley College.
  58. Web site: Speaking with Light: Contemporary Indigenous Photography Focuses on Native Voices and Perspectives. Denver Art Museum.
  59. Web site: Last Indian Market (and Related Works). Detroit Institute of Arts.
  60. Web site: Student-led Acquisitions. St. Olaf College Flaten Art Museum.
  61. Web site: Collection. Forge Project.
  62. Web site: Power Play: Reimagining Representation in Contemporary Photography. Fralin Museum of Art.
  63. Web site: Cara Romero. Heard Museum.
  64. Web site: Oil Boom. Hood Museum.
  65. Web site: Kaa. Hood Museum.
  66. Web site: TV Indians. Hood Museum.
  67. Web site: News Release - At The Huntington, 2021 Served as a Banner Year for American Art Acquisitions. The Huntington.
  68. Web site: Photographing with a Radical Imagnination. Idyllwild Arts Institute. 7 April 2021 .
  69. Web site: "Making History" in a Photograph. Institute of American Indian Arts. 25 March 2022 .
  70. Web site: Water for Thought. Western Carolina University. March 2021 .
  71. Web site: Spark of the Eagle Dancer. Western Carolina University. 5 June 2023 .
  72. Web site: Making History. Library of Congress. 2022 .
  73. Web site: Duet, a collaboration between sister museums at University of Nevada, Reno & University of Nevada, Las Vegas. University of Nevada, Reno.
  74. Web site: Press Release. Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. 5 September 2023 .
  75. Web site: Photographs by Cara Romero and Will Wilson Added to Maryhill's Collection. Maryhill Museum of Art. February 2021 .
  76. Web site: Mead Annual Report 2018-2020. Amherst College.
  77. Web site: Exhibition: Water Memories. Metropolitan Museum of Art.
  78. Web site: Kaa, 2017. Minneapolis Institute of Art.
  79. Web site: Cara Romero. Minnesota Museum of American Art.
  80. Web site: New York to New Mexico: New Acquisitions. Montclair Art Museum.
  81. Web site: Web Module - Results Page. Muscarelle Museum of Art.
  82. Web site: Science Fiction(s). Weltmuseum Wein. 23 August 2023 .
  83. Web site: News from MIAC/Lab. Museum of Indian Arts and Culture. 17 March 2022.
  84. Web site: Cara Romero. Museum of Modern Art.
  85. Web site: Culture & Cause: Highlighting Women in Photography. Museum of Photographic Art.
  86. Web site: September 22, 2023 – January 15, 2024 East Building, Upper Level, West Bridge . National Gallery of Art.
  87. Web site: First Americans. Museum Volkenkunde.
  88. Web site: Works – Cara Romero – Artists/Makers – The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.
  89. Web site: Evocations · Celebrating the Museum's Collection. Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art.
  90. Web site: Laid Bare in the Landscape. Nevada Museum of Art.
  91. Web site: "Cara Romero" search results. Newberry Library.
  92. Web site: Alcoves 2020#4. New Mexico Museum of Art. 25 June 2020 .
  93. Web site: Lines in the Sand | Palm Springs Art Museum. Palm Springs Art Museum.
  94. Web site: Shoulder to Shoulder: Depicting the Figure | Palm Springs Art Museum. Palm Springs Art Museum.
  95. Web site: Mythopoetica: Symbols and Stories. Palm Springs Art Museum.
  96. Web site: Climate Action: Inspiring Change. Peabody Essex Museum.
  97. Web site: Philbrook Cements Commitment to Contemporary Art with New Hires and Acquisitions. Philbrook Museum of Art.
  98. Web site: 10th Annual Dia de Los Muertos Opening Reception. Poeh Cultural Center. 16 August 2024 .
  99. Web site: Coyote Tales No. 1, 2017, printed 2020. Princeton University Art Museum.
  100. Web site: Dialogues Across Disciplines: Building a Teaching Collection at the Wellin Museum. Hamilton College.
  101. Web site: Coyote Tales No. 1. Saint Louis Art Museum.
  102. Web site: Homecoming: Works by Cara Romero. San Bernardino County Museum.
  103. Web site: "Cara Romero" search results. Scripps College.
  104. Web site: "Cara Romero" search results. Spencer Museum of Art.
  105. Web site: The Guggenheim Museum Announces its 2022 Acquisitions. Guggenheim Museum.
  106. Web site: Lust Servers. Thoma Foundation.
  107. Web site: Indian Market Spotlight: James Black, Del Curfman, Cara Romero and Zoë Urness. Tia Collection Catalogues.
  108. Web site: Neo Native: Toward New Mythologies Symposium. University of California Riverside.
  109. Web site: Air. Utah Museum of Fine Arts.
  110. Web site: Evolvers. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
  111. Web site: New to the Collection: Cara Romero's TV Indians. Weisman Art Museum. 5 August 2023.
  112. Web site: provenance #3. Wereldmuseum. 5 August 2023.
  113. Web site: Passionate collector of contemporary Native American art inspires exhibition at WCU Fine Art Museum. The Western Carolinian. 21 August 2023 . 25 August 2023.
  114. Web site: Exhibitions: California Stars. Wheelwright Museum.
  115. Web site: Cara Romero. Whitney Museum of American Art.
  116. Web site: Cara Romero. Williams College Museum of Art.
  117. Web site: Cara Romero. Yale University Art Gallery.

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