Third episode of the Museum of Texas Tech University visit from a spring-time trip. Here are the pictures I took of the “Icon and Symbols of the Borderland” exhibit showing until August 17, 2025, plus things from the main exhibit which caught my eye.
First let me mention, the sculptures from mesquite wood are mindbending in their craftmanship. The mesquite tree is not in any shape or form “straight” wood. I didn’t take pictures of them because the sculptures just wouldn’t have come out well, but I highly recommend going in person (if you are traveling through Lubbock, Texas).
Onward into the Borderlands. Two artists worked with metallic labels to create collages. I took pictures of one of Cesar Martinez’s collages and two from Diana Molina. The use of trash to create Borderland art is, well, shiny.
The museum card reads: Cesar Martinez “Cabeza de Vaca Stele”, 2013 (Collage – on loan from the artist)
Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca (c. 1490-1560) was a Spanish explorer and one of four survivors of the 1527 Panfilio de Narvaez expedition that reached Tampa Bay, Florida, a year later. Marooned on the Texas coast, he wrote an account of his eight-year trek across the American Southwest to reunite with his Spanish countrymen in what is now the northwest Mexican state of Sinaloa. In “Naufragios y commentarios” (Shipwrecks and Commentaries) originally published in 1542, Cabeza de Vaca documented detailed descriptions of the many Native American tribes he encountered.
About the icons and symbols in this collage, the artist explains they “are inspired by the Native American rock paintings, petroglyphs, and Mesoamerican visual representations that de Vaca may have seen during his travels.”
Diana Molina “Serape Tecate”, 2013 (Paper collage – on loan from the artist): Depicted here is an iconic trademark symbol of a popular beer brand of the region. The discarded wrappings of contemporary Mexican American consumption form the palette of representation of consumer culture along the borderline. Molina is “drawn to recycle post-consumer wrappings to create work that reflects the cultural heritage, environment, and commercial intake of a binational landscape.”
Diana Molina “Agave”, 2014 (Paper collage – on loan from the artist): The agave epitomized Molina’s passion for the Chihuahuan Desert landscape. Also called mescal, its use is a long-standing tradition among native cultures of the Southwest. Mother of tequila and provider of sweet nectar, the slow-growing desert plant stores water in its thick leaves and produces one magnificent bloom before dying.
Next is a painting of a horse, but the details fascinated me. Do you remember doing doodles in school, then drawing lines around them, expanding out like ripples to fill the space? I did a lot of them; still do if a meeting get boring enough. This reminds me of that, only 10,000 times better and more meaningful.
Richard Armendariz “Tlazoltleotl as a Horse”, 2013 (Oil on carved plywood – on loan from the artist): This work is inspired by the Mesoamerican deity Tlazolteotl. Armendariz describes her as “the goddess of midwives depicted with a black mouth because she eats filth or disease so that the mother can give birth to a healthy child. In my painting, I depict a horse as the midwife deity ingesting drones and missiles on a dystopian future border.”
The rest of the photos are from items in the TTU museum’s permanent exhibit. Let’s start with the beadwork. This exquisite piece was worked on deerskin. I’ve done a lot of beadwork over the years (see The Coif Continues 12/31/2019 for one example), and, let me tell you, working on leather rather than cloth is another level of crazy. You see with cloth, the hole formed by a needle is temporary … with leather, you got a hole for the rest of eternity. You put a bead in the wrong place while sewing on leather, there is no plan B.
“1870 / 1970” by Teri Greeves (born 1970), 2006 (Beads on deer hide)
While I have attempted a couple rounds of basket-making, I have never worked with pine needles, although one of my friends have. Basket weaving, with the constant wet hands, isn’t for me, especially if I want to work embroidery with silk thread. But I do have enough background to appreciate the precision crafting of this piece.
“Untitled basket” by Fran Kraynek-Prince (born 1943), 1979 (Pine needles)
I love woodcrafting, though I haven’t worked in wood in decades.
“Puzzle” by Michael Pat Butler (active 1970-1995), 1974 (Painted wood)
The balance of the photos are works in glass. The delicate shaping while working with high heat items is something I have admired and researched, but never personally attempted. The first picture is a typical multi-color vase, followed by a ceramic sculpture in a mostly traditional manner, and finally some painted abstract clouds.
“Untitled vase” by Kent Ipsen (born 1933), 1976 (Glass)
“Hummer 1” by Annette Corcoran (born 1930), 1999 (Ceramic)
Taking photos of sculptures rarely can capture the complex beauty of the three-dimensional object. Pictures are just not good enough. Nearly always with museum art pieces, I want to take them home (or just make them myself). On the other hand, I wouldn’t want to have this delicate piece in my house. Not with Space-X eighteen miles away regularly shaking the foundation with rocket testing.
“Bountiful Flying Art Clouds” by Ginny Ruffner (born 1952), 1999 (Glass, painter)
Museum Visits