THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 13, 1995 TAG: 9508130099
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E8 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Art review
SOURCE: BY TERESA ANNAS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
WHEN DEBORAH T. SMALL got the call from Catherine Dorsey, director of Zeitgeist Gallery, she didn't think as she reeled off what she would exhibit.
After offering Small the July/August slot, Dorsey wanted to know what the artist had in mind.
``I'm going to have four totems and three collars, two wall hangings and three tablets,'' said Small, without hesitation.
An interesting checklist, given that Small had never made any of those forms, aside from the wall hangings.
Undaunted, she started in April with the totems.
Generally speaking, a totem is a symbol. In certain cultures, a totem depicts an animal or object believed to be related to the tribal ancestors.
Small's totems are androgynous figures are stiff as soldiers, and decorated with fabric, beads, embroidery and feathers.
The totems each have a name, and they are given extensive museum-style labels. The text for Razana reads, in part: ``African-American and Native American cultures merged spirits to form the vision of Razana, a Malagasy word meaning `ancestors.' '' Malagasy is a tribe in the African nation of Madagascar.
Small, who lives in Portsmouth, does not want to deny any piece of her heritage, which is European, African and Native American.
``You've got to accept all of who you are,'' she stressed. Small's path has been to ``look at your lineage, then start developing your own journey. Follow the tracks that you make. Because you've got to make your own history.''
Traditions from all of the cultures in her background sift into her work, which she tags Afrocentric.
To Small, who is 43, Afrocentric means ``it comes from a source that has a partial African origin combined with the European part that makes us American. So it's not African, because I'm not African. But there is a part of me that has an African origin.''
She approaches art making as a spiritual journey, one that humbles and lifts her. ``The totems were a gift to me,'' she said. ``I was merely the vessel through which the totem was developed.
``I don't consider myself the source. I consider myself the vessel of translation. My Creator was the source.''
The Zeitgeist show has seemed like a gift, she said. Normally, she plans her exhibits to the nth degree. This time, she let it fly.
She had never worked in sculpture. A friend, sculptor Deborah Rogers, guided her on materials. She settled on papier-mache along with a fast-drying faux clay material that does not require firing in a kiln.
As with all the work in the show, she embellished the form with beads, embroidery and other materials.
``Everything you do is pretty much drawing on the subconscious and some kind of learning experience you had in the past,'' she said.
As a graphic designer, she deals a lot with geometric forms, which also are integral to African and Native American art. Such forms are found throughout her work.
Small has used her sewing machine for a decade to piece together canvas for her art.
Last fall, she began integrating beadwork and embroidery, crafts she practiced as a child. Again, such decorations are a ubiquitous element in tribal objects, from collars to masks.
Then she started reading about the use of beads from various cultures, how different kinds of beads held different meanings, from wealth to strength.
She mostly uses handmade beads. ``In themselves, they are art, too. So, I'm using art to embellish art.''
A collector of masks, she began using them in her work in November. She's not copying specific masks, however.
``I'm expressing my appreciation for an art form that is timeless. It's a connection you feel when you pick up something that was made by someone who may be a million miles away. But it's accessible to you - to look at and enjoy on a daily basis.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Deborah T. Small with one of her totems at Zeitgeist Gallery.
by CNB