Joe Cajero was born in 1970 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and raised in Jemez Pueblo. He is a descendant of a long line of Pueblo artists, including his father, a painter, and his mother, a potter. As a young man, Cajero often accompanied his mother to Indian art shows throughout the Southwest. He also spent many hours with his maternal great-grandmother, Petra Romero, listening to the wonderful stories she told of times gone by. These conversations had a profound influence on his life and provided him with a solid foundation in his traditional culture, which continues to inform his work today.
When he was fifteen, his mother convinced him to try working in clay; his first figure was a bear, and it sold before it had dried. With his mother's encouragement, he continued making figures and eventually attended the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. His mentor and cousin, Felix Vigil, taught him to look inside himself for inspiration, which he clearly does every day of his life.
Three monumental bronzes by Joe Cajero stand in prominent locations in Southwest Colorado: on the Jicarilla Apache Reservation, the Southern Ute Reservation, and in Mesa Verde National Park's Visitor Center.
At Mesa Verde National Park's Visitor Center, there is a larger-than-life bronze Grandfather sculpture, a storyteller, officially titled In the Moment.
It is one of the favorite elements at the Visitor Center, especially for the children who crawl all over him, sit on his lap, and stare, open-mouthed, when he occasionally "talks". A few weeks ago, Joe Cajero and his wife, Althea, visited Mesa Verde and stopped by to see the larger-than-life Grandfather that Joe created and everyone loves. It was a special day for them! Being Puebloan, they feel a spiritual connection with the descendants of the early Ancestral Puebloans who inhabited Mesa Verde from 1490 to about 1300 AD, and they had been invited to take a private tour of some of the major ruins. It was special for me as well, as I was invited to go along. I've known Joe and Althea for decades, but spending several hours with them in such a special place was a real treat. I've never been around kinder, more grounded, sincere, and artistic people.
Everyone loves the Grandfather so much that I am thrilled that we now have a smaller version of the same sculpture for sale at the gallery.
Storytellers are incredibly important in the Pueblo culture. In their tradition, storytellers are the elders who relay cultural history to the younger generations through animated tales and often amusing anecdotes. Before television and modern conveniences, families gathered in the evening and listened for hours as grandmothers and grandfathers shared the day's events and told stories of days gone by. This reinforced family closeness and continues to do so to this day.
The title, "In the Moment," refers to this grandfather being fully engrossed in the story he is telling. It is as though he is reliving the entire experience again as he conveys it to his captive audience.
We also offer several other bronze sculptures by Joe Cajero and two really exceptional, spiritual pieces of silver jewelry.
Joe Cajero and his talented and lovely wife, Althea, reside in the small community of Placitas, New Mexico. They are very involved in the culture of their villages, Acoma, Jemez, and Santo Domingo (Kewa), and participate in the dances on Feast Days.
Photo by Minesh Bacrania
New Mexico Magazine
May 2014
