This is no ordinary beauty pageant. 

The Miss Navajo pageant is more about finding a community leader, a young woman who demonstrates fluency in the Navajo language and in-depth knowledge of Navajo (Dine') culture and history.

Told through the journey of Miss Navajo Nation contestant, Crystal Frazier, the feature documentary explores the community's struggle to preserve and maintain the Navajo language.  In addition to Crystal's story, Miss Navajo examines the stories of the other contestants and several previous pageant winners who have served as their Nation's female role models throughout the past half-century.

Miss Navajo will be shown at this weekend's 4th Annual Southwest Native American Film Festival.  On October 5 & 6, the Festival will screen over two dozen films that are either written, directed or produced by Native American filmmakers.

The Festival's feature film, Mile Post 398, captures the essence of surviving day-to-day life on the Navajo Reservation as the shadows of alcoholism pound at the door. The entire film is cast with members of the Navajo Nation, and is written, directed and produced by Shonie and Andee de la Rosa, who will speak about their films at the Film Festival.

Also featured, from Choctaw director, Ian Skorodin, is Crazy Ind'n.  An animated film using action figures, Crazy Ind'n is set in the future, when the superhero of the same name seeks to reclaim the skull of Geronimo, with implications leading all the way up to the White House.

This year's festival will also offer a professional development opportunity with renowned Native American composer, Brent Michael Davids, who will present the workshop, Film Scoring for Filmmakers.

Screenings will be held at the Museum of Northern Arizona's Branigar Hall and the Coconino Center for the Arts.  The full schedule is available online at www.indigenousaction.org.
 
Weekend festival passes that include admission to receptions with filmmakers on both Friday and Saturday nights can be purchased in advance for $18 ($14 for students).  General and student admission fees will be collected at the door. Passes can be purchased at Winter Sun Trading Co., the Museum of Northern Arizona, and the Coconino Center for the Arts.

 
The festival, presented in partnership by Indigenous Action Media, Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff Cultural Partners, Tacoho Productions, Native Movement, and Outta Your Backpack Media, seeks to provide an opportunity for audiences of all ages to further their understanding of Indigenous cultures today.

"Every guitar fan I know that has seen him perform," Craig Yarbrough, Director of the Grand Canyon Guitar Society, says, "says he is the best guitarist they have ever seen play."

The guitarist Yarbrough is raving about is Jorge Caballero.

"People at his concert will be blown away," Yarbrough continues, with heavy emphasis on the last two words.  Caballero performs in concert at the Coconino Center for the Arts in Flagstaff, on Saturday, October 13, at 7:00 P.M.

Indeed, Yarbrough's praise seems to be echoed by the critical reviews of Caballero's shows.  The Los Angeles Times called his performance "dazzling" and "magical."  With his slower movements, they said, Caballero was "evoking vanished historical glories in phrasing almost more breathed than heard."  The New York Times raves that he's "a brave guitarist who takes chances."

Perhaps the highest praise we've read comes from a critic for the Seattle Guitar Society:  "I have seen the future of guitar, and its name is Caballero." 

A native of Lima, Peru, Jorge Caballero comes from a musical family. His mother is a well-known singer in Peru and as a child he spent many evenings sitting back stage at her concerts.  He learned to play the from his father, but had already absorbed much knowledge about the instrument from listening to his father give lessons.  Growing up at a time when terrorists in Peru bombed electrical stations, he became an expert at practicing in the dark.

Caballero went on to study at the National Conservatory in Lima, and then in the United States at the Manhattan School of Music.  He has performed extensively throughout the country, and is widely regarded as one of the premier classical guitarists of his generation.

Caballero's repertoire is notable for its breadth and scope: when he applied to the Conservatory, his teacher suggested that perhaps he should list the pieces that he could not play, since there were so few of them.  His performances range from Bach to Ginastera, from Paganini to Ponce, from Scarlatti and Dowland to Guiliani and Legnani, from Renaissance pieces for the vilhuela to modern composers like Carter and Berio.

Tickets are on sale now ($18/advance, $20/day of show) for the Jorge Caballero concert on October 13, at 7:00pm at the Coconino Center for the Arts, and for tickets to other shows in the Grand Canyon Guitar Society concert series.  The full list of performers, with biographies of each, is available online.

Bill and his wife Peggy claimed they would discontinue the Pet of the Week column after 200 photos.  Last week, marking the 286th photo shoot, they've come to accept that their commitment will continue for years to come.  Despite Bill's animal allergy, he has become committed and attached to his work at the Coconino Humane Shelter in Flagstaff, AZ.  The Pet of the Week column, featured in the Arizona Daily Sun, has a 100% success rate of adoptions.

In 1979, Bill and Peggy moved to Flagstaff and began the Pet of the Week column in the Arizona Daily Sun newspaper.  Initially, the purpose of the article was to gain publicity for Bill's photography.  The column continued for two years, until they moved to the Midwest to raise their family.  Twenty years later, with the kids grown and on their own, Bill and Peggy moved back to Flagstaff and picked up where they left off, photographing animals at the Coconino Humane Shelter.

This time, Bill's intentions are different.  Bill is not doing Pet of the Week for publicity or for financial support; instead it is his way of giving back to the community.  In fact, although photography is still a passion, it is not a major means of living.  Bill is now the manager at the East Flagstaff Community Library.

Without fail, the Landaus arrive at the Coconino Humane Shelter every Friday afternoon to take photos of a special animal that will appear in Monday's paper. Bill is the photographer, while Peggy is the handler.  Having grown up on a farm, she is used to dealing with all sorts of animals, while Bill is a self-proclaimed "city boy".  Bill likes using props and costumes, while Peggy likes simpler photos of the animals.  They both agree on making the animal as comfortable as possible.  This usually means walking dogs around before taking the photos, keeping them on the shelter grounds, using natural light as flashes often confuse or upset animals, and being sensitive to the animals' behavior.
 
The Landaus often have several ideas before coming to the shoot and will bring various props and costumes in the car.  However, the animal usually isn't chosen until they scan the cages in the kennel and cat room.    Bill expressed the level of responsibility weighing on his decision.  Knowing that the animal he chooses will be adopted the following week is a great feeling.  However, he has the power only to select one animal over many others.  Having that responsibility, he and Peggy will often choose an animal that has been at the shelter for a longer period of time.  Although puppies and kittens are adorable to shoot, the Landaus realize they will be adopted anyway, so will tend to go for the older animals that do not necessarily have the same appeal.

The Landaus say they can't give it up.  They have become invested in the animals at the shelter, often coming to re-visit an animal if it hasn't been adopted by the end of the week.  Usually, however, the animal will have been adopted by Tuesday, the day following the column in Monday's paper.  In a few rare cases, the animal used for the column gets adopted before Monday's paper.  The Landaus have to scramble to create another photo shoot.  One week, the Humane Shelter received 60 phone calls about one particular animal that was featured in Pet of the Week.  In a case like this, the shelter will recommend other pets that look the same or have the same demeanor to try and benefit from the popularity of the Pet of the Week.

Today, you can see Bill's work in weekly publications of the Arizona Daily Sun on Mondays.  He takes the photos and writes the article about the pet.  He also put together the very first Pet of the Week calendar, which includes many photos of the animals he has worked with over the years.  The 2008 Pet of the Week calendar can be purchased at the East Flagstaff Community Library and the Main Flagstaff City Public Library for $15.00, which includes a donation to the Coconino Humane Shelter.  He is also showing a Pet of the Week slideshow this fall (see below).  Bill is a member of the Artist's Coalition of Flagstaff and most recently displayed during Flagstaff Open Studios, where he featured many of his animal photos for sale.

To contact Bill Landau, email him at bill@landauphoto.com.  You can go to the Coconino Humane Shelter to visit with or adopt some of the pets that Bill features in his articles at 3501 E. Butler Street in Flagstaff, AZ or call 928-526-1076.

Po' Girl in Concert November 2 at 7:30pm

When I think of chaos and harmony, strong feelings and sensations begin to stir. These words are so expressive; yet mean something vastly different to each of us.

Understanding that chaos has a distinct definition in the realm of science, we sought out art that examined the topic from many different angles. Luminous color and distinct organic pattern describe David Blanchard's photograph, Ice Crystals: West Fork Oak Creek. It is one of many intriguing works that demonstrate the beauty of chaos in nature.  Dan Arnold's work, Going Home, seems to delve closer to the topic of disorder and discord in chaos, with its bold, deliberate, and almost haunting abstractions.

Invited ceramicist, Joni Pevarnik, takes the cake in the area of spontaneity in artwork. With her raku vases and tidal wave of clay, she proves that her work is a product of both order and chaos. Raku is a method of low-fire ceramics where the artist pulls their clay piece from a white-hot kiln with long metal tongs and drops it into a barrel of combustible materials, causing the unpredictable, but incredibly exciting variations of lusters and copper flashes that define the raku genre.

There are 35 artists are featured in The Splendor of Chaos. The theme questions the relationship between chaos and harmony, and encourages artists to ask themselves the question: What does chaos looks like to an artist? Jurors included our own Executive Director, John Tannous; NAU Art Museum Curator, Ty Miller; and Dr. Jim Swift, a professor of mathematics at NAU (to bring that Chaos Theory perspective!). Invited artists, Joni Pevarnik, Mike Frankel, and Sue Frankel each bring their own mark of chaos to the table.

The Splendor of Chaos will be on display at the Coconino Center for the Arts, Tuesdays through Saturdays, from 11AM to 5PM, through November 3rd.  Admission is free.  We welcome you to come and check out the exhibit and see what resonates with your idea of chaos and harmony.


The artwork featured above is entitled, "The Cherubs Have Left the Ceiling," by Helaine M. McLain.