Benton Yazzie’s artwork will be displayed through July at Cortez Parks and Recreation Center, 425 E. Roger Smith Ave.
A self-taught Navajo painter and illustrator based in the four corners region of Colorado, Yazzie works primarily with pen and ink, but also incorporates acrylic and oil base in some pieces.
Yazzie’s paintings reflect the tension between the old ways oft he Dine’ and the increasingly fast-paced, technological world of modern living. He uses both Native American and abstract symbolism to portray the struggle of a people caught between two worlds: the world of their ancestors and the world of their children.
Yazzie experienced poverty, hunger and neglect as a child. Throughout his struggles to overcome his childhood, his art and spirituality helped him survive. Early in his career, he illustrated two books that were published. Yazzie laer started teaching art classes as well,introducing others to the joy and positivity he experiences from art.
