Dinosaur storage jar, William Andrew Pacheco

Artwork Overview

Dinosaur storage jar, William Andrew Pacheco
Dinosaur storage jar, William Andrew Pacheco
William Andrew Pacheco
Dinosaur storage jar
2000
William Andrew Pacheco, artist
Cultural affiliations: Santo Domingo
born 1975, active circa 1985–present
Dinosaur storage jar, 2000
Where object was made: United States
Material/technique: slip; earthenware
Dimensions:
Object Height/Diameter (Height x Diameter): 48.3 x 40.6 cm
Object Height/Diameter (Height x Diameter): 19 x 16 in
Credit line: Museum purchase: Peter T. Bohan Art Acquisition Fund
Accession number: 2000.0139
Not on display
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Images

Label texts

Spencer Kids: Animal Tails (with audio descriptions)

This kind of artwork is called “utilitarian,” which means it can be used in daily life, or it can mean that this object has a job to do other than to be looked at. A vessel like this one can be used to hold or carry something. What kinds of things do you think could go in this jar? Would it be heavy to carry?

About the art
This jar comes from the Pueblo of Santo Domingo, a place where Native American Kewa peoples live. People in that community do not show living people or animals in their art because they are considered sacred. Because dinosaurs are extinct, the community decided it was OK for this artist to paint them on his pottery.

About the animal
These dinosaurs look like sauropods, a group of dinosaurs that includes the Brontosaurus and Apatosaurus. The largest of these could have been almost 75 feet long, which is about twice as long as the height of a telephone pole!

Click the link below to see a rendering of a dinosaur similar to these ones.

Spencer Kids: Animal Tails (with audio descriptions)

This kind of artwork is called “utilitarian,” which means it can be used in daily life, or it can mean that this object has a job to do other than to be looked at. A vessel like this one can be used to hold or carry something. What kinds of things do you think could go in this jar? Would it be heavy to carry?

About the art
This jar comes from the Pueblo of Santo Domingo, a place where Native American Kewa peoples live. People in that community do not show living people or animals in their art because they are considered sacred. Because dinosaurs are extinct, the community decided it was OK for this artist to paint them on his pottery.

About the animal
These dinosaurs look like sauropods, a group of dinosaurs that includes the Brontosaurus and Apatosaurus. The largest of these could have been almost 75 feet long, which is about the same distance from where you are standing now in front of the jar to the end of the gallery where a quilt is hanging!

Tap the Web icon to see a dinosaur similar to these ones.

Forms of Thought

Pacheco has been making vessels with dinosaur imagery for 15 years. His pueblo of Santo Domingo forbids depictions of humans and most animals, since they are considered sacred. Dinosaurs are exempt from those restrictions. This is a particularly large example of Pacheco’s vessels.

Archive Label 2003:
Pacheco has been making vessels with dinosaur imagery for 15 years. His pueblo of Santo Domingo forbids depictions of humans and most animals, since they are considered sacred. Dinosaurs are exempt from those restrictions. This is a particularly large example of Pacheco’s vessels.

Exhibition Label:
American Indian Art at the Spencer Museum
Sept 6 - Oct 19-2003
Santo Domingo religion forbids the depiction of people, animals, and most plants. As a child, William Andrew Pacheco, nephew of the great traditional potter Robert Tenorio, began to depict dinosaurs. Since they are animals that were unknown to Santo Domingo culture, there was no ban on depicting them. In this monumental jar, the dinosaurs interact with each other so that it is impossible to see them all from one point of view, forcing the viewer to circle the pot in order to see them all.

Exhibitions

Contemporary American Indian Art: The Spencer Collects
Andrea Norris, curator
2003
Contemporary Ceramics East and West
Mary Dusenbury, curator
Susan Earle, curator
2002
Forms of Thought
Kris Ercums, curator
2014–2015
American Indian Traditions Transformed: Contemporary Pottery
Andrea Norris, curator
2000
Forms of Thought
Kris Ercums, curator
2016–2021
Spencer Kids: Animal Tails (with audio descriptions)
2018
Spencer Kids: Animal Tails (with audio descriptions)
2020
Pottery from the Southwest
Kate Meyer, curator
Angela Watts, curator
2020
Brosseau Center for Learning: Menagerie
2022

Resources

Audio

Hear a SWMS student's perspective.
Audio Tour – Bulldog Art Tour
Hear a SWMS student's perspective.
Audio Tour – Bulldog Art Tour
Hear a SWMS student's perspective.
Audio Tour – Bulldog Art Tour
Hear a SWMS student's perspective.
Audio Tour – Bulldog Art Tour
Listen to core object information.
Audio Description
Listen to core object information.
Audio Description
The artist is William Andrew Pacheco, born 1975 in the United States. The title of the work is Dinosaur Storage Jar, created in 2000 The work is made with earthenware, plastic, and slip.
Listen to Audio Description
Audio Description
Listen to Audio Description
Audio Description
Dinosaur Storage Jar is a black ceramic jar that stands about 19 inches tall and widens upward from its base to about 16 inches wide at the swell of its shoulder, about three-quarters of the way up. It narrows quickly toward the top, then flares slightly at the rim. Ivory-colored, stylized dinosaurs march across the black surface of the jar. Their stocky bodies and sinuous necks overlap. Some stand on all four legs but one stands on two legs, its tail sweeping back to overlap the other dinosaurs. The dinosaurs face both directions, their curved smiles resembling cartoon drawings.
Listen to Label Text
Audio Description
Listen to Label Text
Audio Description
Pacheco has been making vessels with dinosaur imagery for 15 years. His pueblo of Santo Domingo forbids depictions of humans and most animals, since they are considered sacred. Dinosaurs are exempt from those restrictions. This is a particularly large example of Pacheco’s vessels.
Listen to App Text
Audio Description
Listen to App Text
Audio Description
This kind of artwork is called “utilitarian,” which means it can be used in daily life, or it can mean that this object has a job to do other than to be looked at. A vessel like this one can be used to hold or carry something. What kinds of things do you think could go in this jar? Would it be heavy to carry? About the art This jar comes from the Pueblo of Santo Domingo, a place where Native American Kewa peoples live. People in that community do not show living people or animals in their art because they are considered sacred. Because dinosaurs are extinct, the community decided it was okay for this artist to paint them on his pottery. About the animal These dinosaurs look like sauropods, a group of dinosaurs that includes the Brontosaurus and Apatosaurus. The largest of these could have been almost 75 feet long, which is about the same distance from where you are standing now in front of the jar to the end of the gallery where a quilt is hanging!
Hear a SWMS student's perspective.
Audio Tour – Bulldog Art Tour
Hear a SWMS student's perspective.
Audio Tour – Bulldog Art Tour

Links

See an image of a dinosaur similar to these ones