by Linda R. Martin (Navajo)

Late afternoon, in a downtown Phoenix neighborhood where many might fear to tread-save fearless artists and journalists-Steven Yazzie begins his day. Just arisen and in need of a Starbucks fix, the tattooed, friendly painter conducts a meandering tour of the studio where he has produced a majority of his work in his five-year career as a professional artist. Currently, Yazzie is one of nine Phoenix artists working at The House Studios, a funky, historic house renovated to accommodate the creative juices of its residents, a steady flow of visitors and Grace, the guard dog.

Just 30 years old, Yazzie's upbringing mirrors the vibrant and edge-driven imagery he puts to canvas. The Gulf War veteran, some-time percussionist and full-time painter is a study of precariously balanced extremes. Born to a Navajo father, now deceased, and an Anglo mother (a former mechanic and music teacher/artist respectively), Yazzie spent his early childhood in the rural community of Page, Arizona, and teenage years in Phoenix.

The eldest of four brothers, his point of reference draws from a close-knit family rich in musical and artistic ability, and at times, rebels from a very strict Christian upbringing. Dedicated to producing truthful paintings, Yazzie's statements continue to lean toward music and the arts-finding many levels of inspiration from painters Odd Nerstrom (Sweden) and Eric Fischl (United States)-to the classical compositions and punk rages of Chopin, Schubert, Everclear and The Damned.

Prior to entering the fold of the professional art market, he juggled painting with brief positions as a bike courier in major art cities like Portland, San Francisco and New Orleans. For Yazzie, each city expressed fresh art energy and hustle, yet he returned to Phoenix, where he's now part of a flourishing art scene, and thrives on the good work ethics and clubhouse feel of his studio peers.

Left to right: Rabbit Seals Indoctrination, 84" x 60", oil on canvas; This Little Light of Mine, 16" x 16", oil on canvas

Primarily self-taught, Yazzie has been painting steadily since 1997 and has made a name for himself from the work that he produces for the Art One Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona. The nature of his work-primarily oil-on-canvas-explores obscure themes that are both disturbing and humorous. Having produced only a small number of Native-themed titles, Yazzie asserts that he's "an artist that happens to be Native American," and that, given his attunement for urban dwelling, his work, appropriately enough, "contains no feathers and horses."

Rather, Yazzie considers his token image to be the rabbit. Prior to the massive undertaking of the Heard mural, Fear of a Red Planet, he produced figurative renderings of rabbits, chickens and roosters, whose postured antics stretch the limits of most imaginations.
"I'm drawn to imagery that's fun to look at, that's funny to me, or that cracks me up," he says. Pulling from childhood imagery, his personal life and the world at large, he unites the cute and fuzzy with the good, bad and ugly of human expression.

One example, Asshole, is a portrait from his "Cowboy" series that pokes fun at the Scottsdale art scene, and is in response to the red-neck mentality he witnessed growing up. Another series, "Red Red Meat," explores beachside antics and Americana, and is his response to a similar series of figurative paintings created by Eric Fischl.

In the urban tradition of graffitti and pop art, mural art can be a powerful forum that provides a voice for the community, offering an uncensored view of the history of its citizens. For Arizona's Native communities, their history includes the trauma, incarceration and forced removal in the mid- to late 1800s, as well as the Native American boarding school experience, which forced the removal of Native children from their homes and families in an attempt to assimilate them into mainstream culture.
Challenged to find an interactive way to illustrate these experiences, Yazzie's research process included pouring through archival materials and interviewing tribal members. From the early sketch phase to the actual canvas rendering, Yazzie says each of the panel's stories unfolded on its own once the painting began. He admits that even he didn't know how it was all going to turn out, and that he literally painted right up to the end. In its completed form, 8-feet by 160-feet, the mural is a collage of horror and hope that is the product of many outside influences. From the open studio hours, he fed off the dynamics of painting in public view. Input from his House Studio mates, including his girlfriend Leslie Englert, also changed direction of the work.
The impact of the mural has greatly altered his body of work and sharpened his focus, so that he finds he can't return to where he left off. What's emerged is a more confident, concise and methodic approach to painting, and he says he is now striving to "put more contemplation into the work, and to meditate on it before going to canvas."

Associate Editor Linda R. Martin is an artist and illustrator based in Tempe, Arizona. Originally from Gallup, New Mexico, she enjoys exploring the traditions and lifeways of her Navajo, French/Swiss, German, Irish and English heritage.