Symbolism of Aztec Virgin Mother

Based on Native American Scholarship, particularly around Southeastern Native and Meso-American iconography, my art is influenced by our Indigenous teachings of healing, balance and a spirituality that is centered and permeated in our earth – based cultures.  It is also influenced by the Indigenous view that art has no separation from the interconnection of all things in a tribal society and that the balance between the feminine elements and energies with masculine elements and energies produce a state of well being. The work explores the multi-faceted side of the Native American Goddess of healing known as Earth Mother, Selu, Changing Woman, Corn Mother or Tonantzin “Aztec Virgin Mother” (Virgin of Guadalupe).  They are:

  1. The center is the birth of flora from the “yoni” of the Mother Earth.  In this case the rose color symbolizes eternity and the “yoni” has significance because is the doorway to eternity. Each aspect of the Goddess represents the teachings for humanity of our complex natures, respecting the differences, coming into acceptance and wholeness.
  2. Jaguar Side (Mammal) is a testimony to the fierce warrior spirit and sexual prowess of the Goddess with the magical and mysterious transmission of power.
  3.  Butterfly Side (Insect) represent the gentle transformational character of the Goddess manifested in the biological world and is a metaphor for the evolution from the cocoon state of consciousness to the spiritual liberation of acceptance.  The butterfly balances the fierce Jaguar side.
  4. Rattlesnake Side (Reptile) is the undulating terrestrial rhythm of the Diamondback Rattlesnake that attests to the birth-death power of the Goddess with the earth as giver of life and cradle of death.
  5. Hummingbird/ Sun Side (Bird) is the offspring of the Goddess, the son/consort of the classic Goddess mythology. The Hummingbird balances the celestial aspect with that of the terrestrial rattlesnake.

ART RESUMÉ of Nadema Agard

Educational Background
New York University, Bachelor of Science Degree in Art Education, June 1970 Columbia University, Teacher’s College, Master of Arts Degree in Art and Education, December 1973 Universita Cattolica di Milano of Rome, Italy, Studies in Italian RenaissanceArt & Architecture, Summer 1969 Aegina ArtsCentre, Aegina, Greece, Studies in Fine Arts, Music and Greek, Summer 1972 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, Spring Workshop in THE ART HERITAGE OF THE SPANISH CARIBBEAN: PRE-COLUMBIAN TOPRESENT, May 1979

Solo Exhibitions

  • 2003
    • New Century Artists, Inc., PARFLECHE VISIONS AND MOON BREAST MOTHERS, New York, New York
  • 1997
    • Bismarck Art Gallery Association, STARBLANKET HEAVEN,Bismarck, North Dakota
  • 1994
    • Tweed Museum, SHE IS THE FOUR DIRECTIONS, University of Minnesota, Duluth, Minnesota
  • 1993
    • Gustavus Adolphus College, Schaefer Gallery, DOOR TO HEAVEN-DOOR FROM HEAVEN, St. Peter, DOOR FROM HEAVEN, St. Peter, Minnesota
  • 1992
    • Woodland Pattern Gallery, SACRED DOOR, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Group Exhibitions

  • 2014
    • Art Horizons/LeRoy Neiman Art Center Gallery, MANAHATTA TODAY: INDIGENOUS ART OF N.Y.C., New York, New York
  • 2013
    • Jerusalem Fund Gallery Al Quds and Baskun Books & Art, THE MAP IS NOT THE TERRITORY, Washington, D.C. Wilmer Jennings Gallery at Kenkeleba, THE OLD BECOMES THE NEW: NEW YORK CONTEMPORARY NATIVE AMERICAN ART MOVEMENT AND THE NEW YORK SCHOOL, New York, New York
  • 2012
    • Raices Taller 222 Art Gallery & Workshop, MUJERES. MUJERES, MUJERES
    • Raices Taller 222 Art Gallery & Workshop, INDIAN BORN, AMERICAN MADE Tucson, Arizon
  • 2011
    • Wilmer Jennings Gallery at Kenkeleba, VICARIOUSLY THROUGH YOU, New York, New York
  • 2010
    • Staten Island Museum, CONTACT 1609, Staten Island, New York
  • 2009-
    • Abrazo Inerno Gallery, THE IMPORTANCE OF IN/VISIBILITY, New York, New York
  • 2008
    • Raices Taller 222 Art Gallery & Workshop, ¡FRIJOLITOS!: A SMALL WORKS
  • 2007-
    • EXHIBITION, Tucson, Arizona
  • 2006
    • U.S. Department of State Traveling Paper Show VISUAL POWER: 21ST CENTURY NATIVE AMERICAN ARTISTS/INTELLECTUALS, Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas
  • 2005
    • Gallery of Ellis Island Immigration Museum, An Artistic Perspective:
    • LADY LIBERTY AS A NATIVE AMERICAN ICON, New York, New York
    • Pritzker Gallery & Studio Gallery OLD & NEW FRIENDS, Highland, New York
    • Gallery of the American Indian Community House, NEW YORK MIX: ART OF THE FIVE “CIVILIZED” BOROUGHS, New York, New York
  • 2008
    • Honor the Earth, IMPACTED NATIONS (Traveling Show)
  • 2005-2007
    • Artrain U.S.A. 2004-2007, NATIVE VIEWS: INFLUENCES OF 2004- MODERN CULTURE (Traveling Show)
  • 2003
    • Gallery of the American Indian Community House, NATIVE AMERICAN ARTISTS/SCHOLARS: SPEAKING FOR OURSELVES IN THE 21ST CENTURY, New York, New York
  • 2002
    • The Ned Hatathli Museum, STORIES FROM THE CIRCLE: SCIENCE AND NATIVE WISDOM, Diné College, Tsaile, Arizona
  • 2002
    • Henry Street Settlement Abrons Art Center, WHO IS THE VIRGIN 2001- OF GUADALUPE? WOMEN ARTISTS CROSSING BORDERS, New York, New York
  • 2000
    • Gallery of the American Indian Community House, MOTHER LOVE: NATIVE WOMEN AND THE LAND, New York, New York
  • 1999
    • Henry Street Settlement Abrons Art Center, METAPHORS: ART 1998- INSPIRED BY EVERYDAY OBJECTS AND FOLKLORE, New York, New York
  • 1997
    • Studio Museum in Harlem, PIECEWORKS, New York, New York Frasier Gallery, FRIDA KAHLO, MODERN PORTRAITS OF A MODERN ICON, Georgetown, Washington D.C.
    • Purdue University Gallery, VOICES OF COLOR, West Lafayette, Indiana
    • Waldorf Astoria Hotel, AMERICAN INDIAN COLLEGE FUND GALA AUCTION, New York, New York
  • 1996
    • Two Rivers Gallery, NATIVE SURVIVAL: RESPONSE TO HIV/AIDS, Minneapolis, Minnesota
    • World’s Women On-Line CD-ROM produced by Muriel Magenta includes VIRGIN OF GUADALUPE IS THE CORN MOTHER, a multimedia work, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
    • Hartwick College, NATIVE SURVIVAL: RESPONSE TO HIV/AIDS, Oneonta, New York
    • Heard Museum, NATIVE SURVIVAL: RESPONSE TO HIV/AIDS, Phoenix, Arizona
  • 1995
    • Gallery of the American Indian Community House, NATIVE SURVIVAL: RESPONSE TO HIV/AIDS, New York, New York
    • United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China,
    • World’s Women On-Line coordinated by Muriel Magenta, Visual Arts Coordinator, Institute for Studies in the Arts, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
  • 1994
    • Coast to Coast-Women of Color in the Arts, GATHERING MEDICINE EXHIBITION, Art in General, Tribeca, New York
    • United Community Center Gallery of the Americas, RETABLOS-LATINO ICONS, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
  • 1993
    • Talley Gallery of Bemidji State University, VISUAL ARTS FACULTY EXHIBITION, Bemidji, Minnesota Associated Artists of Winston-Salem, EARTH ART–VISIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS OF NATURE THROUGH ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE ART, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
  • 1992
    • Talley Gallery of Bemidji State University, VISUAL ARTS FACULTY EXHIBITION, Bemidji, Minnesota
    • Bemidji Community Art Center, MANHATTAN DAYS—PRAIRIE DAZE, an installation/exhibition with Kent Smith
  • 1991
    • Plains Art Museum, ALL OVER THE MAP: WOMEN AND PLACE, Moorhead, Minnesota
  • 1990
    • Coast to Coast: ANCESTORS KNOWN AND UNKNOWN – BOXWORKS, Arts in General, Tribeca, New York
    • Coast to Coast: A NATIONAL WOMEN OF COLOR ARTIST BOOK PROJECT, Jamaica Arts Center, New York, New York
  • 1989
    • Coast to Coast: A NATIONAL WOMEN OF COLOR ARTIST BOOK PROJECT, Center for Book Arts, Soho, New York
  • 1988
    • C.W. Post College, RIDERS WITH NO HORSE, Brookville, New York
    • Coast to Coast: A NATIONAL WOMEN OF COLOR ARTIST BOOK EXHIBITION, Diverse Works, Houston, Texas
  • 1987
    • Trenton State College, NATIVE AMERICA: LIFE, LEGEND AND ART, Trenton, New Jersey
    • Gallery of the American Indian Community House, RIDERS WITH NO HORSE, Soho, New York
  • 1986
    • Women’s Caucus for Art, THE ARTIST AND THE SPIRITUAL QUEST, Soho, New York
    • Native American Indian Media Corporation traveling exhibit, WE ARE THE SEVENTH GENERATION, Atlanta, Georgia
  • 1984
    • Artistas Indigenas Traveling Exhibit, Portland, Oregon
  • 1983
    • Twenty Six Horses Gallery, Soho, New York
    • Midtown Gallery, Washington, D.C.
  • 1982
    • Gallery of the American Indian Community House, NATIVE WOMEN ARTISTS, Soho, New York
    • New York University Contemporary Art Gallery, NATIVE AMERICANS, THE WOMEN AND THEIR ART, New York, New York
    • Atrium Gallery, the Kennedy Center, NIGHT OF THE FIRST AMERICANS, Washington, D.C.
    • Gallery for the American Indian Community House, THE FOUR DIRECTIONS, Soho, New York
    • Gallery of the 21st Century, Santa Fe, New Mexico Native American Rights Fund Annual Show, VISIONS OF THE EARTH, Boulder, Colorado
    • Gallery of the American Indian Community House, A SONG FOR OUR ANCESTORS, Soho, New York
  • 1981
    • Gallery of the American Indian Community House, INVITATIONAL 81, Soho, New York
    • Westbeth Gallery, VOICES EXPRESSING WHAT IS: ACTION AGAINST RACISM IN THE ARTS, New York, New York
  • 1981
    • Native American Center for the Living Arts, AT THE EDGE OF THE WOODLANDS, Niagara Falls, New York
    • Museum of the American Indian, SO THE SPIRIT FLOWS, New York, New York
  • 1980
    • Via Gambaro Gallery, NATIONAL AMERICAN INDIAN WOMEN’S ART SHOW, Washington, D.C.
    • Summit Art Center, THE GUARDIANS: THE NATIVE AMERICAN Artists, Summit, New Jersey
  • 1979
    • Gallery of the American Indian Community House, INVITATIONAL 79, Soho, New York

Publications, Powerpoints, Websites

  • HOMAGE TO PLAINS INDIAN WOMANHOOD, EARTH SONGS, MOON DREAMS: PAINTINGS BY AMERICAN INDIAN WOMEN by Patricia Janis Broder, St. Martins Press
  • FIRE IN THE WOMB: MOTHERS & CREATIVITY by Anderson & Smith-Hanssen, Xlibris Press
  • RETABLO FOR FRIDA, a multimedia transformational piece: www.geocities.com/soho/5415/agard.jpg
  • THE VIRGIN OF GUADALUPE IS THE CORN MOTHER, a multi-media work: www.asu.edu/wwol
  • PARFLECHE VISIONS AND MOON BREAST MOTHERS, E-leusis.net Online Gallery http://www.e-leusis.net/cultura/galeria.asp
  • MOON FLOWER WOMAN WITH BLUE CORN, Working Mother Media, 2011 MULTICULTURAL ARTIST   SLIDESHOW, sponsored by General Electric & Picture That Fine Art Gallery (Online) MULTICULTURAL WOMEN’S NATIONAL CONFERENCE: Multicultural Art Power Point Slideshow and Printed Material, New York, New York
  • www.workingmother.com/best-companies/2011-multicultural-arist-