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| - Have you heard of the Heard? Have you heard a discouraging word where the skies are not cloudy all day? I've even heard of the Heard, and I'm as Native American as Rock Hudson was as "Taza, Son of Cochise". However, I am able to appreciate the mission of this museum, the advancement of American Indian art, because it's an expansive venue showcasing over 40,000 pieces ranging from the majestic glass art fence, Indigenous Evolution (photo: http://bit.ly/2HqYUrg), to the Barry Goldwater collection of Hopi katsina dolls (photo: http://bit.ly/2FCN64R). There was a richness to the collection that made the various cultural presentations feel more resonant.
There was over 130,000 square feet to cover, but the Mission-style building never felt crowded beyond the main lobby where they present paintings of the museum itself (photo: http://bit.ly/2Fs7adU). The requisite historical elements were also present and accounted for like how various communities migrated and congregated like the Santa Clara Tewa (photo: http://bit.ly/2Ghp7ZP). Running until mid-April 2018, a special exhibition, "Of God and Mortal Men: Masterworks by T.C. Cannon" spotlights the vivid paintings of a young Kiowa artist who died prematurely at 31 back in 1978 (photo: http://bit.ly/2DlQsY1).
Of particular significance is a permanent exhibit meticulously reproducing the 19th-century boarding school experiences of Native Americans who were forcibly removed from their reservations to assimilate into mainstream white society (photo: http://bit.ly/2Hu4NUx). The museum is a most worthwhile stop on any visit to Phoenix, especially since it's so indicative of the region's cultural appeal, and you could do what I did and make it an artsy twofer visit with the nearby Phoenix Museum of Art (review: http://bit.ly/2HwkJWo). So now I can say I've more than heard of the Heard, I've actually used two other senses. I won't disclose which ones.
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