Revision Street: Vanessa Roanhorse (V)

Nov. 29, 2010
Vanessa and I are wrapping up. I’ve noticed that in interviews, the best question usually comes last.

Revision Street: Vanessa Roanhorse (IV)

Nov. 29, 2010
I have to curb my small talk when I go home, Vanessa explains. It’s not something people do. The Navajo people are straight-to-the-point kind of people.

Revision Street: Vanessa Roanhorse (III)

Nov. 26, 2010
If you made any jokes yesterday about Native Americans sitting down to dinner with illegal immigrants over the first Thanksgiving dinner, I hope you’ll take the time to read this installment of Vanessa’s story.

Revision Street: Vanessa Roanhorse (II)

Nov. 24, 2010
Vanessa’s been telling me about her plans to move back near the Navajo Indian Reservation where she grew up.It’s the size of West Virginia, she says. But it’s the Southwest.

Revision Street: Vanessa Roanhorse, 31

Nov. 22, 2010
In our hyper-branded, if-you-like-this-you’ll-also-like-this, 24-hour-news cycle culture, we forget how easy it is to specialize unthinkingly. Meaning: we narrow our own interests so severely that, for example, we no longer talk to our neighbors.

Revision Street: Jose Guerrero (III)

Nov. 22, 2010
When did you start giving mural tours?Well, back in 1980, I guess.How did they start? Were you just the closest art historian that happened to have all the information? People ask me, Are you an expert in art? An art historian? I say, No, I’m just an art enthusiast.

Revision Street: Jose Guerrero (II)

Nov. 19, 2010
Jose Guerrero does make art in his Pilsen studio. In fact, he’s getting ready for a show as we speak. But mostly, Gerrero gives tours of all the murals around the Pilsen neighborhood. It’s because of this that he calls himself an amateur anthropologist.

Revision Street: Jose Guerrero, 72

Nov. 18, 2010
Jose Guerrero is from San Antonio. His nifty wife Margaret, who doesn’t want to talk, is from Tennessee. She sits in the corner, laughing at our jokes. I’m not sure they’re all that funny, but she’s a good-humored woman, and probably doesn’t need the prompting.

Pages