SFR Digital-ish Picks—Week of March 3

Man. Horse. Art.

Armond Antonio brings farm life and community to his artistic practice

Pueblo Pintado, New Mexico-based artist, farmer and equestrian Armond Antonio (Diné) had just recently moved to Denver when the pandemic started raging, and he soon found himself back in New Mexico. Colorado's loss.

At only 22, Antonio has already developed a thriving practice in graphite, ink, oils, watercolor and acrylic. He's self-taught or, as he puts it, he "just picked up tips and tricks from artists I've met." But don't let the lack of formal training fool you—Antonio's works are refined and moving, sometimes evoking an almost visceral emotional response. Not too shabby for a farmer and rancher by trade. Antonio owns a couple head of cattle and grows heirloom Navajo corn out at Pueblo Pintado. When he's able, he draws and paints anything from close-up portraiture to landscapes and city streets.

"I don't like to plan," he says with a laugh. "My styles are all over. I just like working as I go."

Often, this winds up being a bit of self-history, but it also opens windows into Antonio's community in and around Pueblo Pintado. He lives and works alone, both of which have played a part in how he creates; he likes meeting people, he says, and learning more about their lives. That habit finds its way into his portraiture.

"I've really liked portraits," Antonio tells SFR. "It's mostly Native people and people with culture—Hispanics, Natives—because it's like recording history; but the wrinkles stand out for me, and a lot of the elder people I've painted, I know personally. They're family members and community members. I like to get to know them. I like recording stories."

Antonio comes to Santa Fe this weekend as part of the ongoing Artist in Rezidence series at La Fonda on the Plaza. He'll have pieces for sale and will conduct a live painting throughout the weekend. (Alex De Vore)

Artist in Rezidence: Armond Antonio:
10 am-6 pm Friday, March 5-Sunday March 7. Free.
La Fonda on the Plaza,
100 E San Francisco St., 982-5511

Easy Like Sunday Morning

With COVID-19 numbers dropping, we're not suggesting everyone start touching everyone and everything all at once, but it might be OK to add some regular outings back into your repertoire. On Sundays, we can think of no more pleasant activity than grabbing a cup of coffee from Opuntia or Sky Coffee in the Railyard and popping in to see what's going down with the Sunday Railyard Artisan Market. It's like the Farmers Market for people who like weird arts and crafts and, like, soap and stuff. It always smells great in there, too. Anyway, the market goes down every dang Sunday, and there's no time like soon to start buying art for yourself or someone else. (ADV)

Sunday Railyard Artisan Market:
10 am-3 pm Sunday, March 7. Free.
Farmers Market Pavilion,
1607 Paseo de Peralta, 983-7226.

Word

George Orwell once said something about how the most effective way to destroy a people is to obliterate their understanding of their own history. This invariably starts with language. How we -communicate is invaluable, and losing language is a terrifying prospect. In no other culture is this quite so apparent as with the many Indigenous languages and dialects spoken across the country—or in danger of fading into nothingness. The Institute of American Indian Arts is on the case, though, and at the school's upcoming Support for Indigenous Language Beginners class, anyone who wants to start learning about Native languages can pick up a thing or two. This is for the entry-level folks who just want to get started, but there's an advanced class on Tuesday, March 9. (ADV)

Support for Indigenous Language Beginners:
6 pm Monday, March 8. $14.
iaia.edu

Computational Biases

In the 2020 documentary film Coded Justice, -Ghanian-American MIT Media Lab researcher Joy Buolamwini uncovers a startling truth about facial recognition—well, more startling than facial recognition itself: Turns out the software often can't discern faces belonging to darker-skinned people. Director Shalini Kantayya not only looks into the racial implications of such a thing, but how the software itself harnesses power to do harm. We should probably all be nervous. The Center for Contemporary Arts screens Coded -Justice this week along with an info session from the Santa Fe Institute's Melanie Moses and Christopher Moore. Tech isn't going anywhere, obviously, but it sure would be cool if we could steer into into less racist and dystopian arenas. (ADV)

Coded Bias: Coded Justice Virtual Screening and Talk:
6 pm Tuesday, March 9. $12.
ccasantafe.org