Pueblo Arts (ca. 1952)

Summary: 
Pottery making is highlighted, with a sequence on Maria Martinez at Pueblo de San Ildefonso, NM.
Description: 

International Film Bureau logo, "An International Film Bureau Inc. Release"; title "Pueblo Arts" over image of dried earth; credits: "Photography...Elmer Albinson, Script...Harry Webb, Sound...Don Cain...Narration...Ray Christensen"; illustration of the United States, border in black, interior brown paper color; Arizona and New Mexico states isolated in yellow, and Pueblo reservation illustrated within with a gray "Pueblos" label pointing it; close-up of the inset; panning shot of illustration of Rio Grande river valley; medium wide shot of rows of corn in diagonal; close-up pan from top to bottom of corn stalk; close-up of an ear of corn on the plant; wide shot of Taos Pueblo (ȉałopháymųp’ȍhə́othə̀olbo) alongside a river, snowcapped mountains behind; closer shot of same; close-up of hand raking through clay dirt; close-up of hands squeezing an molding a ball of clay; medium shot of two Pueblo woman wearing aprons and head scarves, tooling clay bowls at a table outside in open field, road in background; close-up from above of a woman grabbing black clay from the bucket beside the table, then shots from in front and above of her hands molding it into a ball, using her fingers to create the bowl shape; close-up from below of her face as she works; back to her hands refining the shape of the vessel with a flat round (rib) tool perhaps of gourd shel; medium shot of the other woman smoothing with a wooden modeling tool the outside of a bowl she makes; close-ups from above of same; back to close-up of the other woman's face; medium shot of one of the woman's hands rolling a ball of clay on a wooden board into a long, tube-shape; close-up over the shoulder of her rolling another tube of equal size, twisting the two coils together; she then wets the top with her fingers; same shot, she adds the twist onto a small bowl as a handle; opposite shot from below as she smooths the edges; medium shot of her handing the wooden plank to the other woman; close-up of finished and unfinished pottery blows with handles; medium shot of interior of pottery shop, two women standing at a cloth-covered counter, a perhaps Pueblo (not in traditional clothing) saleswoman and a a white woman dressed with white veiled hat and gloves, inspecting a bowl, pointing to another she wants to see; medium close shot of saleswoman taking down another bowl; close-up from above of the customer's white-gloved hands inspecting the small bowl, and then a bigger; medium shot of her looking at the bottom and asking a question; close-up of an illustration of San Ildefonso Pueblo (P'ohwhóge Owingeh), and a label that reads "Maria's House"; close-up of little house and label on illustration; close-up in profile of Maria Martinez's head as she works and looks around; close-up of her hands wetting the edge of the base of a vessel, then adds a coil of clay on top, pressing it into place (she is hand-building a pot); super close-up of her fingers pressing the clay edges together; close-up of her hands smoothing the pot with a gourd shell; same shot of her hands rubbing it with small smooth black stone; close-up of hands rubbing over pot now with red colored coating (slip); medium wide shot of Maria sitting and painting designs with slip onto a plate; pots all around her; dogs sleeping on/near door; closer shot of same; close-up from above of her dipping her small paintbrush (made of yucca tree leaf) into the pot of slip on the ground; over shoulder medium close shot of Maria painting on the plate; close-up of her dipping brush into slip bowl; super close-up of her painting white paint onto red plate; close-up of her face and shoulders as she paints; close-up of slip bowl; back to her painting alternating with close-up of Maria's face in profile; close-up of unfinished pot upside down on wooden post, flames flicker around it, fading to the black final product; close-up of hand holding a finished pot, turning it over to expose Maria and her husband's name (Julian); close-up of pot with dull black on shiny black design; close-up of a pair of hands holding another pot with same finish; close-up of a small one the size that pair of women were making in an earlier scene; extreme close-up of a pot's design; close-up of a small bird on the edge of a hollow tree stump; close-up of two hands holding a plate with bird design; closer view a bird in the design; close-up of a blades of grass, then five small brown feathers arrayed on some fabric, then of a similar design element on a plate; medium shot of deer standing in the woods, snow on ground, then deer painted on white pot's design, a red line painted from the deer's mouth to its heart; medium shot of a man in a red shirt (identified as Maria's son, Tony) sitting on the banister of the kiva's steps with board and drawing paper; over the shoulder close-up of him drawing; then extreme of his hands drawing a deer; alternating head/shoulders of Tony drawing, with back to his hands drawing and painting until a design emerges; end credits: IFB logo, "Distributed by International Film Bureau Inc. for Audio-Visual Education Service, University of Minnesota."


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