Michael Naranjo

From NativeWiki

Michael Naranjo (b. 1944) (Santa Clara Pueblo) was blinded in Vietnam by a grenade in 1968. He also sustained injuries to his right hand that made it practically useless. Recuperating from these injuries in Japan, he requested some water based clay and began making some small figures. Through the rest of his recuperation and learning to live alone, he continued working with the clay. He honed his intuition to the point where he can assess through touch alone whether his pieces have movement, composition, balance, and flow. His style is relatively simple - he uses his fingernails to etch the detail in his sculptures. Tools are impractical since Naranjo can't see what the end of the tool is doing.

In 1983, Naranjo was granted a Papal audience in Rome and with a letter of introduction in hand, he was welcomed into the Italian museums. Then in 1986, at the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence, Michael was allowed to reach up and touch the huge foot of Michaelangelo’s David which stands on an enormous block of granite. A few years later Michael stood on specially constructed scaffolding and touched the exquisite face, mammoth hands, perfect body of David. Since that time Naranjo has touched Michaelangelo’s Slaves emerging from stone and other masterpieces at the Louvre in Paris and other masterpieces at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and in other world museums.

In 2006, Touching Beauty in the Atrium Gallery of the Bataan Memorial Building in Santa Fe was created in a hands-on gallery of 25 pieces of Naranjo’s sculptures. Each piece is at a touchable level and is accompanied by Braille name plates. He and his wife have established the Touched by Art Fund at the Santa Fe Community Foundation to enable public school students in New Mexico to visit galleries and museums.

Michael Naranjo is the son of Rose Naranjo, brother of Dr. Rina Swentzell, Dr.Tessie Naranjo, Professor Tito Naranjo, sculptor Nora Naranjo-Morse, potters Jody Folwell, Dolly Naranjo, and potter Edna Romero. She is the aunt of sculptor Roxanne Swentzell and potters Jody Naranjo, Susan Folwell, Polly Rose Folwell, Dusty Naranjo and Forrest Naranjo.

[edit] Honors

2004 Distinguished Artist of the Year by the Santa Fe Rotary Foundation.
1991 First Clinton King Purchase Award, Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe, NM.
1990 Distinguished Achievement Award, American Indian Resources Institute
1990 Outstanding Disabled Veteran of the Year
1986 New Mexico Veteran of the Year by the New Mexico chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution
1982 Profiles in Courage Award, New Mexico Vietnam Veterans Association
1979 Third Place, metal sculpture, Santa Fe Indian Market
1978 Best of Class, Best of Division, metal sculpture Santa Fe Indian Market