Kísh Tetáyawet/Dreamhouse/Wampkísh with James Luna

Installation

Mesa College Art Gallery, San Diego, California, 1992

Kísh Tetáyawet and Wampísh means “Dreamhouse” in Payómkawichum and Cahuilla.  After encountering each others work, James Luna suggested a collaboration.  A modern Indian apartment was created using modern chrome and black leather furniture.  A bedroom, living room and dining room were depicted.  In the dining room, a basket of Cornuts, Turkey jerkey and acorns stood next to a grinding metate.  The bedroom had Indian blankets and feathers over the pillow for spiritual “dreaming.”  The living room consisted of a couch, coffee table, a TV console area, filled with documentation materials about each others work.  Allowing videos to intermingle on the TV, one could watch installation works by deSoto and performances by Luna play.  Family photos were on the walls and console.  Surrounding three sides of the space were river willow, cut from the La Jolla Reservation and attached to the wall so the overpowering fragrance permeated the viewer’s experience.  The piece seeks to confuse and confound the presuppositions about modern Indian life with a space both a bachelor pad and a place of contemplation.