Armond Antonio, (Diné ), Artist & Living Legend

Like many of us, I am rendered near-speechless by the current state of affairs. I can’t help but contemplate an elsewhere, a refuge to gather myself and bear witness, because all of this shite can drive you to madness. The task to imagine ourselves and America anew feels overwhelming in the face of the storms that keep coming. And yet, we must create spaces to fight without faltering for the soul of the Nation. We know that, with hope and the willingness to put our bodies on the line and say, “No more,” we can begin again.

My Art Under Quarantine project has as its goal the building of a community of love. Art is both revolutionary in its movement towards freedom, and radical in its connecting power. Novelist, Ralph Ellison, writes, “The way home we seek is that condition of being one being at home in the world, which is called love, and we term democracy.”

If love means removing the mask and opening ourselves to the delight of knowing someone new, then what joy to come to know an exceptional new artist and his art. Armond Antonio, in the face of many betrayals, chooses life. Existing at the margins of society to which we have pushed him and his people, Armond examines himself. Seeing the world with wonder, he has become the type of person that a genuine democracy requires. I offer you a small part of his story:

Armond Antonio is not only a talented artist working in pencil, acrylic, oil, watercolor, mixed media, and block printing, but also a hard-working horseman, wild mustang advocate, and empathetic humanitarian. His personal story as a Navajo native from Gallup and living in Pueblo Pintado in Manuelito Canyon on the reservation that straddles Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, is as compelling as his art. Armond Antonio is from the Tse Naa Bithnii (Sleeping Rock) Clan, born for Kinyaani (Towering House) Clan. His maternal grandfather is Dibé Lizhini (Black Sheep) Clan, and his paternal grandfather is Naakai Dinéé from the Mexican People Clan.

This year, 2020, as in years past, Armond participated in Sovereign Santa Fe, a contemporary-Native-American-art group exhibition that is located annually throughout the La Fonda on the Plaza hotel in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Early during the pandemic, Armond Antonio reached out to inquire how he could facilitate raising awareness and money for COVID-19 relief for the Navajo Nation, the three Apache and nineteen Pueblo tribes of New Mexico inclusive. He wanted to donate some of the proceeds from the sale of his artwork to such an endeavor. Lacking a car or lift to Santa Fe, from some one hundred miles away, Armond determined to ride on horseback from his ranch in order to hand-deliver his artwork to the organizers of the exhibition. The journey took four days, with Armond camping out with his horses overnight on three consecutive nights. As a Navajo cowboy riding his horse right up to the doorstep of a former Fred Harvey hotel, La Fonda on the Plaza, to deliver his creations and help raise money for the First Peoples of the Americas, Armond Antonio is a living legend. Not only did Armond Antonio contribute a percentage of his sales to help his people, but a percentage of Sovereign Santa Fe's total sales was contributed to the Pueblo Relief Fund and to Navajo Nation COVID-19 Relief.

Armond Antonio’s life has not always been straightforward. Here is how he writes about the “Old Ways.”

“On the Navajo reservation I know only a handful of people who still own livestock and farm. It’s good and also sad how a lot of knowledge and love for the land is disappearing slowly. When I first moved to the Navajo reservation our cattle and horse herds dropped, but they’re slowly rebuilding. Before I rode horse to Santa Fe, I didn’t really have any other option, I was almost out of hay, dog food, gas, and chicken food. I worry for my animals more than for myself, because they can’t haul water and go very far for new pastures. This drought has played a big part in my hardships and struggles. Some people don’t know it, but I live off of my art, as well as working cattle and horses. I tried farming, but didn’t get much rain this year, plus I’m the only one in my family that cares to try. What I was hoping for was to save the corn stalks for my cattle, and to hopefully have enough crops for myself and other families, maybe even butcher a horse to go with them. This is my concept of being resilient, living off of the land, and using what she provides. This is something that’s becoming rare, especially with Native families. Today was actually the first time me and my brother Jack butchered in a while. I don’t save meat, nor do I hide it. I don’t have kids, nor a wife, so there’s no sense in keeping any, plus I’m going home for a bit and I don’t wanna go home empty-handed. I got this goat off of my grandpa, Will The Whitehorse, and thanks to the people who support me from purchasing my artwork, I was finally able to get food for my livestock and for my family. Supporting my grandpa by purchasing a goat from him made me specially happy.”

Armond Antonio has battled poverty, a feeling of rootlessness, lack of formal education, addictions, and has spent time in and out of jail. Recently he moved back to New Mexico from Colorado, where he was teaching art to Native youth for a non-profit called Spirit of the Sun, and where he also helped in the making of a documentary film about wild mustangs on the Navajo Nation for the Jicarilla Horse Refuge. As a young, enterprising, and creative human being and gifted artist, Armond is grateful to those women and men on the reservation and beyond who have helped him along the way. Armond knows the value of strong mentorship, and is pleased to support others in return, such as his nephew, an ashkii boy who has left school, doesn’t have a father figure, and thinks his uncle is cool. Armond Antonio’s art is powerful, laden with authentic emotion, and deeply impactful in its reflection of his way of living. We warmly welcome him into our community of artists.

Words: Jada Griffin

Art Under Quarantine is a global multi-media platform for creatives. We are diverse and inclusive, and we welcome your offering. If you’d like to join the conversation, email SOUL.

Apache Crown, drawing on watercolor paper.

“I love dark backgrounds and night skies,” Armond Antonio

Sacred Mask, drawing on watecolor paper.

“I just had to add the turquoise to the naja.”

Armond Antonio delivering artwork to the Sovereign Santa Fe exhibition at the La Fonda Hotel on the Plaza, 2020.

Armond Antonio on horseback near the New Mexico/Arizona border.

Armond Antonio tending his animals and land, 2020.