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dataSB[1] = new data("images/collaboration/sb01_l.jpg","<font><strong>Shonto W. Begay</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;July 2000<br> photo: Raechel M. Running. (pictured left to right: daughter Shonri Begay, Shonto Begay, and nephew Justin John)<br><br>&quot;The earth home I was born in sat five miles southeast of the community of Shonto, Arizona. My father, a very traditional guardian of native healing, was our guide in the early days. My mother, like most Navajo women of her day, wove rugs from the wool of our flock of sheep. I am the fifth child. There were to be eleven more.<br><br>It was in my youth that I learned to see the world about me. I learned to savor the beauty and to feel at home among the red mesas, piñon and juniper. My world was the circular line of the horizon. This was the place that harbored the ancient gods and animal beings that were so alive in the stories of my people. The teachings of my elders make it very clear that this land is sacred and we belong to it, it does not belong to us. I learned that nature was more than just what I saw — that she is life and therefore gives and maintains life. To recreate facets of my universe in its varying images was the adventure of living. Through my eyes and hands, I drew my first line upon a slick rock.<br><br>My illustrations for books utilize a textured mixture of watercolor and colored pencils. My acrylic paintings, my larger pieces, are a series of brush strokes — small strokes repeating like the words of blessingway prayers. For me this process is a visual chant. My works are personal visions shared. My art is created from my heart and from the earth. It is my truth.&quot;</font>")
dataSB[2] = new data("images/collaboration/sb02_l.jpg","<font>Truck Bed Forum<br>38&quot; x 32&quot;<br>acrylic on canvas<br>1994<br><br>&quot;A forum of Diné men generally finds itself at the bed of an aged pick-up truck. Ribald discourses, global views, truck price comparisons, politics and even theology are covered as other sacred or secular social events play out in the background. This truck is a vessel of knowledge and spontaneity.&quot;</font>")                                                                                 
dataSB[3] = new data("images/collaboration/sb03_l.jpg","<font>Battle for The Soul<br>69&quot; x 50&quot;<br>acrylic on canvas<br>1995<br><br>&quot;A constant struggle for our 'native' souls is still being waged to the point where we question our very pillar for identity. This painting was inspired by an act of a local Pentecostal preacher. He chose to pray over his poisoned son rather than rush him to the hospital. The son died before sunrise.&quot;</font>")
dataSB[4] = new data("images/collaboration/sb04_l.jpg","<font>A Very Long Prayer at the Funeral Feast<br>30&quot; x 28&quot;acrylic on canvas<br>1999<br><br>&quot;A mournful feast opens with a prayer, not the traditional Navajo prayers, but the Christian prayer and someone on a tangent. The soup and fried bread gifts. Old and young restless. One feels his mortality and must feel a need to lie on God’s couch.&quot;</font>")
dataSB[5] = new data("images/collaboration/sb05_l.jpg","<font>Reclaimed by Snakeweeds II<br>51&quot; x 26&quot;<br>acrylic on masonite board<br>1999<br><br>&quot;A slow deterioration of an abandoned old trailer once used by coal workers as they laid down tracks. This is a visual recording of its existence and tired body once called a home. A box of stories, now decaying back into the ancient grounds reclaimed by this magical land.&quot;</font>")
dataSB[6] = new data("images/collaboration/sb06_l.jpg","<font>Witness to Spirit Released<br>48&quot; x 64&quot;<br>acrylic on canvas<br>1999<br><br>&quot;The raven sits as witness alone. The death hogan with a northern opening is gated with yucca plants to ensure its closure. The spirit is released from the body and from the hogan. The hogan sits forever abandoned by its human occupants and deceased members. The spirit release is towards the north — the direction of mystery.&quot;</font>")
dataSB[7] = new data("images/collaboration/sb07_l.jpg","<font>Pictured above, Mr Begay during his visit with the staff of the NMAI Conexus web site.<br><br>&quot;The weeks I've spent as a research fellow have been exciting, invigorating and very educational. The National Museum of the American Indian and the Smithsonian Institution have been very helpful and accommodating, as have all the museums involved: University Museum, University of Pennsylvania Museum, American Museum of Natural History, and the Brooklyn Museum. The Museum Resource Center, Cultural Resource Center at Suitland, Maryland and all the curators and collections interns.<br><br>Special thanks to Nadema Agard, Keevin Lewis, and Mark Clark. I felt that I had enough time intervals to digest information collected and the scheduling seemed well paced. The items and information in my pursuits have been satisfactory to very good. The cultural knowledge and sensitivity demonstrated by the personnel have been impressive. I feel, as a visual artist that I have grown in my 'vision quest' as much as one can to empower and bless my works yet to come. Anytime one gets an opportunity to encounter the self through materials and images of the past in a genuine endeavor for growth, we all win. We embrace the future and all of its triumphs and pains with this knowledge. We straddle the threshold of the new millennium prepared for ourselves and those of whom we hope to pass the rewards of this research on to.&quot;<br><br>Mr. Begay invites you to his web site at http://www.shontobegay.com/, and welcomes correspondence care of<br>Shonto W. Begay<br>P.O. Box 3526<br>Flagstaff, Arizona 86003<br>(520) 774-1665 and 606-5939<br>&quot;</font>")                                                                                                                                     
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