HOLDING POWER AMERICAN INDIAN BASKETRY, CLAY VESSELS HIGHLIGHT LACMA WEST EXHIBITS URNING POWER.

Byline: John Farrell Correspondent

Baskets and clay pots might be practical everyday items. But many created by American Indians are also works of art, crafted with intricate details and designs into unique shapes.

The traditions of pottery and basketry are currently on display in two complementary exhibits at the Southwest Museum's LACMA West facility in Los Angeles. ``Reflections of Culture: Basketry From the Southwest Museum,'' an exhibit originally on display in the museum's Highland Park facility, but expanded and enlarged for the LACMA West space, and ``Santa Clara Portraits: A Proud Tradition'' are housed together in the Southwest's display space, and they offer two contrasting views of American Indian crafts.

``Reflections of Culture'' displays more than 300 baskets from the Southwest's extensive collection, which contains many thousands of examples. The baskets on display, collected from many different cultures throughout the United States, include those made by contemporary artists and ancient examples from the long-gone Anasazi cultures. There are examples of baskets worn and scarred by years of use, and exquisite pieces of intricate and delicate design that clearly never were intended for use.

Despite the hundreds of years between these examples, it is easy to see the inherited similarities: shapes that are still in use, designs that harken back to those of hundreds of years ago. And it is fascinating to see the different methods and materials used: pine needles, grass, porcupine quills, every kind of available natural material, used to create baskets big enough to cook large meals and some so small they can only hold a few grass seeds.

``Santa Clara Portraits'' looks at the creation of superb Santa Clara pueblo pottery from a very different point of view, that of photographer Neil Chapman, who, from 1995 through 1999, visited the pueblo to photograph the Indian artists in their homes, on their own lands, at work and relaxing with their families. The photographs, accompanied by works created by those photographed, offers an intimate look at some of the 350 active potters at the pueblo.

Santa Clara Pueblo is located 45 miles north of Santa Fe and has a long tradition of creating deeply incised blackware pottery. Many of the best-known American Indian potters, including Margaret Tafoya, Teresita Naranjo, Joseph Lonewolf and Christina Naranjo, are from Santa Clara.

Chapman photographed the Santa Clara artists only after getting to know them personally, learning about them as individuals and as members of a unique culture. His 51 photographs, all evocative, personal and as individual as the artists they show, evoke the spirit of the pueblo, its separation from the outside world and its inclusion in that world. The photographs, included in Chapman's book ``Santa Clara Portraits: A Proud Tradition,'' which is available for sale at the exhibition, reveals the potters as real human beings, seemingly ordinary workers who can produce objects of exquisite beauty from their own soil and traditions.

Though all the pieces on display here are indeed ``Santa Clara pottery,'' the range of design, colors and materials is astounding. There are pots of simple design sparkling from the micaceous clay used, pots painted with intricate design, carved in intricate spirals and ancient designs. There are humorous pieces, and many, of course, in the traditional black-on-black style.

The facts

--What: ``Santa Clara Portraits: A Proud Tradition'' and ``Reflections of Culture: Basketry From the Southwest Museum.''

--Where: The Southwest Museum at LACMA West, 6067 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles.

--When: Noon to 8 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday; noon to 9 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. ``Santa Clara Portraits'' continues through Jan. 2, 2001. ``Reflections of Culture'' runs through Sept. 29.

--How much: Free.

--Information: [phone].

CAPTION(S):

5 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Basket by Karok artist Elizabeth Hickox.

(2 -- color) Karok jump dance basket.

(3 -- color) Basket by Karok artist Elizabeth Hickox.

(4 -- color) Skokomish basket, circa 1920.

(5 -- color) Detail of basket by Karok artist Elizabeth Hickox.