Virgil Ortiz: Revolt 1680/2180: Runners + Gliders

History Colorado Center

1200 Broadway, Denver, CO, 80203

May 13, 2023-July 14, 2024

Admission: Adults: $15; Kids and Members: Free

Review by Paloma Jimenez

In his latest exhibition at The History Colorado Center, Virgil Ortiz travels through time using the spiritually loaded medium of clay. Revolt 1680/2180: Runners + Gliders offers materially and politically rich insights into Puebloan history. In collaboration with the museum, the genre-bending artist challenges the public to reconsider history not just as a concrete timeline of events but as a porous exchange between people throughout the past, present, and future. Ortiz forges a path where ancestral stories and newly invented narratives can shape the course of lived realities.

An installation view of Virgil Ortiz’s exhibition *Revolt 1680/2180: Runners + Gliders* at History Colorado. Image by Paloma Jimenez.

Visitors to Runners and Gliders might encounter the exhibit through the entrance or through the exit, the latter of which is attached to another exhibit. Ortiz intentionally cultivates this malleable chronology throughout the show. He collapses time by exploring the 1680 Pueblo Revolt—“the most successful Indigenous uprising against a colonizing power in North American History”—through the lens of an invented future revolt in 2180. [1]

Virgil Ortiz, *Omtua, Runner 1680*, 2023, digital image printed on aluminum. Image by Paloma Jimenez.

Digital images printed on aluminum depict Ortiz’s versions of the key players in the rebellion: “the historic figures Omtua and Catua, who served as messengers during the 1680 rebellion, and carried coded messages to the Pueblos of what is now New Mexico.” [2] Omtua, Runner 1680 depicts a Runner’s side profile in inverted color, feathers fanning out from an aerodynamic hairstyle. A tube winding around his neck appears to channel oxygen into his mouth.

Virgil Ortiz, *Omtua, Glider 2180*, 2023, digital image printed on aluminum. Image by Paloma Jimenez.

Directly across the space in Omtua, Glider 2180, a metallic-clad figure dons a pair of oversized goggles, spear grasped firmly in hand. While the Runners traversed the deserts to disperse Po’pay’s rebellion plan, the Gliders belong to a future group of warriors who time travel to deliver messages to their past ancestors.

Virgil Ortiz, *Enter the Portal*, video projection. Image by Paloma Jimenez.

Two walls inside Ortiz’s immersive video piece depict Gliders in a New Mexican landscape. Another wall hypnotically undulates with shifting black-and-white patterns. On the ground, a circular projection in a state of eternal transformation operates as a potential portal for traveling through time. Black and white QR codes mounted throughout the rest of the exhibition offer an expanded network of portals for the viewer to interact with. Once a viewer scans a code, the pieces in the exhibit pop up on the phone screen in new locations, transcending their material constraints.

Artist unknown, *Ancestral Puebloan Mug*, 1150-1300, Wilmarth Collection. Image by Paloma Jimenez.

The QR codes’ black and white mazes of encoded data echo the geometric patterns used in Ancestral Puebloan pottery. Ortiz explored the museum’s permanent collection to select a group of historic ceramic works to include in the show. Ancestral Puebloan Mug, created circa 1150-1300, sits quietly in modest functionality with a crackled cloud of ash obscuring part of the design. The hand-painted linework evokes a bird in flight over a steady stream. When viewed with Ortiz’s work, the patterns on the Ancestral pieces become more than surface design, serving as a vital language for communicating across time and space.

Artist unknown, *Cochiti Mono*, 1880s-1890s. Image by Paloma Jimenez.

Ortiz also selected pieces that exemplify the Cochiti tradition of creating monos. Monos were “a popular style of pottery at Cochiti Pueblo between 1870 and 1920. The figurines were often caricatures of outsiders who’d visited the pueblo.” [3] One Cochiti Mono stands short and stout with a painted rosary hanging from his neck. His mouth gapes open in communication, indicating that he may have been a Spanish Catholic missionary attempting to convert the Cochiti Pueblo. The rounded forms and careful linework of the monos from the museum’s collection reappear in Ortiz’s monumental ceramic works. Ortiz insists that his work is not a reinvention but a continuation of this long line of Cochiti tradition; Indigenous Futurism also encompasses the past.

Virgil Ortiz, *Mopez*, *Recon Watchman Series,* 2022, high fire clay and glazes. Image by Paloma Jimenez.

Virgil Ortiz, *Po'pay Onyx*, 2021, high fire clay and glazes. Image by Paloma Jimenez.

Ortiz’s own ceramic works occupy the center of the main gallery space. Large heads sculpted with unyielding faces seem to possess an inner knowledge of cosmic patterns. Mopez from the Recon Watchman Series sprouts horns at various angles. Etched black lines run across the deep red finish of the face, evoking the visage of Star Wars villain Darth Maul. However, the horns of Mopez seem to indicate the strength of a more noble warrior whose skin has fused with his armor. Nearby, Po’pay Onyx peers out from the past rebellion, guiding the Watchmen towards a more resilient future.

Virgil Ortiz and Theodore Andriese, *Portal Needle of Mitz Nopek*, 2023, poplar wood, steel, and spray paint. Image by Paloma Jimenez.

Each of the five ceramic figures appears to be waiting for activation, symmetrically facing the centrally placed Portal Needle of Mitz Nopek. The poplar and steel construction hums with enough mysterious energy to pierce through several centuries of time. Carved patterns on the four sides of the sculpture mimic the black and white lines in the video room’s projected portal. A turkey track X—Ortiz’s adopted signature due to the unpredictable nature of the bird—marks the top of the sculpture, leaving us to wonder what might come after we finally pierce the portal.

Historic ceramic works from the History Colorado collection chosen by Virgil Ortiz to be part of his exhibition *Revolt 1680/2180: Runners + Gliders*. Image by Paloma Jimenez.

An installation view of Virgil Ortiz’s exhibition *Revolt 1680/2180: Runners + Gliders*. Image by Paloma Jimenez.

Virgil Ortiz utilizes the narrative techniques of science fiction to create an accessible entry point for learning about buried histories. Finding strength in past Puebloan resistance to oppression, he leads an artistic revolution to ensure future Indigenous survival.

Paloma Jimenez (she/her) is an artist, writer, and teacher. Her work has been exhibited throughout the United States and has been featured in international publications. She received her BA from Vassar College and her MFA from Parsons School of Design.

[1] From the History Colorado Center’s online announcement for Revolt 1680/2180: Runners + Gliders: https://www.historycolorado.org/exhibit/virgil-ortiz-revolt-16802180-runners-gliders.

[2] Ibid.

[3] From an informational plaque in the Revolt 1680/2180: Runners + Gliders exhibition.