Michael Duane McCabe (1961–2023) was a Diné (Navajo)

monotype Monotyping is a type of printmaking made by drawing or painting on a smooth, non-absorbent surface. The surface, or matrix, was historically a copper etching plate, but in contemporary work it can vary from zinc or glass to acrylic glass. The ...

artist,

master printmaker Master printmakers or master printers are specialized technicians who hand-print editions of works of an artist in printmaking. Master printmakers often own and/or operate their own printmaking studio or print shop. Business activities of a Master ...

and teacher. His work is found in the permanent collection of the

Portland Art Museum The Portland Art Museum (PAM) is an art museum in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. The Portland Art Museum has 240,000 square feet (22,000 m2), with more than 112,000 square feet (10,400 m2) of gallery space. The museum’s permanent c ...

and many of his works are held in the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts.

Early life and education

McCabe was born February 8, 1961, on the

Navajo Nation The Navajo Nation (), also known as Navajoland, is an Indian reservation of Navajo people in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah. The seat of government is located in ...

Fort Defiance, Arizona Fort Defiance ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Apache County, Arizona, Apache County, Arizona, United States. It is also located within the Navajo Nation. The population was 3,624 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. History ...

(Navajo: ''Tséhootsooí'' sʰéhòːtsʰòː.í, to Helen Natonabah and Peter McCabe. The Santa Fe Reporter states that "He was born into the ''Táchii'nii'' clan (Red Running into the Water People Clan) and was born for ''Hashk'aa Hadzohi'' (Yucca-Fruit-Strung-Out-In-A-Line Clan)." Part of his childhood was spent in Las Vegas, Nevada before moving to

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...

in 1973. He attended high school in Santa Fe, and went on to attend the

Institute of American Indian Arts The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) is a public tribal land-grant college in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States. The college focuses on Native American art. It operates the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA), which is housed ...

with an emphasis in printmaking as well as ceramic arts and creative writing. After graduating from

IAIA Iaia of Cyzicus (), sometimes (incorrectly) called Lala or Lalla, or rendered as Laia or Maia, was a Greek painter born in Cyzicus, Roman Empire, and relatively exceptional for being a woman artist and painting women's portraits. She was alive d ...

, he attended

Naropa Institute Naropa University is a private university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1974 by Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chögyam Trungpa, it is named after the 11th-century Indian Buddhist sage Naropa, an abbot of Nalanda. The university desc ...

where he studied Poetics and Spiritual Practices in conjunction with the One World Poetry Conference. Some of his teachers included

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of th ...

, Diane Di Prima and

Gregory Corso Gregory Nunzio Corso (March 26, 1930 – January 17, 2001) was an American poet. Along with Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William S. Burroughs, he was part of the Beat Generation, as well as one of its youngest members. Early life Born N ...

Career

McCabe first became acquainted with printmaking processes by Craig Locklear. Shortly thereafter he began teaching at the Santa Fe Community College, the Institute for American Indian Arts, and in several private studios including Spotted Dog Press and Hand Graphics. He also taught at the California Correctional Center in Susanville. McCabe was well known among artists throughout the world as a master printer. Artists came from as far as South America to create prints under his guidance. Between 2003 and 2023 he was a partner in Fourth Dimension Press in Santa Fe where he used a 30”x60” intaglio press. For a time he worked in a studio on the

Pojoaque Pueblo Pojoaque (; Tewa: Pʼohsųwæ̨geh Ówîngeh/P'osuwaege Owingeh ’òhsũ̀wæ̃̀gè ʔówîŋgè, Po’su wae geh, which translates to “water gathering place”, is a unincorporated community in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States. It ...

while living in Cuyamunge, New Mexico. He worked in the monoprint genre for nearly forty years, focusing on

viscosity printing Viscosity printing is a multi-color printmaking technique that incorporates principles of relief printing and intaglio printing. It was pioneered by Stanley William Hayter. The process uses the principle of viscosity to print multiple colors of ...

with multiple colors. Some of the artists he printed for included Hock E Aye Vi Edgar Heap of Birds,

Jaune Quick-to-See Smith Jaune Quick-to-See Smith (January 15, 1940 – January 24, 2025) was a Native Americans in the United States, Native American visual artist and curator. She was an enrolled citizen of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and was also of M� ...

and Forrest Moses. His monoprints were usually one-of-a-kind, and that were printed on smoothly surfaced, non-absorbent paper, and often included collage or

Chine-collé ''Chine-collé'' or ''chine collé'' () is a printmaking technique in which the image is transferred onto a surface that is bonded onto a heavier support in the printing process. One purpose is to allow the printmaker to print on a much more d ...

techniques. His style has been described as "expressive". Trend Magazine stated that he "pushed the technique into ever-changing combinations of inks, materials, and methods." Some of his prints include photographs to create "layered collaged works" that included such imagery as ravens, Asian calligraphy, a photograph of his nomadic great-grandfather, and vintage hand-written letters from the 19th century.

Collections

Many of McCabe's works are held in the permanent collection of the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts. His work is also held in the

and the

University of Arizona Museum of Art The University of Arizona Museum of Art (UAMA) is an art museum in Tucson, Arizona, operated by the University of Arizona. The museum's permanent collection includes more than 6,000 works of art, including paintings, sculptures, prints and draw ...

Death

McCabe had debilitating arthritis. He died at age 62 on April 3, 2023, after an extended struggle with health problems.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCabe, Michael People from Fort Defiance, Arizona Navajo artists Native American printmakers 1961 births 2023 deaths Navajo Nation people Native American people from Arizona Native American people from New Mexico Navajo printmakers