Grace Ravlin (American, 1873-1956) Cochiti Corn Dancers oil on canvas signed Ravlin (lower right) 24 x 29 inches Provenance: Collection of Leonard Stark, Chicago, Illinois The paint in Grace Ravlin's Cochiti Corn Dancers swirls around the kiva, a round, partly subterranean sacred space where Pueblo ceremonies are held. Kivas date back before the rise of the Katsina Cult, but the Katsina appear to have adapted them for their own ritual purposes. As seen in the painting, steps lead to a small platform and a ladder leads down into the ceremonial area. Some kivas a square while others, like this one, are round. The subterranean space and the shape of the kiva may have something to do with creation and generative power. In Ravlin's composition, the bottom half of the painting functions as ripples round the kiva while the people flow up the steps and spread out round the edge. From our point of view, the ladder rises above the clouds and touches the blue of the sky, blue mirroring the blue in the attire of the celebrants. -James D. Balestrieri Property from the Collection of Leonard Stark, Chicago, Illinois