Although exposed to Christianity since 1540 when the first Spanish explorers entered New Mexico, the Indians' contribution to Christian art has been modest and sporadic until they discovered the nativity set. Today, Indian nativity artisans are believed to be the only homogenous group in the USA producing art on the theme of Christ's birth. But the great majority of Pueblo artisans work solely in clay. At one time, their technique and decorating art depended very much on tradition and style proper to each pueblo. Things have changed.
Many artisans now have their own style, sometimes a mixture of styles from different pueblos.
For this reason, it becomes almost impossible to find the typical nativity set from Laguna or Jemez. This applies to the fifteen nativity set on display in this exhibit. They are from fifteen different artists, most of them contacted personally by the exhibitors, but they do not represent fifteen different pueblos. At first glance, the visitor will discover that there exists a great similarity between the different sets. One of the foundational characteristics of pueblo art is its earth-boundness.