Puni Kukahiko, "Lovely Hula Hands," carved in chocolate.

COURTESY OF TMA

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As you enter the Tucson Museum of Art gallery, you are greeted by two sizable dresses made of copper and adorned with glass and copper beads, moose hide and dentalium shells.

In style, they suggest traditional dresses worn by northern American Indian women. But they differ dramatically in their purpose and composition. Alaskan artist Rebecca Lyon utilizes uncharacteristic materials joined with more natural and familiar ones, in effect both representing and transcending tradition.

The exhibition is "Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation 2 — Contemporary Native North American Art from the West, Northwest & Pacific." Lyon's pieces, "Athabascan Woman" and "Tlinigit-Haida Woman," from her "Women of the North" series, are actually emblematic of much of what the exhibition explores and celebrates. As the artist says, the "clothing of metal represents strength and longevity, and the use of non-traditional materials moves the visual dialogue into the present."

Make no mistake: This exhibit is not merely an array of traditional Indian craftsmanship, although certainly meticulous skill with traditional materials and forms and iconography are evident. But there is much more than creatively utilized beads, buckskin and bone.

There is a compelling search for — and statements of — identity. There are the conflict of cultures and the effects of straddling worlds and dealing with their often contradictory messages. There is homage to tradition even as these artists respond and react to contemporary issues. And there is a respect for and a connection with the natural world, especially as it yields a foundation for survival, identity and continuity.

"Changing Hands 2" is the second of three presentations put together by the Museum of Arts and Design, New York. "Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation — Contemporary Native American Art from the Southwest," was on view at TMA in 2003 and was the best-attended exhibition in TMA's history. The current exhibition runs through May 11.

Julie Sasse, chief curator at TMA, hopes that this exhibit "will offer a better understanding of the quality and scope of what's being created today by Native American artists, how they tap into tradition with a healthy reverence as a way to discover and build their own vision."

The current exhibit "has already attracted numerous visitors, and we are getting cards and notes with great feedback," said Sasse. "It really entertains and educates. And since it focuses on the Plains and Northwest, it gives folks an opportunity to see works from traditions they don't normally get to see."

One cannot help but be impressed by the diversity and breadth of this TMA offering. There is humor, satire, variety of vision and materials, and delightful surprises, like Marcus Amerman's skillfully beaded bracelets featuring Wonder Woman and the Lone Ranger and Tonto and the 15-minute animated story "How the Raven Stole the Sun" by Chris Kientz and Simon Daniel James.

There are a number of themes that emerge.

As one would expect, respect for and celebration of the natural world are most assuredly found here. One of the more dynamic pieces declaring such respect is Eric Robertson's "The Hub." Three large metal circles or hoops are suspended or hung at different angles. Intersecting each of these hoops are rows of parallel metal lines or rods from which hang hundreds of identical fish, also made of metal. The artist, from Vancouver, British Columbia, says this work "is in celebration of the euchalon" whose use played "a substantial role in cultural exchange, trade and commerce." The work is amplified by lighting that casts shadows of the hoops and fish. The effect is a joyful sense of wholeness and abundance.

One of the more unusual uses of natural materials is Anchorage artist Sonya Kelleher Combs' "Guarded Secrets." What looks like a clump of white cactus is actually made from walrus stomach and porcupine quills. Whatever the secrets, they are surely protected. But visually the piece is so fascinating that it invites attention, paradoxically drawing one in and rebuffing at the same time.

A theme that is dealt with by numerous artists is the reclamation of images and iconography that have been appropriated by white culture and used quite often for commercial purposes and consequently misrepresented and disrespected.

Puni Kukahiko addresses this issue eloquently in her piece "Lovely Hula Hands." Her response to what has become the standard ubiquitous "hula girl" image consists of four intricate and identical "hula girl" statues — carved in chocolate and standing atop a crystal cake plate. It is simple, searing and shaming.

Another theme that pervades the exhibition is the clash of cultures these artists observe and experience and the resulting difficulty in establishing identity.

Sonny Assu of Vancouver writes of his piece "When Raven Becomes Spider Embrace": "My artwork combines pop culture imagery with Indian iconography to create a discussion that will challenge the idea of who a 'real' Indian is — who I am."

Adding to this discussion is Doug Coffin's "Cigar Store Indian," a carved wooden figure whose face is a video screen on which plays an old black-and-white Western with the stereotypical shoot-'em-up cowboy and Indian chases. Interspersed with these scenes are interviews with actual Indians. The contrast not only challenges stereotypes, but in a way also offers a hint of reconciliation between disparate worlds.

This exhibit of more than 150 pieces is expansive and rich. The perspective, honesty, and often meticulous skill exhibited by these artists result in an honest and spirited dialogue with their world — or worlds. Through their work, it is a dialogue in which we are invited to participate.

"Changing Hands" successfully offers an impressively fresh take on the work of contemporary Indian artists. It is also a reminder that art celebrates, critiques, contradicts and questions, but most important, it connects.

"Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation 2 — Contemporary Native North American Art from the West, Northwest & Pacific ."

• Where: Tucson Museum of Art, 140 N. Main Ave.

• When: Through May 11. Museum hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays; noon-4 p.m. Sundays.

• Information: 624-2333.

• Cost: $8, with discounts available.

• Learn more: "Changing Perceptions: Contemporary Native American Art," a panel discussion with two of the show's artists, Doug Coffin and David P. Bradley, is 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the museum. It is included in the price of admission (the galleries will be open).