GOINGS ON: SANTA BARBARA : Part, Yet Apart : Works of four American Indian artists who break with tradition can be seen starting Friday.

Nora Naranjo-Morse and Baje Whitethorne would like to destroy some myths about American Indian art.

They are two of the four artists whose work will be exhibited at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History beginning Friday in a show titled “A Separate Vision.” This will be the last stop for the touring show, on loan from the Museum of Northern Arizona, before it goes to the Smithsonian Institution.

As the title suggests, the art on display will emphasize the individuality of the artists. In much of the artwork it will also demonstrate their semibreak from what is considered more traditional American Indian art--sort of a combination of the old and the new.

“It shows the diversity of that art today,” said Jan Timbrook, an anthropologist at the Santa Barbara museum. “Quite a lot of artists happen to be Indians. Some are perfectly content to keep their work in the mainstream, but there is an equal number of creative artists who think personal expression is just as important as tradition.”

Naranjo-Morse, who lives in the Santa Clara Pueblo in New Mexico, said she uses the same clay used by people of the Rio Grande for 400 years. But instead of making the more common polished black pottery, she makes clay people.

“My six sisters and three brothers work with clay and my mother has worked with clay all her life,” said Naranjo-Morse. “Most of the people have done the round bowls, but I wanted to see what else the clay would do.”

Naranjo-Morse takes the opportunity to try to change people’s ideas about American Indian women, too. One piece of her artwork shows a woman sitting forward on a sofa, looking outraged. Sitting next to her is a man who has just tried to kiss her. It’s titled “Indian Girls Aren’t Easy.”

“I use a light subject for something more serious. It invites people to look at it because it’s whimsical superficially,” she said. “We are thinking women. There are a lot of changes going on with Indian women.”

Whitethorne, a member of the Navajo tribe in Arizona, uses watercolors to depict vivid Navajo scenes.

“I work in realistic landscapes. I mainly work with what I grew up with and what I know as culture and tradition. I complement that with what is happening in 1990,” he said. “We’ve been labeled for years as doing crafts. Fine art is a little bit different.”

The other artists in the show are Brenda Spencer of Wyoming and John Fredericks of Arizona. Spencer weaves rugs that and Fredericks does a modern version of kachina, the ancient Hopi art of carving wooden dolls.

Said Timbrook, “The stereotype is that you should be able to make the art and then reproduce 15 more by Christmas. Ideally, this will make a breakthrough.”

Admission to the museum is $3 for adults and $1 for children under 12. It is located at 2559 Puesta del Sol Road. For information, call 682-4711.

Harry Belafonte, fresh from his travels with Nelson Mandela, will make his first appearance in Santa Barbara when he performs with his 12-piece orchestra Sunday night at the Arlington Theater.

Belafonte will perform some of his biggest hits, along with songs from his new album “Paradise in Gazankulu.” The latest release is a collection of African songs and poetry.

Tickets are $24.50 and $27.50, but the show is almost sold out. Call the Arlington Ticket Agency at 963-4408. The Arlington is located at 1317 State St.

One-hundred-fifty of the brightest young musicians, most of them from conservatories such as Juilliard, have begun summer school at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara.

With faculty that include Lawrence Leighton Smith, conductor of the Louisville (Ky.) Symphony; Jerome Lowenthal, a renowned concert pianist; Martin Katz, the accompanist for opera star Marilyn Horne; and even former Academy graduate Horne herself, the students should be challenged.

It’s a good bet the students can also put on a pretty good show of their own. Spokesman Ven Holbrook said the students come from all over the world and must go through an audition before being accepted. About five of the students are already members of a symphony.

Luckily for classical music lovers, the academy’s Sounds of Summer concert series is open to the public.

This season’s 15-performance schedule resumes with the Festival Orchestra Saturday at the Lobero Theatre. It will feature Beethoven’s Overture to Egmont, Opus 84; Strauss’ Duet-Concertino for Clarinet, Bassoon and Small Orchestra; and Schubert’s Symphony No. 9 in C, D. 944. Tickets are $12. The Lobero is located at 33 E. Canon Perdido. For information, call 963-0761. For a complete schedule of events call the academy at 969-4726.