Mouse Woman drawing by Luke J. Parnell
The Beat
A monthly newsletter about the art of
First Nations on Canada’s West Coast
Welcome to the fifteenth issue of The Beat, a free, independent newsletter that brings you up-to-date on the art events of the First Nations on Canada’s Pacific Coast.
We respectfully acknowledge the Coast Salish Peoples, on whose traditional territories we live and work, and all the First Nations of the Pacific coast.
We wish you all a happy holiday season, and peace and goodwill in the New Year!
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BC First Nations in Toronto
The Museum stop on Toronto’s downtown University subway line has been renovated to excite interest in the collections of the nearby Royal Ontario Museum. Underground, the supporting columns along the platform between the train tracks have been disguised as a Greek column, an Egyptian column and, representing Canada, a BC First Nations house post. News articles after the opening in April featured the post, and subsequent readers’ comments have been very appreciative. Toronto Mayor David Miller called the project “absolutely magnificent”.
The subway’s Bear sculpture is a fiberglass reproduction of a wood house post in the ROM collection which was brought in the 1920’s from the Wuikinuxv First Nation, also called the Oweekeno people, at Rivers Inlet. Their home territory is midway along the coast of the British Columbia mainland.
The original sculpture is displayed inside the museum. A photograph of the post in the station will be on our “Slide Show” images feature on The Beat’s website, as well as a picture of Oweekeno Chief Alex Chartrand with the original. See http://www.coastalartbeat.ca
The Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto re-opened in November, and First Nations art is playing an unprecedented role in the Canadian Galleries. Rather than showing the art of our First Nations separately, the Canadian Curator Gerald McMaster has made a strong statement of the importance and continuity of First Nations’ role in Canada from the first gallery and throughout the installation. Gallery visitors entering the Canadian area first find themselves in an unusual gallery, “A Thousand Points for a Thousand Generations,” which emphasizes the fact that Canada is not a new country, that humans have lived here for many thousands of years, and carefully created objects to enhance their lives, spiritually, practically and beautifully. Again, an image of this wall of ancient projectile points will appear on our web slideshow feature.
Throughout the more than forty AGO galleries now dedicated to Canadian art, work by First Nations artists is displayed alongside art from our European-centred cultures. The Tsimshian Treasures from the Dundas Collection are there, a work by Charles Edenshaw , and a small ivory pole carved by Bill Reid in 1966, donated by Michael and Sonia Koerner. On occasion, the choice of works or context is puzzling, but over time more information on the galleries will no doubt appear and clarify the juxtapositions.
The new Art Gallery of Ontario seems considerably enlarged and quite transformed by its re-build and re-arrangement of the collection. For more, see http://www.ago.net/
An exhibition of contemporary Northwest Coast art is being planned for the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, near Toronto. The project began as a book on that theme by Ian Thom, Senior Curator at the Vancouver Art Gallery. The McMichael Gallery, on the lookout for a summer 2009 exhibition, asked Thom if he could curate a show to accompany the book, thus reversing the usual process. Seventy-five works by forty First Nations artists, most Canadian, will appear in Challenging Tradition: Contemporary First Nations Art of the Northwest Coast . Interviews with each artist are included in the book, and the works were selected through consultation with each artist, said Mr. Thom. Kwakwaka’wakw Bill Henderson, Beau Dick, Wayne Alfred , Sonny Assu , Haida Robert Davidson , Tlingit Preston Singletary , and Tahltan Peter Morin are among those chosen.
Bill Reid Gallery
The Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art in Vancouver and the Consulate of France hosted an event on November 28 2008 honouring the renowned French anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss on his 100 th birthday. The program included readings from his work, a French television broadcast with Professor Levi-Strauss and Bill Reid, and many tributes, with Haida community leader Miles Richardson presiding.
A birthday celebration honouring the much-respected anthropologist was also held in Paris at the Musee du Quai Branly, the ethnological museum inspired by Levi-Strauss. According to the New York Times report of the event, the museum aims to present objects as “artifacts of great beauty but also with defining context, telling visitors not only what they are, but also what they were meant to be.”
Professor Levi-Strauss’s ideas have had a profound effect on the study of culture; he is the founder of structuralist anthropology. His book on the art and stories of our Northwest coast, The Way of the Masks , published in 1975, shows the relationship between masks and kinship systems. Professor Levi-Strauss’s work was characterized by a new respect for women and First Nations peoples.
Works of art commissioned for the much-anticipated exhibition Continuum: Vision and Creativity on the Northwest Coast are now arriving at the Bill Reid Gallery. The exhibition will open June 20 2009. For more on Continuum, see www.billreidgallery.ca
Vancouver Projects
A new project, Looking Forward, Looking Back, is seeking First Nations artists. The goal of the project is to take a look at life in Vancouver’s Eastside through the eyes of Aboriginal artists, storytellers, performers and designers – both traditional and contemporary. Nisga’a artist Mike Dangeli , alluding to the many news stories of poverty and addiction in the area, points out that “what the public doesn’t know is that there is another side to the story. This project will take a look at this vibrant and rich community through the eyes of Aboriginal artists who live, work and survive in such a difficult landscape … there is also an abundance of hope, courage, fortitude and strength that can be seen in the care, attention and mutual concern that we see on the Eastside.”
His project colleague, Cree Jerry Whitehead , said “We want all Eastside weavers, storytellers, carvers, dancers, filmmakers, singers, musicians, actors, comedians, and jewellers living or working on the Eastside to share stories about how culture plays a role in their artistic expression”. Aboriginal artists who want to share their stories or work should submit them by email to info@thevase.net or deliver them to the Vancouver Native Housing Society, 1726 East Hastings, marked “Attention: Sheryl White”. The deadline for submissions is December 12 th 2008. This Canadian Culture Online’s project’s website will be: www.LookingForwardLookingBack.com
Vancouver’s Grunt Gallery and the Arts Partners in Creative Development have funded an intriguing project by Metis/Cree artist Cheryl L’Hirondelle, Nikamon Ohci Askiy (songs because of the land). From December 8 – 31 2008 she will make daily journeys throughout Vancouver and “sing” the landscape as she encounters it. The song, as audio clips, will be transferred to an online database. The final performance and DVD launch will be presented during the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival in January-February 2009. For more on the project see www.grunt.ca
Flight of the Hummingbird: A Parable for the Environment written and illustrated by Haida artist Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas remains 10 th on the BC Publishers’ Bestseller List in November, an unusual accomplishment six months after its publication by Greystone Books. The UK rights have been bought by Short Books; Editions du Boreal has brought out a French edition. The book is already available in Japanese, Korean, and Spanish.
The Bill Reid Centre at Simon Fraser University has received a gift recently from New York photographer Adelaide de Menil of 1000 studio prints of photographs of the “Totem Villages” of the Northwest coast. The photographic expedition was undertaken in 1967-8 and resulted in a book co-authored with Bill Reid, Out of the Silence.
A sculpture by Haida master artist Jim Hart has found a new home at Simon Fraser University. A Constellation of Frogs was originally commissioned for a California location in 1994, but the Bill Reid Foundation and Simon Fraser University have worked together to place it in the atrium of First Nations Student Centre and the nearby Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Simon Fraser University’s Burnaby campus in Greater Vancouver. The joint owners of the piece are in the process of giving their interests to the Bill Reid Foundation and Simon Fraser University. The gifting ceremony is to take place at SFU in April of 2009.
Three Coast Salish artists have been selected to create art for the University of Victoria’s First People’s House. Tsawout artist Doug Lafortune will make two welcome posts, a man and a woman holding a child, for the entrance. Squamish artist Rick Harry Xwa-lack-tun will carve the main door with a thunderbird and salmon on one side, and a killer whale on the other. Charles W. Elliot of the Tsartlip First Nation will carve two house posts showing “Emerging Frogs from the Great Flood” based on a traditional story. The building is expected to be ready in July 2009.
Continuing Shows
The Drawings and Paintings of Daphne Odjig: A Retrospective Exhibition showing until January 4 2009 at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection outside Toronto.
S’abadeb – The Gifts: Pacific Coast Salish Art and Artists at the Seattle Art Museum until January 11 2009 (see The Beat November 2008).
Steeling the Gaze: Portraits by Aboriginal Artists , organized by the Canadian Museum of Photography, and showing at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, ongoing.
See The House of the Ghosts an outstanding installation by Marianne Nicolson on the north façade of the Vancouver Art Gallery, until January 11 2009. (See The Beat November 2008.)
Unity
,
an exploration of Pacific Northwest Coast, Inuit and
Maori art
works is exhibited at the Coastal Peoples Fine Arts Gallery until
January 9 2009, at 1024 Mainland in Vancouver. See
www.coastalpeoples.com
Inspired Reflections
features some beautiful bowls and
jewellery, including
Kwakwaka'wakw
Rande Cook's
carved Bear Cubs Bulge Bowl and two silver pieces by the late
Art
Thompson
. For more on the
Alcheringa Gallery in Victoria BC, see
www.alcheringa-gallery.com
Tsimshian artist and teacher Russell Mather and his apprentice Lauren Lieb have created a pole for the Earl Mah Aquatic Centre in Prince Rupert BC. The challenge, according to the artist, was that he was asked to paint on an existing cylindrical cement pole. Colour and a somewhat protruding Raven figure make the surface seem more three-dimensional. The Raven figure projects from the cylindrical shape to give special honour to the Gitsees people. The Butterfly was added to the traditional Eagle, Raven, Wolf and Blackfish crests, in order to include the people who do not have a crest. Mather chose to name the pole Reflections Within because his work is mirrored in the surface of the pool, and to acknowledge that people reflect in their thoughts as they relax during their recreational swim and soak in the adjacent hot tub. The photograph in a recent edition of Prince Rupert’s Northern View newspaper shows the pole looking both traditional and unusually modern.
Weaving Baskets in Washington State
January 2009 is designated a Month of Basketry Events in the Puget Sound area of Washington State. An exhibition, Intertwined: Contemporary Baskets from the Sara & David Lieberman Collection , is being held at the Bellevue Arts Museum from December 17 to March 22 2009. Bellevue is four miles east of Seattle. More information at www.bellevuearts.org
Organized by the Arizona State University of Art, the show will include many contemporary works made of diverse materials and traditional and non-traditional styles. Among the artists is Haida Lisa Telford who learned traditional weaving from her aunt Delores Churchill , a much-respected Haida weaver. Telford has received many honours, most recently a $7500 Artist Trust Washington State Arts Commission Fellowship.
A Symposium Passion for Baskets will be held on Saturday January 9 2009 at the Bellevue Art Museum. There are a number of related exhibitions in the Seattle area, including one at Snow Goose Associates, Contemporary Native Basketry , from January 9 to 31 2009, featuring Lisa Telford. Collectors should note that the Northwest Basket Weavers group is also sponsoring a talk on April 8 2009, “Preserving the Heritage: Spruce Root Hats” by Dawn Glinsman. More information at www.nwbasketweavers,org
Haida Gwaii
Have you ever been astonished at the ugliness of the so-called “Indian” souvenirs in Vancouver shops, often Asian-made?
The Council of the Haida Nation has developed a system of identifying authentic Haida art, to protect against fraudulent use of the term Haida in the marketplace. A Haida artist may register with the Council and receive a Haida Art Authenticity Certificate. The artist is then given special tags that confirm that the artist is of Haida ancestry. The tag has a personal registration number assigned by the Council of the Haida nation. More information is available at the CHN offices at Skidegate, 250 559 4468, and Massett, 250 626 5252.
The Haida Gwaii Museum is calling for artist proposals for individual or group exhibitions. Deadline for submission is January 15 2009. Artists can call Kwiaahwah Jones, Intern Curator, at 250 559 4643, extension 246.
For more information on the news of the Haida Nation, go to the website at http://www.haidanation.ca
Vancouver 2010 Aboriginal Graphics
The Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Committee has commissioned Coast Salish artist, Rick Harry Xwa-lack-tun to create authentic Aboriginal designs for use by VANOC licensees in a wide variety of products as part of the 2010 Aboriginal Licensing and Merchandising Program.
The Art Bank
A special purchase of artworks from Canadian artists from culturally diverse backgrounds has been announced by the Canada Council Art Bank Collection. Paintings, photographs, sculptures, prints, drawings and fine craft will all be considered. The application deadline is February 16 2009. A second call for purchase will be made on June 30 2009. For more information, call Suzanne Wolfe at 613-566-4414 or 1-800-263-5588, ext.461, or at Suzanne.wolfe@canadacouncil.ca
The
National
Museum of the American Indian
is part of the Smithsonian, the national museums of the United
States, but often has content in the museum and its podcasts related
to Canadian First Nations. To download this material you do not need
to have an iPod. To preview and subscribe to its podcast on iTunes
click the following
link
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=208624216
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Comments, news and new subscribers to this free newsletter are welcomed. Please write to: editor@coastalartbeat.ca
Past issues are available at our website www.coastalartbeat.ca
Thank you to David Dumaresq, Gerald McMaster, Ken Lister, Mike Dangeli, George MacDonald, Russ Mather, Jim Hart, Daina Augaitis, Louise Morris, Martine Reid, Martin Landmann, and many others, for your assistance. Thank you to readers who have lent us images. We have decided to put a “slide show” of photographs on our website during the coming month with images related to our stories. If you are searching for particular stories in past issues, try searching with Google.
The Beat is an independent, not-for-profit project written and published in Vancouver Canada by Ann Cameron.
Copyright 2008 Ann Cameron.