Visitors who come up close to Susan Point’s welcome figure [above, left] at the Museum of Anthropology on the campus of the University of British Columbia can’t help noticing that it has a rather large member that hangs downward (it’s much more prominent in real life than in the photograph). I can’t help seeing this as a humorous response to Bill Holm’s treatment of Dzunukwa, the Wild Woman of the woods [above, right], a sculpture that stands in front of the Thomas Burke Memorial Museum at the University of Washington. It seems to me that the newer UBC MOA sculpture answers its counterpart at the Burke in the manner of an inside joke. I wish I could have seen Holm’s response to it upon seeing it for the first time.

Earlier this week, to get away from my (thankfully diminishing) pile of papers that require marking, I went to the UBC Museum of Anthropology to see the new Edenshaw exhibition, which will be the subject of a post in the very near future. While I was at the MOA, though, I took a few pictures unrelated to the new exhibition.

The photograph above shows a welcome figure holding what the accompanying sign describes rather unhelpfully as a “fisher.” Aldona Jonaitis in her excellent book Art of the Northwest Coast calls the small animal that makes frequent appearances in Salish art a “mink or a mink-like creature.” I remember when I first saw this welcome figure a long time ago, I thought it looked vaguely South Pacific in origin. Jonaitis’ work was instrumental in helping me to learn about Salish art, and indeed, the Salish creator of this artwork, Susan Point, has worked very hard to research the forms of Salish art so that she could bring them into the world in which we all find ourselves today. The sculpture is then, Salish art created by a contemporary artist.

The welcome figure sits atop the stand shown below; unfortunately, there was a large red minivan parked directly in front of the stand, which necessitated a good deal of cropping in the image above. (The zone in front of the stand is reserved for handicapped parking, and there is usually an automobile there in my experience.) I think the base shows very clearly the artistic idiom of Susan Point.

The next photo shows my third attempt at taking a really decent picture of MOA #A7103 a-b, a remarkable bentwood chest:

While in the MOA’s Great Hall, I just gravitated to this hand; in the background is the reflective pool, with a totem pole in the background:

The final picture shows the reflective pool and the high ceiling of the Great Hall:

William White speaks at the Bill Reid Gallery

Last Saturday was a particularly busy day that involved two suddenly-scheduled morning medical appointments for a family member. Because of this, I wasn’t able to attend weaver William White’s talk at the Bill Reid Gallery on the subject of gender and weaving. Well, to be precise, I did come–with the Little Collector. He was happy to to come to the gallery, but has not yet learned to sit still for a long time in a room full of adults listening in rapt and silent attention to a speaker, so I took him around the gallery, and then we left earlier than I had wanted. I have seen a video that devoted quite a bit of time to White, though (the video plays at the Bill Reid Gallery), and based on that, I’m sure that the merry band of northwest coast aficionados, historians, and art connoisseurs shows above enjoyed his talk immensely.
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I and my family were able to drop in on Roy Henry Vickers, who was in town for the weekend. I always enjoy seeing Vickers and his art, and am looking forward to his visit again next year.

Image of Roy Henry Vickers’ “The One that Got Away”

It is indeed a busy weekend in the northwest coast art scene in Vancouver this weekend. Roy Henry Vickers, one of BC’s most celebrated artists and one with a loyal following that includes me, will be at the Trev Deeley Motorcycle dealership in Vancouver this weekend, on both Saturday and Sunday. If you’re like me and short of funds, you can still buy a calendar!

Info at: Trev Deeley Motorcycles and at RoyHenryVickers.com.

“Once in a Blue Moon” cedar bentwood box by Landon Gunn

The Lattimer Gallery is having its annual bentwood box charity silent auction until Dec. 10th, and as far as I am concerned, with the possible exception of Phil Gray’s understated, aesthetically-pleasing bentwood box, this gorgeous miniature box by Landon Gunn is going to steal the show–and that’s with a number of very attractive miniature bentwood boxes made by other accomplished artists. I would love to attend the event, but there are a number of financial constraints that have been placed on me with a recent Jan. 1st layoff notice due to low student numbers at the place of my employment.

As for the box itself, I very much enjoy enjoy the way the lid alludes to archaic northern bentwood chest art: the thick lid inlaid with opercula is marvelous, while the copper (one of my favourite metals) hearkens back to the traditional use of copper by northwest coast chiefs to indicate wealth. The lid (available in photographs at the previous link) and the moon face reference the time when the northern style used very thick lines whose pressure was relieved by trigons and other similar devices. As for the copper moon itself, it is shown in four phases. The concept is simple, elegant, traditional, and contemporary–and very beautiful. It will be a happy person who wins this box!

Left: Thunderbird Apron 2006, William White. Photo: Kenji Nagai
Right: William White at the Time Warp Opening Reception at the Bill Reid Gallery. Photo: Anne Seymour

Weaving in the northwest coast art traditions has usually been a women’s art. A few weeks ago, the Bill Reid Gallery in downtown Vancouver hosted the Sparrow sisters; unfortunately, I could not make that engagement; this Saturday (Dec. 4th), though, William White promises to be equally interesting. White has obtained a special dispensation from his community to practice weaving. I have seen a video that features White, along with other northwest coast aboriginal weavers, at the Bill Reid Gallery, and he seems to be a very compassionate and equally interesting person. The event promises to be worth the $10 fee (which includes Gallery admission). Members get in free.

Image of Charles Edenshaw bracelet MOA #NB1.736 courtesy
The University of British Columbia’s Museum of Anthropology

One of the delightful things about the University of British Columbia’s Museum of Anthropology is that the catalogue is online. Another is that the Creative Commons Licensing scheme they use allows for image sharing. To really appreciate the objects in the collection, though, it’s best to go and visit them in person–and I’m delighted to pass on the word that one of the newest MOA exhibits is up and running: Signed without Signature: Works by Charles and Isabella Edenshaw. The blog post linked to in the preceding sentence shows in colour an image from a book I am half-way through (though there the image is black and white). More to come–on the MOA, this exhibit, and the book.

By the way, the image shown above shows a fairly common, but altogether fascinating northwest coast art image-type: two faces in profile, which together form a third face. It’s nicely done, and by a master craftsman and artist, too.

…should end soon. I’ve been too busy, but there’s a light at the end of the tunnel!