Friday, September 16, 2016

The Spirit of Haida Gwaii

Besides the houses and the totem poles which dominate the Grand Hall of the National Museum of History, there is a great deal of important and unique artwork on display.  Let me share just three of the most interesting pieces.

This is an enormous Transformation Mask, carved by Beau Dick, a Kwakwaka'wakw artist (people of the coast east of the northern end of Vancouver Island).  The mask shows the face of the first mythic human, nestled inside the image of a bird.  The top portion is open here; closed it shows the image of a Raven.  Smaller versions of this mask would be worn by dancers.

These canoes are utilitarian of course, but they are also works of art, the left one painted on the inside and the right one on the outside.  Early records describe native shoreline villages lined with canoes of all sizes, often carved out of individual trees.  

And this is the famous 'Spirit of Haida Gwaii', by Bill Reid.  Reid is widely recognized as probably the greatest native carver of the 20th century, who led the way in reviving native west coast art.   Awarded at least 6 Honourary Degrees, he is one of Canada's greatest artists.  This is the original white plaster cast of the sculpture; a black bronze casting is in the Canadian Embassy in Washington, and a green (jade) version is in Vancouver International Airport, known respectively as The Black Canoe and the Jade Canoe.

The 13 figures in the dugout canoe represent the aboriginal and environmental heritage of Haid Gwaii (formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands).   This is Wolf, sinking his teeth into a wing of the Eagle.  In the picture above on the front of the canoe, facing backwards, is Grizzly Bear; behind the Haida Shaman you can see the beak and large eye of Raven.

This is a smaller, 'normal' size human, dressed in traditional Haida garb, helping paddle the canoe.

And on the far side is Frog.

While looming over them all is the Haida Shaman, wearing a traditional cloak and a woven spruce root hat, holding a carved staff.  Bill Reid is the greatest carver of Haida art, and this is widely seen as his pre-eminent piece of work.  I wish I could write about Haida Gwaii the place (we were there for several days 10 years ago), and about the history and culture, but for now this sculpture will have to symbolize it.  But it's on our list of potential adventures!

This is Bill Reid's other best known work of art, the 'Chief of the Undersea World', a breaching Orca.  We saw it when we visited the Vancouver Aquarium with our daughter and her family last year, when we went to B.C. for William's memorial services.

15 comments:

  1. Wonderful art - having grown up in S.E. Alaska we were privileged to see many Haida artists at work - and many fine pieces. Thanks for sharing these - they are spectacular.

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  2. wonderful beyond what I could even visualise. Works of art that must have taken a long time to do, the Orca, my pick, outstanding, magnificent, and a very fitting place to be displayed.

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  3. I really enjoy Native American art from the Western Coast of North America. It is so powerful with its line and colors and yet filled with subtle detail.

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  4. Fantastic carvings. I knew nothing about Native American art until I moved to the west coast, but this is new to me. Thank you for sharing it. :-)

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  5. These are beautiful pieces. I so admire Haida artwork, as it seems to evoke such a mystique and ancient culture. At the same time the images have such a sleek modern appeal to them. My brother once took us for a walk along the west coast of Vancouver Is. (near Tofino) and we saw some very old and forgotten weatherbeaten and silvery totems along the shore. Even in their decay, they were powerful.
    Wendy

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  6. Reid's work is amazing, and I always like to stop at his Haida Gwaii there. The orca has a second one in the museum, also a plaster cast version, set on the level above the main entrance.

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  7. Lovely post and photos . Thanks for sharing , Have a good weekend !

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  8. Wow, those are exquisite! Oh, to have just a bit of that kind of talent.

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  9. I can really appreciate the three different forms of art work. The painting on the mask is wonderful. I admire handmade canoes that I see in Minnesota but these you share are the best. The sculptor is so talented with great three dimensional design in his work. It was so good to see all of these photos.

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  10. I've seen the sculpture at the Vancouver Airport. It's amazing, as are all of these forms of art. - Margy

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  11. Such powerful sculpture. Thanks for sharing through your splendid photos.

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