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Dempsey Bob: In His Own Voice
CA$45.00“Dempsey Bob: In His Own Voice draws from extensive interviews with the artist, presenting the story of Bob’s life and career in his own words, including his family history, his memories of growing up in the 1950’s and 60’s in the cannery culture of British Columbia’s Skeena River, thoughts on his artistic development and influences, his travels to connect with artists and communities both domestic and international, his engagement in advocacy and activism, and his commitment to ensuring the continuity of tradition and innovation through his teaching. Taken as a whole, this publication reflects the changing face of Northern British Columbia from the 1950’s to today.
Photographs of Bob’s artworks from key private and public collections across Canada and the United States are supplemented by spectacular images of the Skeena River region, combined with archival documentation from the artist’s family albums. The result is a vivid portrait of the creative process and a moving record of an adventurous life lived to the fullest.”
Hardcover
Published in 2022
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Where the Power Is: Indigenous Perspectives on Northwest Coast Art
Karen Duffek, Bill McLennan, & Jordan Wilson
CA$65.00In collaboration with the Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia.
Where the Power Is: Indigenous Perspectives on Northwest Coast Art is a landmark volume that brings together over eighty contemporary Indigenous knowledge holders with extraordinary works of historical Northwest Coast art, ranging from ancient stone tools to woven baskets to carved masks and poles to silver jewellery. First Nations Elders, artists, scholars, and other community members visited the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia to connect with these objects, learn from the hands of their ancestors, and share their thoughts and insights on how these belongings transcend the category of “art” or “artifact” to embody vital ways of knowing and being in the world. Texts by the authors sketch the provenance of the objects, and, in dialogue with the commentators, engage in critical and necessary conversations around the role of museums that hold such collections.
The voices within are passionate, enlightening, challenging, and humorous. The commentators speak to their personal and family histories that these objects evoke, the connections between tangible and intangible culture, and how this “art” remains part of Northwest Coast Indigenous peoples’ ongoing relationships to their territories and political governance. Accompanied by over 300 contemporary and historical photographs, this is a vivid and powerful document of Indigenous experiences of reconnection, reclamation, and return.
Hardcover
Published in 2021
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In the Spirit of the Ancestors: Contemporary Northwest Coast Art at the Burke Museum
Robin K. Wright & Kathryn Bunn-Marcuse
CA$52.50In the Spirit of the Ancestors celebrates the vitality of contemporary Pacific Northwest Coast art by showcasing a selection of objects from the Burke Museum’s collection of more than 2,400 late-twentieth- and early-twenty-first-century Native American works.
Essays focus on contemporary art while exploring the important historical precedents on which so many artists rely for training and inspiration. Margaret Blackman reflects on building one of the largest collections of Northwest Coast serigraphs, and Joe David reminisces about his artistic journey through mask-making. Shaun Peterson, Lisa Telford, and Evelyn Vanderhoop discuss the historical precedents for working in styles that were kept alive only by a few critical artists and are now making a comeback. Robin K. Wright explores the history of box drums and their revival. Emily Moore discusses the repatriation of two stolen house posts and proposes a new concept of “propatriation” to describe the resulting commissioning of contemporary posts to take their place. Kathryn Bunn-Marcuse explores the power of adornment and how clothing, jewelry, and personal adornments like tattooing express tribal and personal identity in ways both connected to the past and grounded in the present.
The diversity of approaches presented by these contributors speaks to artists, collectors, academics, tribal communities, and all those interested in Pacific Northwest Coast art. Splendid color photographs of works never before published will delight everyone.
Soft cover
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Totem Pole Carving: Bringing a Pole to Life
Vickie Jensen
CA$26.95The totem pole is a distinctive and widely admired form of traditional Northwest Coast Native art. Once nearly lost, this art form is alive and thriving today. In this beautifully photographed book, Vickie Jensen collaborates with Norman Tait, a renowned Nisga’a artist, and his crew of young carvers to document the process of transforming a log into a totem pole.
Throughout the carving process, Tait requires the apprentices to make their own tools, design their regalia and practice traditional drumming, songs and dances. He teaches the young carvers that carving a pole requires more than time and labour, more than a firm understanding of the tools and techniques and more than artistic and emotional commitment. The process involves respecting and following tradition and becoming involved in their cultural background.
Published in 2003
Softcover
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Tsimshian Treasures: The Remarkable Journey of the Dundas Collection
Donald Ellis
CA$55.00A collection of 36 Tsimshian masterpieces from northern British Columbia, collected over 140 years ago.
Edited by Donald Ellis, with essays by Steven Clay Brown, Bill Holm, Alan L. Hoover, Sarah Milroy, and William White.
Tsimshian Treasures is an extraordinary collection of masterpieces from the Dundas collection that were acquired by Reverend Robert J. Dundas in October 1963 from Natives at Old Metlakatla. The images and essays in this book honour a remarkable moment in Canadian cultural history and the triumphant return of these masterworks of Northwest Coast art after more than a century in exile.
Published in 2007
Hardcover
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Breathing Stone: Contemporary Haida Argillite Sculpture
Carol Sheehan
CA$42.00Working with a soft black stone known as Argillite, Haida sculptors over a period of two centuries have created a stunning body of work that is exceptional in its craftsmanship and beauty.
Haida argillite sculpture constitutes one of the longest creative traditions in Canadian art. What is not always recognized is that this art form also serves as a rich portrayal of Haida history. Following the initial Euro-American contact, the Haida experienced devastating losses of population and the virtual disappearance of their culture. Argillite sculpture became almost the only means for the Haida to preserve their sense of who they were as a people. Their art became postcards to the universe explaining a heritage threatened with extinction.
Now, a renaissance of Northwest Coast art is taking place. New artists, combining outstanding skill with an awareness of artistic developments on a global scale, are creating work of impressive quality and sophistication. Through their art, stories and fundamentals of an ancient Haida culture gain meaning and vitality for a contemporary audience.
Published in 2008
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Cedar
Hilary Stewart
CA$29.95Hilary Stewart explains through her vivid descriptions, 550 drawings and 50 photographs, the tools and techniques used, as well as the superbly crafted objects and their uses in the context of daily and ceremonial life. Anecdotes, oral history and the accounts of early explorers, traders, missionaries and native elders highlight the text.
Published in 1995
Softcover
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Bill Reid and Beyond: Expanding on Modern Native Art
Karen Dufffek and Charlotte Townsend-Gault
CA$45.00Academically charged, this book offers a wide-ranging and thought-provoking collection of art and cultural scholars reappraisals regarding Bill Reid’s career and compelling artwork. Aware of political, economic and social events, this book examines and adds to the ongoing debate about aboriginality and modern art.
Published in 2005
Hardcover
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