Northwest Coast
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Challenging Traditions: Contemporary First Nations Art of the Northwest Coast
Ian M. Thom
CA$60.00In a stunning resurgence over the past few decades, contemporary First Nations artists of the Northwest Coast have established themselves as among the most dynamic and important artist working in North America. Challenging Traditions honours this success by presenting the work of 40 of the most celebrated living artists, whose achievements reveal an accomplished melding of contemporary vitality with traditional genres. The work of such acknowledged masters as Robert Davidson, Dempsey Bob, Susan Point, Preston Singletary, Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, Jim Hart, and Richards Hunt, plus many younger artists, is presented in 100 colour photographs of primarily new pieces, amply demonstrating that the historic strengths of Northwest Coast culture are alive, well and continuously evolving.
For more than a century, the state and church actively discouraged First Nations from pursuing their traditional cultures, but they persisted in keeping alive their art and ceremony. With the rise of cultural and political activism, Native art is now flourishing on an unprecedented scale. Many artists are examining the meaning and purpose of First Nations art in the twentieth-century, while following traditions and boldly experimenting with innovative subjects, techniques and materials.
Ian Thom explores these contradictions by describing the career, working methods and philosophy of each artist, all of whom he interviewed especially for this book. He also discusses at least two significant recent artworks by each artist.
Both senior and younger artists from all of the major First Nations on the Northwest Coast are featured, working in a variety of media and styles: groundbreaking abstract painting and metal sculptures, painstakingly woven spruce root hats and ceremonial woollen robes, works in glass, masks, carved panels, painted drums, striking political paintings, “Haida manga,” jewelry, carved argillite works and bentwood boxes.
This book is beautiful, provocative introduction to the best contemporary First Nations art of the Northwest Coast, in the words and works of some of its leading lights.
Published in 2009
Hardcover
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Ceremonial Talking Stick
Dr. Richard Hunt RCA
Price upon requestRed Cedar wood, Abalone shell (over 150 individual inlaid pieces), Acrylic paint
More images available upon request.
69 x 12 x 11″ (including base)
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Huupukanum Tupaat : Out of the Mist: Treasures of the Nuu Chah Nulth Chiefs
Martha Black
CA$39.95This visually sumptuous book features works of the historical and contemporary importance of Nuu Chah Nulth art and culture. It illustrates and documents the traveling exhibition of the same name curated by the Royal British Columbia Museum.
Huupukwanum and Tupaat are Nuu-chah-nulth words that designate everything a chief owns, including valued hereditary names and songs, objects and dances, rights and privileges, lands and resources.
These Nuu-chah-nulth concepts introduce non-aboriginal people to the profound philosophical, spiritual and personal connections that these objects had – and continue to have – with Nuu-chah-nulth communities.
Published in 1999
Softcover
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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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The Raven Steals the Light
Robert Bringhurst and Bill Reid
CA$14.95Ten masterful, complex drawings by Bill reid are accompanied by ten episodes from Haida mythology told by Bill Reid and Robert Bringhurst. The result brings Haida art and mythology alive as never before.
Published in 1996
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Softcover
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Haida Monumental Art: Villages of the Queen Charlotte Islands
George MacDonald
CA$80.00George MacDonald, Director of the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa, combines ethnohistory, archaeology and stunning photodocumentation to explain the physical and cultural structure of a Haida village. He shows how architecture and totem poles are an integral part of the social and religious aspects of Haida culture.
Published in 1994 by Douglas & MacIntyre
Paperback
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Eagle Transforming: The Art of Robert Davidson
Ulli Steltzer & Robert Davidson
CA$45.00Robert Davidson’s own words, combined with Ulli Steltzer’s photo documentation, give readers a rich visual survey of the inspirations and achievements of the artist.
Published in 1994
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Hardcover
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S’abadeb The Gifts: Pacific Coast Salish Art and Artists
Barbara Brotherton
CA$50.00Coast Salish oral traditions, history and artistry from prehistory to the present is captured in this visually stunning book.
A principal at the heart of Salish culture is a reciprocal exchange of physical, spiritual and intangible gifts, including songs, spirit powers, titles, names, food, natural resources and artistic creations. The term for “gifts” in Lushootseed, a Coast Salish dialect, is S’abadeb and this book illuminates the concept by exploring the intersection of art with ceremony, oral traditions, the land, and contemporary realities.
Published in 2008
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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Purple Formline
Alano Edzerza
CA$130.00Giclee, Edition of 200
Unframed
(For inquiries on custom framing, please contact the gallery)
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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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Susan Point: Coast Salish Artist
Gary Wyatt
CA$59.00This beautiful book marks the exciting emergence of Susan A. Point as a major artist on the Northwest Coast. Point’s striking and distinctive art in the Coast Salish tradition – from jewellery in precious metals to prints, paintings and monumental pieces in wood and glass – has won worldwide acclaim. Featuring 62 full-colour and 21 black and white images.
Published in 2000
Softcover
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Taku Red
Alano Edzerza
CA$240.00Giclee, Edition of 200
Unframed
(For inquiries on custom framing, please contact the gallery)
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Hawk Moon Pendant
Rick Adkins
Price upon request22K Yellow Gold, Abalone shell, Cast
Edition of 12
2007 -
Seagles
lessLIE
CA$275.00Serigraph, Edition of 50
2007
Unframed
(For inquiries on custom framing, please contact the gallery)
in this design
you see eaglesin this design
you see seagulls.in this design, I am attempting to mediate between literacy and Coast Salish visual art. Hence the punning of the title “sEAGLES,” which is a way of making a visual pun, and making literacy visual. At the top and bottom of this design, there is the suggestion of the letter “s,” which simultanously forms the eagle wings while defining the seagull heads. So visual punning is created through both the painted design and the title of this piece.
-lessLIE
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Pro Creation
lessLIE
CA$250.00Serigraph, Edition of 100
2007
Unframed
(For inquiries on custom framing, please contact the gallery)
“This contemporary Coast Salish design, titled “Pro Creation”, through the act of creativity,is a celebration of the act of procreation. In the design, two salmon heads are depicted, the negative crescentric space simultaneously defining their mouths, as well as defining each other’s lower jaw. This simple visual punning represents interconnectedness through procreation. This simple visual punning also represents the beginnings of the offspring of the two salmon. In some of philosophical musings, I have often wondered which act is great, creation or procreation? I came to the conclusion that procreation is great than creation, since creation, as a human culture, woudl not exist without procreation. I also felt that the lIFe of one human being is much greater than the body of work of any artist. Recently though, I have felt that creatively creates culture, and makes the procreation of many generations possible. So I now see both creation and procreation as both being great acts of humankind.
On a personal leve, althought I am not really “pro-choice” or “pro-life”, my myOTHER , when she was a sixteen year old girl with me, was considering abortion. With love for her, I am thankful that she gave birth to me. If she never procreated me, the creativity of my lIFe would not exisit.”
— lessLIE
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Spirits of Our Time
Rande Cook
CA$300.00Serigraph, Edition of 200
2007
Unframed
(For inquiries on custom framing, please contact the gallery)
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Salmon Sculpture
Chester (Chaz) Patrick
CA$980.00Exclusive to Coastal Peoples Fine Arts Gallery
Glass; etched and sandblasted (Glass thickness 12mm)
Maple wood base
Salmon are honoured and celebrated by all coastal peoples: the fish serves as a powerful symbol of regeneration, self-sacrifice and perseverance.
Shortages of Salmon are traditionally attributed to human disrespect and refusal to listen to and live by the wisdom of elders. The Pacific Northwest Coast peoples believed that Salmon were actually people with eternal life who lived in a large house far under the ocean. In spring, they put on their Salmon disguises and offered themselves to humans as food.
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Pacific Spirit, State I
Susan Point RCA
CA$875.00Serigraph, Edition of 80
2006
Unframed
(For inquiries on custom framing, please contact the gallery)
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Beaver Swimming
Norman Tait
CA$1,400.00Serigraph, Edition of 95
Unframed
(For inquiries on custom framing, please contact the gallery)
The Beaver appears in Northwest mythology and is a family crest in many regions throughout the Northwest Coast. According to legend, the first Beaver was a woman, whose husband frequently went on long hunting and fishing trips. In his absence, his lonely wife took solace swimming, enlarging her pond with a dam and building her own water dwelling. Eventually, she transformed into a Beaver and their children were Beaver People, founding the Beaver lineage.
In mythology, they are often associated with the powerful undersea supernatural beings and the magic Giant Beaver can cause natural disaster with one slap of its wide, strong tail. Characterisically, the Beaver is known to keep to himself and cares little for the activities of the humans, except when they are directly affected. Thus, they often give wise advice so it is important to listen when they do decide to speak.
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Northwest Coast Indian Art: An Analysis of Form
Bill Holm
CA$44.90An important contribution to the fields of art and anthropology, Holm’s work is a genuinely analytical study of the basic elements of form which characterizes a particular aboriginal art style.
Published: 50th Anniversary Edition, 2015
Softcover
Bill Holm passed away on December 16, 2020 at the age of 95.
Please note: When purchasing a book online, please consider the cost of shipping to certain destinations as it may be higher than anticipated. Please contact us for a shipping quote prior to placing your online order.
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Native American Art
Peter Bolz and Hans-Ulrich Sanner
CA$55.00The Collections of the Ethnological Museum Berlin.
The North American collection in the Ethnologisches Museum Berlin ranks among the most important in Europe. Different Native American cultures of the United States and Canada are represented here as well as the peoples of the Arctic.
Published in 1999
Softcover
Please note: When purchasing a book online, please consider the cost of shipping to certain destinations as it may be higher than anticipated. Please contact us for a shipping quote prior to placing your online order.