AH233   From Totems to Tennis Shoes -

Art & Culture on the Northwest Coast

Seattle Totem pole stolen from Tongass, Tlingit	Louis Gong (Nooksack) Wolf Chucks

 

AH233 – Native Art of the Pacific Northwest (5 credits)

Monday, Wednesday, Friday 11:30-12:50 pm

Autumn 2019

Ashley Verplank McClelland
ashleyvm@uw.edu

Course Description: This course will be a survey of Native art as a cultural expression of the Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast.  We will study art as material expressions of the Native peoples of Puget Sound, British Columbia, and Southeast Alaska from ancient times to the present as well as exploring regional styles, with emphasis on cultural function, aesthetics, and factors of change as well as ceremonial and commercial art.  Topics will include sovereignty, the impacts of historical and present-day colonialism, appropriation, and other issues of current concern.  Each week we will look at a different cultural area and focus on particular themes within each area.  

In conjunction with the grand opening of the New Burke Museum in October 2019, we will have a number of Indigenous guest speakers.

Course Goals:  This course has multiple goals.  The first is to expose students to the art and culture of the Northwest Coast’s First Nations and to their particular forms of aesthetic expression. In addition, we will explore the methodologies of art history:  learning to look at and describe a work of art both verbally and in writing.  A key goal of the course is to become aware of the history and ongoing responsibilities, both personal and institutional, in relationships with the Indigenous people in our region and their tangible and intangible expressions of identity and heritage.

Learning Objectives:  Students will learn to recognize artistic styles and to analyze artworks on a formal and contextual level.  Critical reading skills will be developed through daily reading and written responses. Writing assignments will encourage reflection on readings and discussions. We will practice comparative techniques and apply them to the artworks or practices under examination.  

Writing Assignments: Writing assignments will require close reading and analysis of class material. The writing in this course will focus on the central concepts presented in the class and in assigned readings.  Writing will be a key part of engaging with course material through reading responses and other short on-line and in-class writing work. Critical thinking and reflection will be part of the weekly expectation in this class.  Your dedication to documenting your critical thinking in class preparation materials will strongly influence your success on exams and other written material.

Required Texts: 

1) Course packet available later in the quarter at EZ Copy ‘n Print at 4336 University Way NE.  Readings will also be available through canvas.

Images:  Selected images from the class discussion and lecture will be available online to aid in your writing assignments as you review class material. 

Office Hours: TBD-Individual appointments in person or via Skype can be scheduled by email at any time. 

 Graded Assignments: As a 200-level class, the assignments in this class are meant to develop critical reading and reflection. There are many, small assignments rather than just a few large ones. This is intentional so that students can develop reading and writing practices and skills throughout the quarter. Staying up-to-date with assignments is key!

Homework & Participation: For most sessions, you will be asked to bring a reading response to class to aid in your participation and to share with others. Response templates can be found in Canvas. Your responses should be typed and printed out. They will be collected as a journal three times a quarter.

Grading:  The course will be graded according to the following formula:

• 30% Quizzes and Test, in class
• 5% Map Quiz; 10% Formline Quiz; 15% Mid-term in class
• 30% Writing
• 15% Mid-term take home essay; 5% Special Events paper; 10% Reflective Essay end of term
• 40% Homework & Participation
• 30% Reading/Movie Responses and in-class participation
• 10% Teamwork - A. Team-led class discussions of assigned reading and B. Team presentation of contemporary artist

Class meetings:  Class meets on Mon, Wed, and Friday for discussions, lecture, and group work. An atmosphere of collegial support respecting differences of opinion and divergent worldviews is essential. Participation is encouraged and expected from all members of the class. Prepare to chat with your classmates about your assigned readings. Bring a copy of your reading responses to share with others and to facilitate your own participation. Having your reading packet in class will be handy.  Coming to class prepared is essential to participating in the discussions.  Taking notes in class and in your reader will be key to success on midterms and finals. ***Research shows taking notes by hand = comprehension and retention.  Only students with documented accommodations requests may use a laptop for notes. For a discussion of the reasons for this decision see these articles. No recording of class lectures or discussions without my permission.

Expectations for Success:  All students can succeed in this class.  There are a number of resources available on campus for additional help including the tutor for AH 233 and the OUGL writing center for feedback on drafts of written assignments. Please contact me if you would like some assistance finding the best help for you. Your most helpful resources are your classmates and teammates.  Use may use the Groups function on Canvas to aid your individual study time by posting questions to your colleagues or form a study group to review information and augment your understanding.

Contributions & Attendance:  This success of this class depends on the active participation of all members.  By attending, you agree to contribute to discussions of reading material and additional material presented in class.  Your insights and questions on the materials are a valuable part of the content of this class. Share the thoughts you have generated from your assigned writings and model the types of analyses presented in class.
 
Late & incomplete work:  Writing assignments will be graded down (B to B-) for each day past the due date. Reading responses are due by 9am on the day of discussion.  They may be turned in early but will not be given credit if they are turned in after the discussion day.  Late exams will not be accepted without a doctor's note.  If you need an extension on any work due to personal circumstances, please talk to me in advance so we can plan appropriately.  Flexibility comes with advance notice.

Teaching Philosophy: In my classes, students track artworks through time, exploring their ceremonial, commercial, and personal contexts in ways that illuminate both the details and the broad strokes of cultural and social exchanges. Writing and speaking about an object’s visual impact challenges many students to approach the subject with a creativity and openness that engenders wide-ranging discussions and deep thinking by student and professor alike. My own training in formal analysis and attribution supports in-depth discussions of style and form, situating objects historically with regard to time and place. I strive to pair formal analysis with a robust art historical approach, integrating components of historical, cultural, and social as well as aesthetic concerns, building in an ethno-historical approach to sources.  A critical element to this approach is engaging with First Nations artists, academics, and culture-bearers, to share their knowledge and experience of the dynamic history of cultural processes.  I strive to bring Native artists and academics into my classroom to provide first-hand discussion of the issues in their own practice.

The core of my research and teaching engages the social life of an object within its cultural paradigm and as it travels outside of the original sphere of production.  As well, discussions of contemporary art practice must also integrate current political and legal issues into an interpretive framework.  Critical understanding of the colonial relationships that led to the alienation of Indigenous material culture is the foundation of any serious discussion of contemporary political and legal constructs that impact Indigenous sovereignty over land, knowledge, material expressions, and human rights. 

My number one priority in teaching Native American art history is for students to develop recognition of and respect for Native art forms and more generally for Indigenous culture.  I want them to realize that these are living cultures, still in existence, and changing through time.  This goal is accomplished through the content of the course, guest lectures by Native artists and scholars, and through my enthusiasm and respect for the subject.  Visits to local galleries and museums as well as projects that focus on art in public places by local Native artists draw students’ attention to the Indigenous roots in our environment. 

WRITING ASSIGNMENTS:

Homework Journals (3 times a quarter) – These are preparation for participation

For each class:  Bring your reading response to class, based on the response template.  You will collect these in a journal (folder/stapled bunch) and turn them in three times this quarter.

Each response will have 2 parts:

1. Quotation – Choose a favorite quote from the reading material. Include the source (author and page #).  Type out the quotation and then write 2-3 sentences on why this was key to the article, to larger class themes, or resonated with you personally.
2. Talking Point – 2-3 sentences on an issue or idea developed from the reading that is of interest to you, based on one of these options. A. Content that caught your attention or B. An artwork that was engaging and representative of the issues.

On Guest Lecture days, your response will not be on the reading template, but will be a question you prepare for the speaker.  You may use your prepared question or a different one in class if you have a chance to ask.  Write a few notes in response to your question or key topics of interest to you from the speaker on your prepared page and turn that in with your homework journal.

ALL ENTRIES SHOULD BE PROPERLY TITLED AND DATED

Grading: Your homework journal will be graded on completion of the assignment on the due date and thoughtful response showing close reading of the assignment.  Missing work: Student lives are busy and sometimes overloaded.  Everyone needs a little leeway from time to time.  If you complete 90% of the homework assignments this quarter, you will receive 100% credit.

CURATOR ASSIGNMENT

Our museum if looking to buy a new piece of Northwest Coast Native American or First Nations contemporary art.  You are on a curatorial team that will suggest the piece to be purchased.  You will present this work to the whole class and the class will vote on which piece should be purchased by the museum.

Artist list – Each team will choose one artist from my list or, if your team wants to suggest an artist who is not on this list, please let me know.  Your team needs to choose an artist by or before November 8.  The earlier you choose, the more likely you will get your first choice.  Each artist can only be featured by one team.

Each student should post one work by your team’s artists by November 22.  I will create and assignment in Canvas.  Please include title, date, materials and an image.  You may be working with an artist whose work appears in the class readings, but if so, it must be a work that is not included in the readings.  Post 3-4 sentences on why you think this is the work that your team should put forward for purchase.

Your team will decide on what piece to suggest and then each team will present one work of art at the end of the quarter and the entire class will vote.  This presentation will cover the info on the artist, why it would be important to have this work in the museum collection, what issues it raises for the viewer, and how it makes a good dialog with other work in the collection (other works we have studied this quarter).  Each team will have about 7 minutes to present their piece.

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For more information visit the Safe Campus website at: www.washington.edu/safecampus.

 

 

 

 

 

Class/Event Schedule:

Week 1            9/25     Introduction – Please read during first week of class.

1. Read: “The Northwest Coast” by Janet Berlo and Ruth Phillips in Native North American Art, pp. 173-207.

 

2. Watch: nuucaanuulathin: We Are Nuu-chah-nulth. An introduction to one Northwest Coast First Nation.  Their story is their own, but it has many elements in common with other Northwest Coast Nations (especially first 20 minutes and last 7 minutes). 51 minutes.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TaK8aaDumg

 

3. Watch: Why Treaties Matter. 5 minutes, 20 seconds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bexvE4lZRGo

 

4. Review: Northwest Coast tribal maps in Canvas for quiz next week.

 

                        9/27     Intro to Indigenous Art History. Why?

1. Read: “Canadian Indian Act, Potlatch Prohibition Provisions, 1884, revised 1906” in Native Art of the Northwest Coast, pp. 656-657 & excerpt from “Potlatch” by George C. Clutesi (Nuu-chah-nulth) in Native Art of the Northwest Coast, pp.257-258.

 

2. Read: “Interpreting Cultural Symbols of the People from the Shore,” by Daisy Sewid-Smith (Kwakwaka’wakw) in Native Art of the Northwest Coast: A History of Changing Ideas (Charlotte Townsend-Gault, Charlotte, Jennifer Kramer, Ki-ke-in, eds.), pp. 15-25.

 

3. Read: "THAT'S MY DINNER ON DISPLAY": A First Nations Reflection on Museum Culture” by Gloria Frank in BC Studies, pp. 163-178.

 

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Week 2            9/30     Intro to Northwest Coast Art

1. Read: “Function of Art in Northwest Coast Indian Culture” by Bill Holm in Spirits of the Water: Native Art Collected on Expeditions to Alaska and British Columbia, 1774-1910 (Steve Brown, ed.), pp. 47-52.

 

2. Read: “Form in Northwest Coast Art” by Bill Holm in Indian Art Traditions of the Northwest Coast (Roy Carlson, ed.), pp. 33-45.

 

3. Watch: Potlatch 67-67 with Rob Everson. 4 minutes, 33 seconds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLo0wXaA7J0

 

4. Watch: Shaun Peterson (Puyallup/Tulalip-Coast Salish), Coast Salish Design Elements. 5 minutes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kc3K-MyH3xg&list=PL9BA9F9899915C266

 

5. Watch: The Most Basic Elements used in Northwest Coast Formline Art. 54 seconds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4jVVvv6b_E&feature=youtu.be

 

6. Study: Northwest Coast maps for In-class MAP QUIZ TODAY.

 

10/1 - SPECIAL VIEWING OF: THE WHALE HOUSE. Room 250 at the HUB.

Refreshments 6:00 pm, show starts at 6:30 pm. Panel discussion to follow. Free admission.

 

10/2     Southern NWC - Chinook Art and Coast Salish Art and Culture

1. Read: “Central and Southern Coast Salish Ceremonies Since 1900” by J.E. Michael Kew in Handbook of North American Indians: Northwest Coast 476-480.

 

2. Read: “Coast Salish Design: An Anticipated Southern Analysis” by Shaun Peterson (Puyallup/Tulalip – Coast Salish) in In the Spirit of the Ancestors: Contemporary Northwest Coast Art at the Burke Museum (Robin Wright and Kathryn Bunn-Marcuse, eds.), pp. 13-21.

 

3. Watch: Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun (Coast Salish) decided at a young age that he preferred to use art as the basis for continuing the dialogue with Canadians about his beliefs and his concerns for the environment and the struggle aboriginal people face in demanding their rights. 2 minutes, 50 seconds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLjulgu4KVw

 4. Bring: Reading response comparing Berlo and Phillips approach/tone vs. Indigenous authors.

 

10/4     No Class Today - Coast Salish and Makah Cultural Traditions

1. Read: “Traditional Teachings about Coast Salish Art” by Gerald Bruce Subiyay Miller and D. Michael CHiXapkaid Pavel (Skokomish – Coast Salish) in S’abadeb The Gifts: Pacific Coast Salish Art and Artists (Barbara Brotherton, ed.), pp. 24-49.

 

2. Movie: Ozette: A Gift from the Past, 2006. 57 minutes. https://archive.org/details/IndianAmericaAGiftFromThePast

 

3. Movie: Teachings of the Tree People, 1998. 57 minutes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2SaRE8Sy6g

 

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Week 3            10/07   Central NWC - Makah and Nuu-chah-nulth Art and Culture

1. Read: “An Introduction to Ozette Art” by Richard Daugherty and Janet Friedman in Indian Art Traditions of the Northwest Coast, pp. 183-195.

           

2. Read: “Contemporary Makah Whaling” by Janine Bowechop (Makah) in Coming to Shore: Northwest Coast Ethnology, Traditions, and Visions, pp. 407-419.

 

3. Read: “Hilth Hiitinkis – From the Beach” by Ki-Ke-In in Native Art of the Northwest Coast: A History of Changing Ideas (Charlotte Townsend-Gault, Charlotte, Jennifer Kramer, Ki-ke-in, eds.), pp. 26-30.

 

5. Watch: The Makah celebrate a whale. 1 minute, 51 seconds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPRf03GeBw0

 

6. Review: nuucaanuulathin: We Are Nuu-chah-nulth. An introduction to one Northwest Coast First Nation.  Their story is their own, but it has many elements in common with other Northwest Coast Nations (especially first 20 minutes and last 7 minutes). 51 minutes.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TaK8aaDumg

 

7.      Bring: Your reflection paper on the movies.

 

10/9 - SPECIAL EVENT: TEST DAY AT THE NEW BURKE MUSEUM

Open from 10:00 am – 3:00 pm.  Admission is free for all UW students.

 

10/09   Guest Speaker – Glass Artist and Educator Dan Friday (Lummi)         

1. Read: “Where Mere Words Failed: Northwest Coast Art and Law,” by Douglas White (Coast Salish/Nuu-chah-nulth) in Native Art of the Northwest Coast: A History of Changing Ideas (Charlotte Townsend-Gault, Charlotte, Jennifer Kramer, Ki-ke-in, eds.), pp. 633-643. Feel free to finish the chapter if you are interested.

 

2. Read: Lillian Pitt’s ideas on Native glass traditions, 1 page. http://lillianpitt.com/glass-art-reflects-native-american-culture/

 

3. Watch: Dan Friday make glass baskets. 6 minutes and 4 minutes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivVIh611h0k

and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwZb8TQ3foY

 

4. Skim: Dan Friday’s website, including the “archives.” http://www.fridayglass.com/index.html,

 

10/11   Nuu-chah-nulth Art and Culture

8. Read: “The Backstory of Thliitsapilthim: Nuu-chah-nulth Ceremonial Curtains and the work of Ki-ke-in” by Charlotte Townsend-Gault, exhibit catalog, pp. 2-5.

 

9. Read: “Sayach’apis and the Naani (Grizzly Bear) Crest” by Denise Nicole Green in Unsettling Native Art Histories on the Northwest Coast, pp.1-17.

 

10.  Movie in Class: Histakshitl Ts'awaatskwii: We Come From One Root, 2011. 1 hour, 6 minutes.

Histakshitl Ts'awaatskwii (We Come From One Root)

 

 

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Week 4            10/14   Kwakwaka’wakw Art and Culture

1. Read: “The Kwakwaka’wakw” by Aldona Jonaitis in Art of the Northwest Coast, pp. 107-120.

 

2. Read: “Behind the Masks” by Robert Joseph (Kwakwaka’wakw) in Down From the Shimmering Sky: Masks of the Northwest Coast, pp. 22-31.

 

10/16   Kwakwaka’wakw Art and Ceremony

1. Read: “Kwakiutl: Winter Ceremonies” by Bill Holm in Handbook of North American Indians: Northwest Coast, pp. 378-386

 

2. Read: “Contemporary Kwakwaka’wakw Potlatches” by Gloria Cranmer Webster (Kwakwaka’wakw) in The Spirit Within: Northwest Coast Native Art from the John H. Hauberg Collection, pp.192-251 (lots of pictures, seriously).

 

3. Watch: Box of Treasures, 1984. 28 minutes. http://www.chicagofilmarchives.org/collections/index.php/Detail/Object/Show/object_id/3719

 

10/17 SPECIAL EVENT: In Focus: Contemporary First Nations and Native American Women Artists and Curators at the Frye Art Museum.  7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

In Focus: Asia Tail  Asia Tail will present on recent projects, and her plans for the future, as she continues to explore the intersections of community organizing and personal practice as a mixed Urban Indigenous artist.

 

10/18   Northern NWC - Formline Design – 2D Art

1. Read: “Uses of Two Dimensional Art” by Bill Holm in Northwest Coast Indian Art: An Analysis of Form, pp. 14-26.

 

2. Read: “Elements of the Art” by Bill Holm in Northwest Coast Indian Art: An Analysis of Form, pp. 26-66 (tons of pictures) .

 

 

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Week 5            10/21   Northern Formline Design and Totem Poles

1. Read: “Ancient Roots: Prehistoric Perspectives on Northwest Coast Art” by Steve Brown in Native Visions: Evolution in Northwest Coast Art from the Eighteenth through the Twentieth Century, pp. 6-11.

 

2. Read: “Ways of Seeing, Ways of Knowing” by Bill McLennan and Karen Duffek in The Transforming Image: Painted arts of Northwest Coast First Nations, pp. 106-114.

 

3. Study: “Some Tentative Thoughts on Tribal Form Characteristics in Northwest Coast Sculpture” by Bill Holm, unpublished. In readings for 10.21 folder on Canvas.

 

10/23   Haida Art and Culture

1. Read: “Haida Art and Haida Gwaii” by Marianne Jones (Haida) in Raven Traveling: Two Centuries of Haida Art, pp. 29-38.

 

2. Read: “Reclaiming Haida Culture” by Robert Davidson (Haida) in The Spirit Within, pp. 93-99.

 

Movie: Keeping the Spirit Alive, 1999. 48 minutes.

 

                        10/25   Haida Argillite and Northwest Coast Houseposts and Totem Poles

 

1. Read: “Nineteenth Century Haida Argillite Carvings: Documents of Cultural Encounter” by Robin Wright in Art and the Native American: Perceptions, Reality, and Influence, pp. 224-230, plus pictures.

 

2. Read: “On Commerce and Cultures: Explorers and Merchants Encounter Carved Columns” by Aldona Jonaitis and Aaron Glass in The Totem Pole: An Intercultural History, pp. 15-33.

           

 

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Week 6            10/28   Guest Lecturer – Master Weaver Lisa Telford (Haida)  

1. Read: “Intertwining: Learning for the Future from Our Past” by Lisa Telford (Haida) in In the Spirit of the Ancestors: Contemporary Northwest Coast Art at the Burke Museum, pp. 50-67.

 

2. Read: “Inten(s)ional Enchantment: Cedar Clothing by Haida Weaver Lisa Telford” by Kathryn Bunn-Marcuse in Fiber Arts.

 

3. Watch: Shelly Laws and Teri Rofkar at the Smithsonian. 7 minutes, 43 seconds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKyB6H3QEjY&t=20s

 

4. Watch: Lisa Telford weave. 1 minute, 38 seconds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e30Yqs2Ncq4

 

10/29 SPECIAL LECTURE: Awakening the Archive & Bringing Voices Alive: A Collaborative Restoration of Kwagu’ł Films with Franz Boas, 1930-2019.  Kane Hall, rm. 210, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm, free. 

http://www.lib.washington.edu/about/news/exhibits/calendar?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D134438305

 

                        10/30   Northern Northwest Coast Weaving Traditions

1. Read: “The Naaxiin: Robe of Sacred Honor” by Evelyn Vanderhoop (Haida) in In the Spirit of the Ancestors: Contemporary Northwest Coast Art at the Burke Museum (Robin Wright and Kathryn Bunn-Marcuse, eds.), pp. 33-39.

 

2. Read: “Yeil Koowu: The Reemergence of Ravenstail Weaving on the Northern Northwest Coast” by Steve Henrikson in American India Art Magazine, pp. 58-67.

 

3. Watch: Lily Hope talking about Chilkat. 4 minutes, 58 seconds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YraJBuYfRgk

 

11/1 SPECIAL EVENT: Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas at the Seattle Art Museum, free lecture 11 am. Carpe Fin is a major commission for SAM’s collection by Haida artist Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas. This monumental work has been created as “Haida manga,” a unique approach developed by Yahgulanaas that blends several artistic and cultural traditions, including Haida formline art, Japanese manga, Pop Art, and graphic novels.

 

11/1     Tsimshian Art, Culture, and Ceremony

1. Read: “N’luumskm ‘Amwaal: We Respect Our Treasures” by William White (Tsimshian) in Tsimshian Treasures: The Remarkable Journey of the Dundas Collection, pp. 130-137.

 

2. Read: “The Journey: The History of the Dundas Collection” by Alan L. Hoover in Tsimshian Treasures: The Remarkable Journey of the Dundas Collection, pp. 40-65.

 

3. Watch: David Boxley talk about Tsimshian art and culture. 5 minutes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKeWHBrCNto

 

 

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Week 7            11/04   Tsimshian Art, Culture, and Ceremony - MIDTERM EXAM - IN CLASS

1. Read: “The Northern Style-Tsimshian House Fronts” by Edward Malin in Northwest Coast Indian Painting: House Fronts and Interior Screens, pp. 69-77.

 

2. Read: “Dancing Our Stone Mask Out of Confinement: A Twenty-First Century Tsimshian Epistemology” by Mique’l Dangeli :(Tsimshian) in Objects of Exchange, pp. 37-48.

 

11/5 - SPECIAL EVENT: LECTURE BY TSIMSHIAN ARTIST DAVID BOXLEY.

Program begins at 6:30 at the New Burke Museum and is free.

                       

11/06   Tlingit Culture and the Potlatch

1. Read: “Tlingit At.oow: Traditions and Concepts” by Nora Marks Dauenhauer in The Spirit Within: Northwest Coast Native Art from the John H. Hauberg Collection, pp. 20-91 (mostly pictures, seriously).

 

2. Read: “Potlatch as a Mortuary Ritual” by Sergei Kan in Symbolic Immortality: The Tlingit Potlatch of the Nineteenth Century, pp. 181-200.

 

11/08   Guest Speaker – Tlingit Multi-media Artist Robin Lovelace - MIDTERM TAKE HOME ESSAY DUE

1. Read: “Tlingit Dance Collars and Octopus Bags: Embodying Power and Resistance” by Megan A. Smetzer in American Indian Art Magazine, pp. 64–73.

 

2. Read: “Tlingit Art” by Ishmael Hope, (Tlingit) in Unsettling Native Art Histories on the Northwest Coast, pp. 1-21.

 

3. Watch: A Modern Creation Story by Tlingit glass artist Preston Singletary. 12 minutes, 51 seconds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlE543QZcUs

 

4. LAST DAY FOR GROUPS TO PICK AN ARTIST

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Week 8            11/11   Tlingit Art and Architecture

1. Read: “Curious Visions: Northern Northwest Coast Art in the Historic Period” by Steve Brown in Native Visions: Evolution in Northwest Coast Art from the Eighteenth through Twentieth Century, pp. 12-19.

 

2. Read: “A Tale of Two Carvers: The Rain Wall Screen of the Whale House, Klukwan, Alaska” by Steven C. Brown in American Indian Art Magazine, pp. 48–59.

 

3. Read this online article about the Whale House of Klukwan, AK:

http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/curriculum/Tlingit/WhaleHouse/index.html

 

                        11/13   Tourism and the Art Market in Southeast Alaska

1. Read: “Tourism and Taste Cultures: Collecting Native Art in Alaska at the Turn of the Twentieth Century” by Molly Lee in Unpacking Culture: Art and Commodity in Colonial and Postcolonial Worlds, pp. 267-281.

 

 

11/15   Contemporary Northwest Coast Native Art

1. “Northwest Coast Indian Art from 1950 to the Present” by Karen Duffek in In the Shadow of the Sun, pp. 213-231.

 

 

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Week 9            11/18   Meet at the New Burke Museum (on campus) for a guided tour of the Northwest Coast Native Art Gallery and a behind the scene tour of the Culture lab and storage room.

1. Read: Native Americans denounce Met exhibit. https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/native-american-group-denounces-met-s-exhibition-of-indigenous-objects

 

2. Read: STL'INLL ~ THOSE WITH CLEVER HANDS: Presenting Female Indigenous Art and Scholarship by Jisgang Nika Collison in Unsettling Native Art Histories on the Northwest Coast, pp. 1-23.

 

                        11/20   Contemporary Southern NWC Art

1. Read: “Artists Statements” by Yuxweluptun, Lawrence Paul (Cowichan-Coast Salish/Okanagan) in Native Art of the Northwest Coast, pp. 879-881.

 

2. Read: “Urban Innovators: Susan A. Point (Musqueam-Coast Salish) and Marvin Oliver (Quinault/Isleta Pueblo)” by Rebecca Blanchard and Nancy Davenport in Contemporary Coast Salish Art, pp. 23-48.

 

3. Watch: A short video with Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLjulgu4KVw

 

4. Watch: A short video with Susan Point. 3 minutes, 27 seconds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSMuryAAYvc

 

5. Watch: A short video about Marvin Oliver. 5 minute, 51 seconds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxnBe-nlRnc

 

11/21 SPECIAL EVENT: In Focus: Contemporary First Nations and Native American Women Artists and Curators at the Frye Art Museum.  7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
In Focus: Merritt Johnson  Borders are lies unless they are mountains or water. Weaving &  stitching serve as physical embodiments of overlapping & intersecting nature of creation in relation to land/water to their dependents (plant/animal) and to cultures and sociopolitical constructs.

 

11/22   Contemporary Central NWC Art

1. Read: “Notes on Masks” by Joe David in In the Spirit of the Ancestors: Contemporary Northwest Coast Art at the Burke Museum, pp. 58-67.

 

2. Read: “A Selective History” by Sonny Assu in Sonny Assu: A Selective History, pp. 43-49.

 

3. Watch: Sonny Assu. 2 minutes, 5 seconds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZlrmzv4jgU

 

4. Watch: Lou-ann Neel. 4 minutes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqPPXAjeAZs

 

5. Watch: Joe David. 4 minutes, 37 seconds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T9AYK3ujyk

 

6. NEED TO POST ARTIST INFORMATION BY TODAY

 

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Week 10          11/25   Contemporary Northern NWC Art

1. Read: “Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas – Meddling In the Museum” by Karen Duffek in UBC Museum of Anthropology exhibit program, pp.1.

 

2. Read: “The Soul of a New Pole” by Chuck Thompson in Outside Magazine, pp. 77-82.

https://www.outsideonline.com/2344866/soul-new-pole

 

3. Read: “A Generation of Innovators in Southeast Alaska: Nicholas Galanin, Stephen Jackson, Da-ka-xeen Mehner and Donald Varnell” by Aldona Jonaitis in American Indian Art Magazine, pp. 56-67.

 

4. Watch: Two Nick Galanin videos. 4 minutes, 37 seconds and 4 minutes, 6 seconds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ue30aKV1LF8

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg2c1jtm59o

 

5. Watch: A short video with Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas. 4 minutes, 11 seconds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POMbyPLhqRI

 

                        11/27   No Class Today.  Take Home Burke Museum Assignment

1. Read: “From Behind-the-Scenes to the Front of the House—Here & Now: Native Artists Inspired at the Burke Museum” by Kathryn Bunn-Marcuse, Burke Museum in Unsettling Native Art Histories on the Northwest Coast, pp. 1-29.

 

2. Watch: A video about art at the Burke Museum. 46 minutes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbhe1tE-dbQ

 

 

11/29   No Class – Thanksgiving Holiday

1. Read: “The Museum Disappeared: Northwest Coast Art and the Object of Display” by Karen Duffek, Peter Morin, and Karen Benbassat Ali in Unsettling Native Art Histories on the Northwest Coast, pp. 1-26.

 

 

 

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Week 11          12/02 Group 6 Discussion and Final Review  

 

                        12/04 Group Curator Presentations     

 

                        12/06 Group Curator Presentations

 

FINAL EXAM WENDSDAY DECEMBER 11

 

12/19 SPECIAL EVENT: In Focus: Contemporary First Nations and Native American Women Artists and Curators at the Frye Art Museum.  7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
In Focus: Wanda Nanibush  Performance is an act of cultural and political resistance as well as a means of remembrance and commemoration. It offers glimpses of a forgotten past, and uses creative fiction as a force against colonial narratives of capture, savagery, loss, and disappearance. 

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