The strength, vitality and diversity of contemporary Northwest Coast Native art is the theme of The Burke Museum's newest exhibition, In the Spirit of the Ancestors, featuring a broad mix of media from the museum's own collection, through Sept. 3.
"It gives a glimpse," said Robin K. Wright, curator of Native American Art at the Burke and director of the Bill Holm Center for the Study of Northwest Coast Art. "It's just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak, representing our collection of contemporary Northwest Coast art."
This is the museum's first comprehensive exhibition of its own contemporary Northwest Coast Native art collection.
A 'FULL RANGE' OF ART
In addition to Wright, a Green Lake resident, the exhibition was also curated by Puyallup/Tulalip carver and printmaker Shaun Peterson (Qwalsius); Musqueam artist Susan Point; and Bill Holm, professor emeritus of art history, curator emeritus of Northwest Coast Indian Art at The Burke and author of "Spirit and Ancestor: A Century of Northwest Coast Art at the Burke," in which he selected and commented on 100 pieces in the Burke's collection.
A sequel of sorts, the current exhibition will present contemporary pieces, which have been made since Holm wrote the book in 1985.
The curators started working on the exhibit in the fall and continued to add objects through February. They selected more than 70 objects made in the last 22 years from the Burke's permanent ethnology collection of more than 2,470 pieces from the 20th and 21st centuries. The objects are a balance between different types of art from different tribes.
"There's a full range of contemporary Northwest Coast weavings and fashion, representing the best in contemporary Northwest Coast art," Wright said.
The works of 64 artists will be exhibited, with no more than three pieces by an individual artist. Several new pieces were donated and acquired specifically for this exhibition. One of the new pieces, a six-panel wall sculpture entitled "Frogs," was donated by curator Point. Another highlight includes two Ra-venstail robes.
"They're beautiful and use a very complex weaving technique that's been revived," Wright said.
Also on display will be a variety of garments, two Salish weavings made out of mountain-goat wool, basketry, carved panels and carved masks, jewelry, box drums, skin drums and glass sculptures. A kiosk in the exhibit shows all 2,074 pieces that the curators had to choose from.
"It's been a lot of work," Wright said. "It's really a team effort."
ACCOMPANYING EXHIBIT
Accompanying this exhibit is Our People, Our Land, Our Images: International Indigenous Photography, an exhibit of contemporary Native American photography, through May 28. For more information, call 543-5590 or visit www.burkemuseum. org.
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