This Blog Is Retroactive

I’ve always had a great fondness and appreciation for Northwest Coast art, that is, the style of art created by the indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast of North America.  I’m not sure why.  I also have a great fondness and appreciation for the Northwest Coastal region in general, especially the climate and amazing natural scenery.  If I believed in reincarnation I’d have to guess that I was an artist among those peoples in a past life.  See some examples of authentic Northwest Coast art below, followed by the work of some present-day artists who obviously share my admiration for this venerated art form.

Brian Jungen is a Canadian artist of First Nation’s ancestry who has created a series of emblematic sculptures made of a variety of meaningless modern objects.  In his own words, Brian aims to “evoke specific cultural traditions whilst simultaneously amplifying the process of cultural corruption and assimilation.”  Hence the use of things like Nike tennis shoes, plastic lawn chairs and garbage cans to create his sculptures.

Listen to a great NPR story on Brian Jungen here.

Sigurður Oddsson, or Siggi Odds, as he likes to go by, is an Icelandic artist who lived in Vancouver, British Columbia while he was growing up.  For his graduate thesis at Iceland Academy of the Arts Siggi took the time to learn the formal rules, symbology and variations of style of traditional Northwest Coast art.  Using what he learned, he then created the artwork below.  The first three images are from his graduate exhibit, called Nang Jáadaas.  The other two, no less impressive, are images he created as tests prior to completing the work for his exhibit.

The third and final artist is kind of puzzling actually.  I know almost nothing about him except that he is from France, and his name is Amose.  I don’t know if his art is in truth influenced or inspired by Northwest Coast tribes.  In fact it’s highly unlikely if he grew up in France.  Where would he have been exposed to it?  However, when looking at his work, it’s hard to deny the similarities between his art and that of the tribal peoples.  It is very different, yet still very evocative of Northwest Coast art.  Truly awesome stuff.