Here is the most recent info about Carving A Legacy. Hopefully this will answer all your burning questions!
Heide Fernandez-Llamazares
Docent Coordinator
TACOMA ART MUSEUM
1701 Pacific Avenue
Tacoma, Washington 98402
T: 253.272.4258 x3016
F: 253.627.1898
www.TacomaArtMuseum.org
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-----Original Message-----
From: Chelsea Perry
Sent: Friday, September 02, 2005 12:05 PM
To: All Employees
Subject: Updated Carving talking points
Here are updated Carving talking points so we can all provide current and accurate information to the community. Please forward to volunteers as well. As always, we’ll keep you posted as more details are finalized. Thanks everyone!
Carving a Legacy Talking Points
September 2, 2005
Q: What is the exhibition about?
A: The exhibition was created to show how contemporary Coast Salish artists embrace traditional art forms and techniques, while incorporating influences from their lives today. The exhibition focuses on the process of creating this art and features many Salish artists actually making art in the gallery. There are also many opportunities for visitors to try their own hand at creating Salish style art.
Q: What is the highlight of the exhibition?
A: Artist-in-residence Shaun Peterson, a Salish carver and Puyallup Tribe member is currently carving a maquette, or scale model of a larger Welcome Figure that will be carved from one or more large cedar trees. The highlight of this process is that visitors are able to see the artist at work, and talk to him as he works, watching him sketch the plans for the figure, and then carve the scale model.
Q: What ever happened to the idea of carving a Welcome Figure? Did you find a log?
A: The museum and the artists are still committed to carving a Salish Welcome Figure. When the museum asked artists Greg Colfax and Shaun Peterson to carve a monumental Welcome Figure for the Carving a Legacy exhibition, we never dreamed of where the project would eventually lead us. We’ve all learned so much about the unpredictable process of creating art, about the specifics of choosing just the right raw materials, and about forging strong relationships with tribal communities. The initial cedar log was found to have too many flaws for creating a Welcome Figure, which led us to continue the search for “the perfect log.” We may now have identified two logs that could be used to make a composite sculpture – one for the limbs, and the second for the body of the Welcome Figure. This possible solution is truly innovative. No other Salish carvers have approached the creation of a Welcome Figure with this degree of inventiveness.
Although, the project will not be completed by the time the exhibition closes at the museum, we will continue to work with the artists to facilitate the carving of the Welcome Figure at an off-site location. In the meantime, the pre-work of sketching and carving to scale – in order to anticipate and react to any challenges to be found in the larger figure – is being done in the gallery.
Q: What about the log in the parking lot?
A: The red cedar log in the parking lot was harvested from the Olympic Peninsula. After careful inspection the artists found some flaws with the log that would make it risky to serve as the main material for creating the Welcome Figure. The artists asked the museum to help them find more suitable cedar for the figure. A group of Salish carvers approached the museum with a proposal to use the original log as a teaching tool. They offered to use the log to help teach other generations how to carve traditional Salish canoes. The carvers and the museum are working to provide this experience.
Q: What will you do with the Welcome Figure when it’s finished?
A: The museum and the City of Tacoma have partnered to place the welcome figure in a prominent location in downtown Tacoma. Those negotiations and the choosing of a site are ongoing at this point.
Q: I was expecting to see more art in the gallery. What else is going on with this show?
A: We’ve turned the gallery into an artists’ studio for this exhibition. This exhibition is more about showing the processes used by contemporary Coast Salish artists than it is about presenting the final works for display.
More information about Carving a Legacy can be found in Museum Notes and on our website: TacomaArtMuseum.org.
Additional Talking Points
Q: What is a Welcome Figure?
A: The Welcome Figure honors the history and contributions of the Salish to our community. The Puyallup Tribe is part of the Puget Sound Salish Indian culture which flourished in the Pacific Northwest. The welcome figure is not a totem pole. A totem pole is a way for artists to convey family heritage. A welcome figure is used to welcome people to a certain area.
Q: How do I find out more about Coast Salish culture and art?
A: There are many books and other resources available in the Art Resource Center. Attend one of the many programs we’re offering that are related to Carving a Legacy.
NOTES:
- Please try to be patient with the large percentage of unknowns that this exhibition will bring. Remember to emphasize that this exhibition is about the process of art-making and about preserving the cultural heritage of the Coast Salish people.
- Also be sure to note that this exhibition is groundbreaking and important. The emphasis on the process and the commitment to turn the exhibition over to artists-in-residence is noteworthy. Our job is to try to help the visitors understand that not all exhibitions are as straightforward as others such as Hudson River School. There are variables, and human beings, and real life involved with putting on a show like this. That’s part of the point: These contemporary artists have factors influencing their lives that their ancestors did not.
