Table Of ContentBillReidPbkCover 3/1/05 12:28 Page 1
T
O
W
N
SD
NIKA COLLISON EU
NF
DF B I L L
DOUG CRANMER BILL REID AND BEYOND: –E
GK
A
MARCIA CROSBY EXPANDING ON MODERN NATIVE ART U
L
T
LESLIE DAWN offers a wide-ranging and thought-provoking collection
of personal memories and scholarly reappraisals from
KAREN DUFFEK
B
distinguished art and cultural historians, artists and
E X P A N D I N G ON.
AARON GLASS I
R E I D
anthropologists on the compelling art and career of the L M O D E R N
GUUJAAW
Haida artist Bill Reid. Alert to the political, economic and L N A T I V E A R T
GWAGANAD (DIANE BROWN)
social events of Bill Reid’s lifetime, which have radically R
ALAN L.HOOVER changed the way in which Native art is produced and E
edited by KAREN DUFFEK-
ALDONA JONAITIS received, this book—a significant advance on thinking about I
D and CHARLOTTE TOWNSEND–GAULT
Northwest Coast art—adds to the ongoing exchange of
KI-KE-IN (RON HAMILTON) A N D
A
ideas about aboriginality and modern art, a debate that
BILL McLENNAN
N
Reid’s life work helped bring to world attention.
MARIANNE NICOLSON
D
RUTH B.PHILLIPS
Karen Duffek is an award-winning writer and a curator B
GEORGE RAMMELL
of art at the University of British Columbia Museum of E
MILES G.RICHARDSON Anthropology in Vancouver. Y B E Y O N D
O
DORIS SHADBOLT
N
Charlotte Townsend-Gault is an associate professor in
DAVID SUMMERS
D
the University of British Columbia’s Department of Art
LORETTA TODD
History, Visual Art and Theory.
CHARLOTTE TOWNSEND–GAULT
D
O
SCOTT WATSON U
G
L
A
B S
&
M
Douglas & McIntyre
c
/ IN
Cover design: Ingrid Paulson T
Y
Printed and bound in Canada . R
Printed on acid-free paper E
Bill Reid Beyond.pages FINAL 2/11/04 11:54 Page i
BILL REID AND BEYOND
Bill Reid Beyond.pages FINAL 2/11/04 11:54 Page ii
Bill Reid Beyond.pages FINAL 2/11/04 11:54 Page iii
B I L L
EXPANDING ON
R E I D MODERN
NATIVE ART
edited by KAREN DUFFEK
and CHARLOTTE TOWNSEND-GAULT
A N D
B E Y O N D
Douglas & McIntyre UniversityofWashington Press
vancouver/toronto seattle
Bill Reid Beyond.pages FINAL 2/11/04 11:54 Page iv
Copyright © by Museum ofAnthropology, University ofBritish Columbia
Individual works copyright © by each author
Published simultaneously in the United States and Canada
Originated in Canada by Douglas & McIntyre
All rights reserved. No part ofthis book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or
by any means, without the prior written consent ofthe publisher or a licence from The Canadian Copyright Licensing
Agency (Access Copyright). For a copyright licence, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free to ---.
Douglas & McIntyre Ltd.
Quebec Street, Suite
Vancouver, British Columbia
www.douglas-mcintyre.com
Bill Reid and beyond : expanding on modern native art /edited by Karen Duffek and Charlotte Townsend-Gault.
Includes bibliographical references.
---
.Reid, Bill, –—Criticism and interpretation.
.Duffek, Karen, – .Townsend-Gault, Charlotte
. ’. --
University ofWashington Press
Box
Seattle, -, U.S.A.
www.washington.edu/uwpress
--
Bill Reid and beyond : expanding on modern Native art / edited by Karen Duffek and Charlotte Townsend-Gault.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
---(hardback : alk. paper)
. Haida art. . Haida artists. . Reid, William, – .Duffek, Karen, – .Townsend-Gault, Charlotte.
.
’.—dc
Design by Ingrid Paulson
Jacket photos (top to bottom, left to right): detail ofBear silver brooch by Bill Reid c. , diameter .cm,
private collection, photo B. McLennan; Xesu’gwilakw Gave Birth to a Girlby Marianne Nicolson ,
acrylic on wood, .×.×.cm, private collection, photo M. Nicolson; Bear by Bill Reid c. ,
cedar, .×.×.m,, photo B. McLennan; detail ofuntitled, by Robert Davidson ,
acrylic on canvas, .×.cm, collection ofthe artist, photo by Robert Davidson; detail ofDogfish
by Bill Reid c. , pencil on paper, .cm ×.cm (mounted), b., photo B. McLennan;
three silver bracelets by Charles Edenshaw (Beaver, c. , .×.cm, b., ; Thunderbird, c. ,
.×.cm, b.; Cormorant, n.d., .×.cm, ), computer scans by B. McLennan;
detail ofrattle, Haida, c. , British Museum , photo by Bill Reidat , reproduction courtesy
Trustees ofthe British Museum; detail ofThe Raven Discovering Mankind in a Clamshellby Bill Reid , boxwood,
.×.× .cm, b1.488, photo B. McLennan; Ttsam aws (Snag) silver brooch by Bill Reid c. ,
.×.cm, b.; detail ofRed Man Watching White Man Trying to Fix Hole in Skyby Yuxweluptun ,
acrylic on canvas, .×.cm, collection ofJack and Maryon Adelaar, photo by Yuxweluptun.
Printed and bound in Canada by Friesens
The paper used in this publication is acid-free and recycled from percent post-consumer and
at least percent pre-consumer waste. It meets the minimum requirements ofAmerican National Standard
for Information Sciences—Permanence ofPaper for Printed Library Materials, .-.
We gratefully acknowledge the financial support ofthe Canada Council for the Arts,
the British Columbia Arts Council, and the Government ofCanada through
the Book Publishing Industry Development Program () for our publishing activities.
Bill Reid Beyond.pages FINAL 2/11/04 11:54 Page v
Contents
List of Illustrations vii
by Nika Collison
by Ruth B. Phillips
:
by Charlotte Townsend-Gault and Karen Duffek
Part I Expanding the Understanding of Haida Art
by Miles Richardson
by Doris Shadbolt
by Bill McLennan
/ by George Rammell
Part II Locating Community
, ?by Guujaaw
- :
by Gwaganad (Diane Brown)
:
by Karen Duffek
:
by Alan L. Hoover
,
by Marcia Crosby
Bill Reid Beyond.pages FINAL 2/11/04 11:54 Page vi
Part III Revisiting the Revival
?by David Summers
by Aldona Jonaitis
“-” by Doug Cranmer
:
“” by Ki-ke-in (Ron Hamilton)
?by Aaron Glass
Part IV Reconciling Aboriginality and Modernity
by Scott Watson
/
by Charlotte Townsend-Gault
: “
”by Marianne Nicolson
: “”by Leslie Dawn
by Loretta Todd
Bibliography
Biographical Notes on the Contributors
BillReidBeyondInteriorText 3/4/04 13:08 Page vii
List of Illustrations
Between pages and
. Two silver bracelets: Two Bears by Charles Gladstone;
Beaver by Bill Reid.
. Four silver bracelets by Charles Edenshaw.
. Two pieces by Bill Reid: Ttsam aws (Snag) silver brooch and
Shark/Dogfish silver bracelet.
. Rattle, Haida, c. .
. Pencil sketch by Bill Reid of the rattle in figure .
. Silver brooch by Bill Reid, depicting the rattle in figure .
. Argillite dish and details of figure by Charles Edenshaw.
. Frog painted by Bill Reid and Wilson Duff, Astor Hotel, Vancouver.
. Lipped elbow adzes made by George Rammell in Bill Reid’s style.
.Bill Reid calibrates the clay version of Chief of the Undersea World.
. Bill Reid works with George Rammell on Chief of the Undersea World.
Between pages and
. The Raven Discovering Mankind in a Clamshellby Bill Reid.
. Detail from lid of argillite chest, attributed to Charles Edenshaw.
. The Raven and the First Menby Bill Reid.
. Chief of the Undersea Worldby Bill Reid.
.Killer Whale maquette by Bill Reid.
. Killer Whales maquette by Robert Davidson.
.The Spirit of Haida Gwaiiby Bill Reid.
BillReidBeyondInteriorText 3/4/04 13:08 Page viii
.Doug Cranmer uses a chainsaw to begin shaping the Wasgo
(Sea Wolf) sculpture.
.Painted paper model poles by Bill Reid.
Between pages and
. Bearby Bill Reid.
.Plush bear designed by Bill Reid.
.Silkscreen reproduction of a Killer Whale on a Kwakwaka’wakw
drum.
.Children’s artwork from Alert Bay Indian Day School.
.Children’s artwork from Alberni Indian Residential School.
.Ellen Neel presents a “Totemland” pole to Maria Tallchief.
.Charlies James, c. .
.Drawing by architect Ross Lort, based on an oolichan box.
.Chief Henry Speck’s artwork on the cover of a pamphlet.
.Cover art by David Neel (Gla-Gla-Kla-Wis), son of Ellen Neel,
for the Native Voice.
. Copper by Marianne Nicolson, painted on a cliffface near Gwa’yi,
Kingcome Inlet.
.Double-Headed Serpentby Yuxweluptun.
. Mural installation by Brian Jungen at the Charles H. Scott Gallery
.Untitled painting by Robert Davidson.
Bill Reid Beyond.pages FINAL 2/11/04 11:54 Page 1
Foreword
by
A Bill Reid’s grandchildren, I never thought too much or too hard
about Bill as an artist, storyteller, jeweller, carver, philosopher, or
even as a Haida. I knew him as one ofmy grandfathers—as my “Chinai Bill.”
I admired him, rolled my eyes at him, laughed with him, learned from him,
argued with him, and all the while, loved him.
When Chinai passed away, there were two memorials: one in Vancouver
and later one in Skidegate. As I listened to the tributes shared by friends,
family, colleagues and even strangers, I was taken by how many “Bills”
there seem to have been. And just like the speeches at his memorial, in this
book there are people who know Bill and his work in ways that are
different from how his family knew him.
Since my chinai’s death, I’ve started to get to know him in different
ways, too. Partly from other people’s experiences, but more from looking
at what Bill did in his lifetime and then contemplating the era in which it all
took place. I’m getting to know “Bill the artist” or, as he called himself, a
“maker ofthings.” He did some pretty spectacular things in his life and raised
the bar for many people. I understand how lucky I was to be a part of his
antics over the years.
I realize that Bill truly had an impacton the lives of people who knew
him personally and the people who know him through the legacy he’s left
behind. He affected people from many cultures and parts of the world,
people with different histories, experiences and educations. Bill reached
people in multiple ways and continues to do so.
