Featured Small George Bee Totem - Any information

It is a beauty, Kiko. I love it when an artist has his or her own style within a tradition, it is the difference between a carver or painter and an artist.

Don't listen to them, getting to know the background of what you have is a good thing. In my opinion it enhances your understanding and appreciation of an item and of the person who made it.

 

AJ Thank you for this. We don't get much upper North American art, so I have nothing to go on when selecting pieces of this kind. It's a matter of luck, when I discover something nice.
I am who I am. I agree that a thirst for knowledge not only increases my appreciation, but it also increases my ability to discern real beauty versus its reflection. I'm still stumbling along, but I am getting better. He offered me three carvings, two tourist art and then this. Thank you.

 

you're on the Left coast....some of it must filter down from Seattle & Vancouver !!!

 

Not that I see. Now surfboards they are everywhere.

 

Brilliant. Gorgeous work, as compared, sadly to today's more colorful kin. 30 years in AK; love the natural woods, the old ways. Nice piece. Much fervor these days whether "American" vs. "Canadian," when many artists are cousins. Well done piece.

 

I agree. The color of some of the modern pieces detracts from the carving. Yours is an interesting insight into a controversy that I am unaware of. Your point is well taken that a border is an imaginary government thing except where there are mountains or rivers that define spaces. My first camping trip after my retirement was to drive from SoCal to the transcanada highway to reach Alaska and see the sites. Marvelous 2 month camping trip that I hated to see come to an end. I found Alaska to be a fascinating place and the people there to be more than charming.

 

My own feelings are that there is not much controversy as such; but that individual artists who consider themselves Canadian may object to being called "Native Americans" and prefer the term "Canadian First Nations;" and vice versa. Other individuals may not really care; I personally try to be sensitive to the wishes of individuals, and often use both terms if talking or writing about the subject.
There is general agreement that the indigenous groups encompassed in the general term "Northwest Coast Native Art" include individuals and groups on both sides of the border, and certainly a particular family may have both American and Canadian members. Often the person may identify more with his or her particular sub-group than with a broader group (such as "Duwamish" rather than "Coast Salish;" "Oweekeno" rather than "Kwakiutl").
As to colored vs. natural wood, it is not really the case that natural wood is more traditional; it varies by the type of item and the particular artist and his affiliation; and has changed over time. To some extent this is a matter of personal taste, for both customer and artist.
Items such as spoons in the past were often carved but not painted; but this is not an iron-clad rule, and has never been. Totem poles in the past often - but not always - had a mix of painted and unpainted areas; but in some groups, the tradition was to paint everything; and color usage has always varied both by tribal origin and individual taste. One could say that Kwakiutl artists generally use more yellow, and a color-scheme that might be considered garish for a Tlingit or Tsimshian artist, but I personally wouldn't call one color scheme more traditional than the other, if speaking generally about the entire Northwest Coast style. One Kwakiutl artist of the 1950s-60s had a catalog which specified that all her totems were available on commission either painted or unpainted.
At one time, an artist would usually chew salmon eggs and spit them into pigments as a fixative; once commercial paint became available, most artists began to use them. I personally wouldn't pass up a totem pole based on the use or non-use of salmon eggs in the paint. Likewise, there was a time when carving might have been done without iron tools; but most artists did not hesitate to use the best tools available to them.
Lastly, it is always true that traditions can change over time. One example: today, it is traditional for a Squamish artist to carve flat items intended to be hung on a wall, from soft pine, stained with a commercial stain.
But in the past, pine would almost never have been used for a carving; there were no commercial stains available; and the Northwest Coast Native carvers had no concept of decorative art, and never made anything whose purpose was to be displayed on a wall. Items made for use often displayed the family crests of the person who was the intended owner (not necessarily the same as the artist); and totem poles, one of the few items not intended for specific daily uses, still had a purpose, as did ceremonial items; and none of these were what a western person would call art, as such.
But I digress….

 

Please.....Steve.....digress more !!!!

The Northern Kwagiul, whitewashed their totems.....then painted them....damed if you could see any wood color at all ....

The Bella Coola natives...once introduced to the European blue washing powder.....used it to paint everything....thus the term...Bella Coola Blue was coined for the fashion color pallet they used on their artwork.

There was no word for Art .....on the NWC .....designs were their oral history !

Some tribes paint more...some.....paint less or not at all.
Same for many artists....

 

Steve,
Wonderful information! Your detailed and sensitive discussion of the dynamics of this controversary is so valuable. I can appreciate how a people want to be called by the appropriate title. I cringe when I see the word "Indian" still so casually used for people who are not from the country of India.
I love the part about the chewing of salmon eggs as a fixative. That is a truly fascinating insight into what it took to create this art. I have so little appreciation of Northwest Coast Native art. In my travels, I have seen some things. Because I don't have any knowledge, my assumption is that what I see if just commercial tourist stuff. I did buy one of those wall hangings with commercial stain knowing full well that it was representational rather than the art that at the time was beyond my economic reach.
I really want to thank you for sharing your knowledge. I hope that other members who are interested will also find this post and benefit from your time and explanations.

 

Komo
You have also shared some excellent insights. I was clearly mistaken that color was a modern characteristic. I love the Bella Coola Blue story. Thank you.

 

Although its etymology may be rooted in error, and it's open to confusion with folks from India, the term "Indian" for Native Americans is pretty well baked into the the language. Go to any official tribal website and the word is easily found, and obviously not used pejoratively. At least in the area I roam (US mountain west), it's a pretty common term in "Indian Country". "Native American" may be safer and more respectful, but I don't think using "Indian" is necessarily disrespectful.

 

I have to disagree. "Indian/injun - The word and related terms have been defined as derogatory by indigenous people...." Many things have had to be unbaked from our language like "colored" and "spics" and calling women "girls." While some people in a group may not care, the fact that when persons within a group have come to the realization that a term is intended to demean them or marginalize them, then it is important for everybody to recognize that it is offensive to some and to use the proper terminology that carries respect. This is my opinion on how to treat other people.

 

I agree to some extent. I've heard some native people say they in fact prefer it. There are other individuals, however, who seem to reject the term. I think there may be as many opinions as there are individuals.

I've personally chosen to use the term indigenous persons / people / peoples.

 

If y'all want to be properly woke...& P C ... try First Nations....
it is unassailable ......

Indian....though....will not go away any time soon ......

In Canada , the Indians live below the tree line...
the Inuit , live above the tree line........

it is what it is !

 

I did buy one of those wall hangings with commercial stain knowing full well that it was representational...

Good ...I hope you enjoy it for what it is......
I've sold hundreds...& in my early years...they were not always so good.....but I had price points to consider. As my knowledge grew....I bought better pieces to sell, still with an eye towards high quality , at a reasonably low price.

So there's the rub.....just because it's a wall hanging....doesn't mean that the art work...style, or design , is of low quality or poorly done.

These hang in my living room............. on the wall !
I'm entirely proud to own and display both, as they both show good design, quality workmanship, & while one bears a top flight artists name and the other doesn't ....the both have the ' right stuff' .


& both were bought at well below a fair market value !

 

Those pieces are quite beautiful. I can see why you display them proudly on your walls. I have several items from the early years of travel to Canada and the northern states. This far more modest carving hangs on my wall in my bedroom, mostly as a memento of my travels. I'm sure you recognize the raven and salmon by a Squamish artist. The artist R Krainchuk has little presence in today's google world.

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All nice pieces; I've got some flats myself...
Hand by Stan Hunt; the painting is Ben Houstie; often his paintings are less expensive than prints; he did a great many, often trading them for room and board.


Carl Wamiss:


Kevin Cranmer, not a flat exactly, but a relief carving on a panel:

 

not too shabby , there sir !!!!

Oh...I sold Bens paintings by the truck load.....
i think I bought ...18 ..at one time !

 

Yes, they are often very nice. It is interesting that for many artists, original works are less expensive than prints. It makes sense if you think about it, though a bit counter-intuitive.
A print, even in edition of 200, generates interest, and a sales history; if that artist's print 110/200 last sold for $200, then that is what your 90/200 is worth. But an original painting, there's only one, often no sales history, no general community interest. Might sell for considerably less. (Depends on the artist though; you're not going to get an original Robert Davidson or Susan Point painting for $200; and for those artists, originals go for more than prints.)
On the other hand, Francis Dick did a print edition based on a drum she'd made, and i have the original drum the print was based on; I consider that drum to be worth more than the prints; and it has lovely metallic paint when seen in person; is traditional but also goes beyond the tradition.
But maybe that's just my opinion.
Here's the print, woman (or possibly a crying Tsonokwa) and butterfly:

 

I love the word “flat”. I haven’t heard it before in describing an art form. Can you tell me what is going on in the Ben Houstie painting? Your pieces are very interesting.