COPPER SPEECH, Giclee by BILL HOLM
Item Number: 160
Time Left: CLOSED
Description
COPPER SPEECH
Giclée print in archival inks on acid and lignin-free paper
Original painting in acrylic on canvas, 18” X 14”
The “copper,” a shield-like plaque fashioned of copper, is a distinctive syjmbol of prestige everywhere on the northern half of the Northwest Coast. Its shape in universal—the upper part flaring and usually with a painted or engraved stylized image of a creature that often refers to the copper’s name, and the lower half divided by a “T” shaped ridge. Although the copper is looked upon as a repository of wealth and prestige throughout its range, specifics of its use vary from tribe to tribe. The Kwakwaka’wakw consider it also as a shield against insult or injury, and a copper owner canuse it to retaliate in case he or his family members are put down. He may destroy the entire copper inhis antagonist’s name, or give him a piece cut out of it (called “breaking” a copper). The recipient is bound to reciprocate or lose prestige.
Here a Kwakwaka’wakw man, dressed in ceremonial regalia, displays his copper and speaks of its value and history. He may warn the audience not to speak against hi, or he might break his copper. The occasion is T’seka (called “the Cedar Bark Dance” or “the Winter Ceremonial”), indicated by his red-dyed cedar bark head and neck rings, and by the screen, or MawiÅA?, with the image of the Man-Eater Baxwbaxwalanuxsiwe painted on theadzed cedar boards. The speaker holds a talking stick, a sign that he has the floor and with which he may emphasize his speech. Firelight reflects from the copper and from the pearl buttons and abalone shell plaques that embellish his regalia. Miniature coppers hang in rows from his dance apron.
Special Instructions
Bill Holm, Professor Emeritus of Art History, and Curator Emeritus of Northwest Coast Indian Art at the Burke Museum, is recognized internationally as one of the most knowledgeable experts in the field of Northwest Coast Native art history.
His important book, Northwest Coast Indian Art, An Analysis of Form (1965) is in its 17th printing, and is one of the all-time best-selling books published by the University of Washington Press. This book is credited with having drawn a remarkable number of artists into their own practice of Northwest Coast art, and his classes at the University of Washington broadened the understanding and appreciation of that art in several generations of students.
His eight books have won scholarly acclaim and recognition with four Washington State Governor's Writers Awards, and two special Governor's awards. His achievements as an artist were celebrated in a 2000 book, Sun Dogs and Eagle Down, The Indian Paintings of Bill Holm. In 2001, he was honored with a certificate of appreciation from the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian people of Southeast Alaska through the Sealaska Heritage Institute. The Native American Art Studies Association recognized him with its Honor Award in 1991. The University of Washington honored him with a Distinguished Achievement Award from the College of Arts and Sciences in 1994 and selected him to give the annual University Faculty Lecture in 2003.