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Art Native American

Where the Power Is

Indigenous Perspectives on Northwest Coast Art

by (author) Karen Duffek & Jordan Wilson

Publisher
Figure 1 Publishing
Initial publish date
Oct 2021
Category
Native American, Permanent Collections, Canadian
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9781773270517
    Publish Date
    Oct 2021
    List Price
    $65

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Description

Where the Power Is: Indigenous Perspectives on Northwest Coast Art brings together contemporary Indigenous knowledge holders with extraordinary works of historical Northwest Coast art that transcend the category of "art" or "artifact" and embody distinct ways of knowing and being in the world. Dozens of Indigenous artists and community members visited the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia to engage with these objects and learn from the hands of their ancestors. The photographs and their commentaries speak to the connections between tangible and intangible cultural belongings; how "art" remains part of Northwest Coast peoples' ongoing relationships to their territories and governance; Indigenous experiences of reconnection, reclamation, and return; and critical and necessary conversations around the role of museums.

About the authors

Karen Duffek is the Curator of Contemporary Visual Arts and Pacific Northwest at the Museum of Anthropology (MOA) at the University of British Columbia. Her research focus lies both in the history of MOA's Northwest Coast Aboriginal collections — including connecting and documenting historical objects with descendants and originating community members — and in the relationship of twentieth-century and contemporary art to cultural practice. Her publications include the books Bill Reid and Beyond: Expanding on Modern Native Art (co-edited with Charlotte Townsend-Gault, 2004) and The Transforming Image: Painted Arts of Northwest Coast First Nations (co-authored with Bill McLennan, 2000).

Karen Duffek's profile page

Jordan Wilson's profile page

Editorial Reviews

"Offers deep insights and opens doors to ways of thinking about material culture that go beyond the visual to break down divisions between art and artifact."
- Art in America

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