Masks in the Contemporary Northwest Coast Tradition

Masks were developed by the Northwest Coast ritualists to represent the unseen forces and entities that function in the commonly known world, to make visible those beings and creatures that are described and dramatized in the ancient mythologies. Individual artists visualize the qualities and characteristics of such creatures or entities and manifest them in dramatic, three-dimensional forms. Masking traditions were already well established at the onset of the historic period, the time of initial Euro-American contact with the Northwest Coast cultures, and are presumed to have pre-dated this period by an undetermined span of time. Some very antiquated examples of Northwest Coast sculpture have come to light in various museums and from among the remains of certain Tlingit shaman's equipment from Southeast Alaska, which suggest that masks and other representative sculptures have been in traditional use for at least several centuries.

Employment of masks in ritual settings differs widely from one Northwest Coast First Nation to another, as do the kinds of images or creatures depicted in the various masking traditions. In the southern region, the Coast Salish First Nations practice a ritual complex that involves only limited use of masks. These very sacred traditions employ a certain primary mask type, known as the S'xwaixwey, as a form of ritual cleansing. The masked performance prepares the ritual space and the participants for the entreatment and entry of powerful spirits that are the guardians of cultural traditions. Coast Salish two-dimensional design, a tradition less well known than its northern counterpart, is seen incised into the surface of three-dimensional objects such as masks and sheep horn rattles, or on the surface of less sculpturally dimensional pieces like spindle whorls or combs. This unique design language has relatively recently been employed by artists such as Susan Point of Musqueam in the wood block and serigraph printing techniques, as well as in original paintings, sculptures, and monumental works.

Among the Nuu-chah-nulth of Vancouver Island's west coast, masks manifest the strength and power of the Wolf ritual, as well as the Thunderbird and its companion in whale hunting, the Lightning Serpent. The pieces in the Microsoft Collection by Art Thompson illustrate how the historic Nuu-chah-nulth carving style is being reinterpreted by contemporary practitioners. The elder wolf mask made by Thompson combines the subtle sculptural style of the Nuu-chah-nulth historic tradition with the visual metaphor of white hair to indicate a wise and grandfatherly wolf entity. His very refined carving and painting styles, seen in this mask and his Raven story totem pole, demonstrate the high standards commonly displayed by today's most experienced Northwest Coast artists.

The Kwakwaka'wakw of Vancouver Island are known historically as one of the most prolific mask-making First Nations of the Northwest Coast region, and the carvers of this tradition today continue to produce and impressive volume of dramatic and sculpturally aggressive work. Like other Northwest Coast First Nations, the Kwakwaka'wakw endured a great deal of cultural suppression at the hands of federal Indian Agents and early missionaries, designed to subvert the traditional culture and assimilate the people into established Euro-American society. Perhaps more than other First Nations, however, the Kwakwaka'wakw relentlessly pursued their visual culture traditions in spite of the governmental attempts to discourage their practice and influence. As a result, carvers from this area continued to produce a great volume of traditional work all through the twentieth century, almost without any significant decline. Contemporary artists continue a number of unbroken family and master-apprentice lines from one generation to another. Prominent artists of the middle twentieth century like Willie Seaweed, who developed and epitomized the type of graphic style and visual refinement to which many contemporary artists aspire, served as invaluable links between the nineteenth and twentieth-century traditions. The Hamat'sa-ritual mask in the Microsoft Collection by Dwayne Simeon draws a large measure of its inspiration from this important artist, whose active artistic career continued well into the 1950s.

The very flamboyant styles of the Kwakwaka'wakw tradition are exemplified here by the huge Sisiutl image and Tuxw'id screen by Tom Hunt. Earlier Kwakwaka'wakw styles have included elaborate mechanical performance pieces, transformation masks, and special images that have inspired these contemporary expressions. Characterized by more ambitious sculpture, elaborate painting and/or inlay work, and impressive size, these pieces illustrate some of the new directions taken by today's artists who are extending and embellishing, as well as skillfully reiterating, the traditions of their ancestors.

The body of work created by Tlingit artist Jim Schoppert, abbreviated by his unfortunately short lifespan, demonstrates vividly how certain contemporary artists employ historical motifs less as intrinsic structural foundations than as points of departure for individual expression. Schoppert's more traditional work, such as the Yup'ik style piece illustrated here, illustrates his mastery of the historic genre, while his more experimental work shows his affinity for and focus on the basic essential elements of the Northwest Coast tradition, removed from their historical cultural context. His radical treatment of Northwest Coast idioms as more or less pure forms, devoid of their structural context, invites the viewer to see the strength and power inherent in the shapes themselves, without the cultural identity normally attached to a representative design. Schoppert's work reminds us all to look at the art of the First Peoples with fresh and open eyes, to see the artistry behind the work and not just the outward representations or the expected motifs. Each piece can be a new exploration in a seemingly familiar field, one that leads us to new appreciations of the imagination and technical execution of the most inventive artists.

Steven C. Brown
Associate Curator, Native American Art; Seattle Art Museum