DiscoverTotems

A few weeks back (October 6/7), I found myself on with a free weekend in Australia, so I rented a car and drove from Canberra to Sydney.

As always I kept my eye out for totem poles and found this art installation inspired by traditional totem poles by Sydney artist, Jane Becker, entitled "Future Totems" part of Art & About @ Circular Quay and located at Customs House Square.

I am fascinated by reproductive technology and the ways it is affecting our genetics, families, influences and identity. In traditional cultures, totem poles represent community and family history. We are now moving away from the notion of the traditional family tree. My work takes its cue from my family and I hope it will have resonance for other people. My daughter is obsessed with cats, penguins and elephants, so you’ll see them on her pole. Retro rocket ships link the past and future." - Artist, Jane Becker

Last weekend, I attended a fund-raising reception at the Spirit Wrestler Gallery in Gastown for the Stanely Park Restoration. This past December, Stanley Park was heavily damaged by a storm that brought down thousands of trees.

At the fundraiser, I was able to purchase a beautiful Pendelton blanket by Coast Salish artist, Susan Point - and meet the artist herself.  

Later this year, Stanley Park will receive a new addition with the installation of People Amongst the People, a major sculptural and architectural commission by  Susan Point. In support of these important projects, the Spirit Wrestler Gallery annouced the release of a new limited edition Pendleton blanket by Susan Point titled Renewal – Honouring the Spirit of Stanley Park with two open-edition variations in different colours of the same design titled Spirit World. Susan Point has also produced three new limited edition prints based on the Stanley Park project and four new sculptural works. The proceeds from the sale of these works will be donated to the park.

Found in the market in Ottawa, On.

Two Welcome poles carved by artist Robert Davidson
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We finally got to see the Oppenheimer Park's Memorial Pole this weekend during the Powell Street Festival - a celebration of Japanese culture in the heart of the neighbor that used to be called Japantown before the interments of Japanese-Canadians during WWII. They didn't return to the neighborhood - but come back each summer to remember and celebrate with japanese food, dance and music.

The pole itself stands all year round watching the comings and goings of the park's largely homeless population. It's great to see everyone enjoying the park together for one weekend of the year; mingling with street people, upscale japanese pottery booths and elderly japanese men in traditional garb doing karate high kicks.

Toto Mikawa is by Chief Mathias Joe (Capilano?). It was transported by train to Montreal in 1956. It is now located on Bellechasse St on the corner of boulevard St-Laurent.

"I'm writing a new book—and every author knows that writing a book is like carving a totem pole with your thumbnail." - attributed to Paul Hawken in an online discussion between Paul Hawken and John Elkington don the ethics of capitalist value creation, life at the bottom of the pyramid, and the rise of Sustainable Civil Society. (That's a mouthful, eh?)

Thought this was one of the best uses of totem poles as a Simile I'd seen in a long time. Even with the proper carving implements, poles seem to take forever to get completed..just imagine only using a thumbnail!

I noticed the article because of the beautiful totem pole photograph of a Comox Valley totem, British Columbia, Canada by local Vancouver photographer Kris Krug.

Comox Valley totem, British Columbia, Canada. Photo by Kris Krug (CC). To see more of his totem photography work, click to his Flikr Photo site: Kris Krug (CC).

Once again, Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas hits a bull's eye with his show at UBC's Museum of Anthropology (running until December 31, 2007). On a visit to the museum with my 11-yr nephew Fred, we unexpectedly came upon this seriously under-publicized exhibit - of Mike's gleefully humorous reclaiming of the space - right at the entrance of the usually serious and sedate museum with 2 brilliant copper shields with his manga-style haida painting airbrushed onto the hoods of car hoods. I have to admit I didn't realize that they were car hoods until the 11 yr old pointed out the obvious - I was seeing oversized copper shields shimmering in the sunlight. Inside the museum there are two more installations: a refurbished Pontiac Firefly that looks to abscond with one of Bill Reid's fabled cedar canoes and a manga-style comic strip pained on the backs of museum storage trays the poignantly points out the irony of the 'collection and archiving' of First Nations culture that has taken place in the museum itself. As always, Mike's work is filled with humor and 'meddles' with the medium in ways that challenge us to think about Haida culture in new and insightful ways.

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Here is the Memorial pole in Oppenheimer Park