"Raven, Hundred-Pace Viper, and the Ocean" Cross-Cultural Exhibit in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan
Sponsored by the Kaoksiung Commission on Indigenous Affairs and the University of Washington Burke Museum, Seattle

Stevan Harrell, Partner Curator
Professor of Anthropology, University of Washington
Curator of Asian Ethnology Burke Museum

The Raven and the Hundred-Pace Snake symbolize creative force for two of the Pacific Rim’s great Native art traditions—the Native peoples of the Northwest Coast of North American and the Aboriginal peoples of Taiwan. In Kaohsiung, Taiwan, from June 4-18, 2006, artists from these two traditions will come together for the first time ever in a trans-Pacific creative collaboration.

Arts of the Northwest coast are known all over the world for representations of the interconnections of humans and the natural world. The arts of carving, represented in massive forms such as totem poles and house posts, and in more intimate daily use objects such as spindle whorls, bentwood boxes, rattles and dance staff; textiles, represented in Chilkat and Ravenstail robes on the Northern Coast, and in distinctive bi- and tricolor designs in the Southern or Salish area; basketry, represented in a wide variety of designs and materials form all areas, are among the most important, artistically and culturally, of the traditional arts. In the last 150 years, Northwest Coast artists have expanded their range of materials, techniques and motifs to create modern works utilizing glass, precious metals, polymers, and paper in form of jewelry, serigraphs, feast dishes/bowls, crest bearing sculpture and in large installation pieces.

Three representatives of the Northwest Coast area will participate in the Raven and Viper project: all of them creatively combine traditional and innovative techniques, materials and subjects. Qwalsius Shaun Peterson is a carver, painter, and printmaker from the Puyallup tribe who combines his native Salish style with influences form the North Coast and from Euro-American art. Clarissa Hudson, of Tlingit and Filipina heritage, is a weaver, fashion designer, painting, glass artist, landscaper and theatrical performer whose works have been shown all over the world. Shgen George, also from the Tlingit people, is a weaver, painter, bead worker and multi-media artists, as well as a full-time elementary school teacher active in brining Tlingit heritage alive for school children. Continued....(keep scrolling down)....

Each day, all the artists gathered for the 4pm tea time. Local friends and family provided refreshments of iced tea, pastries, meats, and lots of mangoes! Photo by Clarissa Hudson

Arts of Taiwan’s Aborigines also portray the close connection between humans and nature. Round and low-relief carving, used as in the Northwest Coast on house posts as well as smaller human and animal representations; textile arts of weaving, sewing and beading; painting and other decorative arts; basketry and pottery for both practical and ceremonial use have excited the imagination of collectors and museums all over Asia. In the last 20 years, aboriginal artists from a variety of tribes have formed a vibrant movement of contemporary art, using both traditional and on-traditional materials such as sheet metal and scrap metal, driftwood, glass, and needlework, inventing new forms and techniques to crate art that comments on the position of Aboriginal peoples in the modern world.

Six eclectic artists form Taiwan’s aboriginal peoples will join the Raven and Viper project. Rubi Swana is a sculptor, carver, painter, and glass artists form the Amis tribe; Elen, from the Rukai chiefly family, combines diverse natural media to create monumental works of sculpture. Hana draws on her own Amis tradition, as well as those of other Native peoples of Taiwan and beyond to crate innovative textiles and carvings. Siki is an Amis carver who creates large and small scale public works on traditional and contemporary themes. Lei En and Daki, both from the Paiwan tribe, work in metal and wood to create works embodying both great artistic beauty and sharp social commentary.
The Raven and Viper project is part of the Austronesian Native Festival in Kaohsiung, and is sponsored by the Kaohsiung City Government Commission on Aboriginal Affairs. The artist will meet and work in the Aboriginal Theme Park in Kaoshiung City, already the scene of much important aboriginal public art. During their two-week collaboration, they will work individually and jointly to crate multi-media works of art that combine the spirit of Native arts on both sides of the Pacific, and establish ties between these two vibrant areas of native art and culture.

What will they crate, in the end? That’s up to the artists. Come and watch, come and get to know Taiwan’s native heritage, come and be introduced to see of the great artistic traditions of North America. Come and talk to the artists and gain an understanding of the creative process. And come see the wonderful works of art that emerge from this unique collaboration.

Lin Yu-shih, Curator Review | Back to top Stevan Harrell Review

* Read Clarissa's Photo Essay (in Three Parts) of her cross-cultural experiences in Taiwan with fellow Northwest Coast artists Shgen George and Shaun Petersen.

As we shop for some of our materials and supplies, a scooter zips past! Photo by Shaun Petersen.

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