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Down From The
Shimmering Sky: Masks of the Northwest Coast
Peter Macnair, Robert Joseph, Bruce
Grenville
Down from the Shimmering Sky presents two
centuries of powerful, striking masks made by First Nations artists on the
Pacific Northwest Coast. Some depict animals and supernatural
creatures such as Grizzly Bear and Thunderbird, while others are human
face masks representing ancestral spirits which descended from the
heavens.
The use of masks in traditional dance
ceremonies has long played a vital role in preserving the stories,
privileges, status and responsibilities of their owners. Robert
Joseph's essay is an intimate and insightful look into the meaning and
potency of masks from the viewpoint of a Native person.
Lavishly illustrated with 61 color and
over 100 black-and-white photographs of outstanding masks from major
institutions and private collections in North America and Europe.
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 PETER
MACNAIR is former Curator of Anthropology at the Royal British
Columbia Museum, Victoria, a post he held for more than thirty
years. During this time he was co-author of The Legacy: Tradition
and Innovation in Northwest Coast Indian Art and was curatorial
consultant to "Chiefly Feasts: The Enduring Kwakiutl
Potlatch" ROBERT
JOSEPH is a Kwakwaki'wakw Chief, writer and curator. He
collaborated with Peter Macnair on the exhibitions "The Copper
That Came from Heaven", "Chiefly Feasts: The
Enduring Kwakiutl Potlatch" and "The Treasurers of Sewidi".
He is a former journalist and an active advisor on land claims and Native
rights. BRUCE GRENVILLE is
a Senior Curator of the Vancouver Art Gallery. He is the editor of
and a contributor to The Post-Colonial Landscape, a book and
exhibition series that examines contemporary representations of the
colonial and post-colonial landscape. $30.00
U.S.
Available
at the Museum Store
ISBN 1-55054-623-6
Douglas & McIntyre Ltd. |
