Kwakwaka'wakw Two Dimensional, Sculptural & Woven Art.
During the nineteenth century, the Native art tradition of the Pacific Northwest coast developed conceptually and stylistically (Holm, 1990:603). The art form was in a state of flux, the tribal styles often influenced one another by way of the well established intertribal trade routes. The changes were ongoing, and the artists were quick to utilize new tools, materials and paints once available. Art objects collected during this period are conceptually and stylistically related within each respective tribe, with gradual changes noted over the course of the century (Holm, 1990:603).

The ownership of inherited privileges was often displayed and validated in elaborate, theatrical ceremonies or potlatches where the Kwakwaka'wakw danced many beautifully carved masks and associated paraphernalia (Holm, 1990:605). The Kwakwaka'wakw nobles encouraged the spectacular graphic art production and the development of the dramatic arts to proudly display their crests and inherited dance privileges (Holm, 1990: 605).

For the Kwakwaka'wakw, art was an integral part of their culture. From their elaborately designed potlatch coppers to their magnificently painted house fronts or the many utilitarian objects that were decorated and made with great care, the prolific Kwakwaka'wakw artists excelled at their work (Arima and Dewhirst, 1990:404).

Tools and Materials.
Woodworking tools in use before contact included those of bone, shell, stone and beaver incisor teeth, with a few iron and steel blades (King 1981:pl.85,nos. 123, 124). The iron and steel may have been obtained from trade across the continent, or salvaged by the Nootkans from drift wreckage from Asia (MacDonald 1984a:74-76;G.I. Quimby, 1985).

The maritime fur trade eventually provided additional metal tools that helped foster artistic activity. In 1792, the Kwakwaka'wakw were visited by the American Robert Gray and his crew (Howay, 1941:402-404) and the British seaman George Vancouver (Menzies, 1923:86-87), although they had already obtained metal and muskets from trade with the Nootkans.

The Natives utilized adzes, chisels, drills, knives, mauls and wedges to create their artwork. The crooked knife, similar to the curved bladedman's knife of northern North America (Mason, 1899) became the standard finecarving tool of the Pacific northwest Natives (Holm, 1990:604). Knives with blades that were straight to knives with sharply curved blades and many angles in between were quickly adapted by the Natives on the coast (Holm,1990:604).

The artwork was either knife finished, for a textured surface, or sanded smooth with dogfish skin or dried stalks of the horsetail (Equisetum) (Holm,1990:604). Paint was applied with brushes made from the guard hair from porcupines, or with smoothly pointed sticks for the fine lines (Holm,1990:604).

The Kwakwaka'wakw carved red and yellow cedar, alder and maple, and on occasion yew wood. Each object was made from specific materials, the bentwood boxes from cedar, the bowls from alder or cedar, and the spoons from maple or mountain sheep horn. They wove cedar bark and spruce roots for baskets and hats, and yellow cedar or mountain goat wool for twined robes. Much of their dance regalia was woven from dyed red cedar bark. With the abundance of natural resources, the artists were able to choose the best materials for their creations.

Kwakwaka'wakw Two Dimensional Art.
The Kwakwaka'wakw artists painted designs on most surfaces, such as steam-bent boxes, chests, canoes, house fronts, sculptures and ceremonial screens (Holm, 1990:611). The primary colors for designs were black and red, with some green or blue, although near the end of the nineteenth century the artists often painted on a white background (Holm, 1990:611). Wayne Alfred mentioned that the white undercoating helps to preserve the sculptures in the outdoor elements (Wayne Alfred, personal communication 2000).

The Kwakwaka'wakw had little direct contact with the maritime traders, and it was not until after Hudson's Bay Company established a trading post at Fort Rupert in 1849 that examples of their art were collected and preserved (Holm, 1990:610). Prior to the mid-nineteenth century, the Kwakwaka'wakw designs were most likely more straight forward with a noticeable relationship to the Nootkan painting style (Holm, 1990:610).

In the 1880's, a house front painted with a classic northern design of a raven flanked by two bears was photographed at Fort Rupert. Mungo Martin believed that the design was painted by a Bella Bella artist who was commissioned to create it (Barbeau, 1950, 2:778). Kwakwaka'wakw artists were influenced by this house front, although they interpreted and borrowed ideas freely, without the obligation to follow closely the structural rules of the northern formline system (Holm, 1990:611). The Kwakwaka'wakw painting may appear northern-like, but it is clearly distinguishable from it by the artist's individuality, freedom of design and form (Holm, 1990:611). Their painting is noted for its exuberance and flamboyance, with free use of many colors (Holm, 1990:610).

Kwakwaka'wakw Sculpture.
The Kwakwaka'wakw culture involved much ceremonialism with evocative mythology. The carvers created many masks and associated paraphernalia to display the creatures of myth in the dramatic recreations of ancestors' adventures (Holm, 1990:618). This display of ancestral rights, validated through the potlatch system provided the impetus for the creation of many powerful and seemingly life like monsters and creatures of their mythology (Holm,1990:618).

Many different forms of masks were produced. Some were worn on the face or forehead, while others were carried on the back, as the Killer Whale mask (Holm, 1990:619). Many of the masks were made to articulate, jaws snapped, fins, spikes and tails undulated and arched (Holm,1990:618). A theatrical prop master piece is the transformation mask, in which the mask is made to open to reveal another carved face or image (Holm, 1990:618). With the skilled mask performer, the fire lit atmosphere, many fantastic figures and monstrous beings must have seemed believable to their audiences.

The Kwakwaka'wakw carvers fashioned the faces of animal and humans similar to that of the northern tribes, making the masks easily discernible from those of the Nootkan or Salish carvers (Holm, 1990:618). The Kwakwaka'wakw carved the eyes as orbs, that seemed to push up from under the eyelids, rather than incised into the flattened cheek plane as the Nootkan or Salish carved (Holm, 1990:618). The rest of the facial features were carved bold, with projecting lips defined by strong cheek lines, or with barred and naturally carved teeth (Holm, 1990:618). The Atlakim Dance has many fine examples of Kwakwaka'wakw masks.

Massive, functional house posts were carved by Kwakwaka'wakw artists. These house posts represented the house owner's ancestors or beings that the ancestors interacted with (Holm, 1990:618). The humans on house posts were naturalistically proportioned, except that the head had a larger size of the sculpture than normal (Holm, 1990:618). The diameter of the posts were not reduced by much, since they supported the massive and heavy roof beams. The figures were carved in full sculptural form, unlike the low relief Salish posts (Holm, 1990:618). The Kwakwaka'wakw artists often carved the arms, beaks, fins or wings separately and attached them to the house posts to add to their impressiveness (Holm, 1990:618).

Large memorial monuments as well as free standing poles were carved in response to the nineteenth century influence of the northern art on Kwakwaka'wakw artists (Holm, 1990:618). At Alert Bay, the Raven pole of chief Wakiash had a beak that extended over three meters from the pole, with the lower jaw articulating to open and form the door for his great house (Holm, 1990:618).

The Kwakwaka'wakw artists were well trained and were paid as professionals. Chiefs and nobles commissioned artists to create manifestations of the prerogatives of inheritance and rank, often carved as beautiful and elaborate masterpieces (Holm, 1990:618). The artists, quite prolific, also decorated utilitarian objects such as bowls, boxes, chests and spoons. Artwork was integral to the Kwakwaka'wakw culture, and was displayed well through the ceremonial context.

Kwakwaka'wakw Woven Art.
Basketry was a minor art for the Kwakwaka'wakw. Few elaborately woven baskets were produced, most were simply created for utilitarian burden and storage (Holm, 1990:624). They produced wrap-twined open work burden baskets or plaited cedar bark containers (Holm, 1990:624). The minimal designs were produced with black dyed strands or by varying the patterns of the weave (Holm, 1990:624).

The Kwakwaka'wakw wove twined spruce root hats, similar to the Northern types(Holm, 1990:624). They also produced magnificent red cedar bark regalia for the winter ceremonies. The cedar bark was braided, wrapped and combined in complex ways to produce the ceremonial head and neck rings used by the Hamatsa dancers. The artists also used shredded cedar bark to embellish their masks and other dance regalia (Holm, 1990:624).

Kwakwaka'wakw women produced twilled cedar bark mats that were plaited on the diagonal, covering the warp completely (Holm, 1990:628). They also produced twined robes of yellow cedar bark, and when available, twined robes of mountain goat wool yarn (Holm, 1990:628). The Kwakwaka'wakw quickly adapted to using European cloth to produce beautiful button blankets with designs in button appliqué (Holm, 1990:628).

Selected Repository Collections of Kwakwaka'wakw Art*:

American Museum of Natural History, New York.
Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York.
University of BritishColumbia, Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver.
Canadian Museum of Civilization, National Museum of Canada, Ottawa.
Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Denver Art Museum, Denver.
Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago.
Hydrographic Department, Ministry of Defense, Taunton, Somerset, England.
Milwaukee Public Museum, Wisconsin.
Museo Naval, Madrid.
Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York.
Museum fur Volkerkunde , Berlin.
Portland Art Museum , Portland, Oregon.
British Columbia Archives and Records Service, Victoria.
Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria.
Smithsonian Institution, Department of Anthropology and National Anthropological Archives, Washington D.C.
University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
Vancouver City Archives , Vancouver, British Columbia.
Vancouver Public Library , British Columbia.

*Information collected by Joanna C. Scherer and various authors of Volume 7, Handbook of North American Indians, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 1990.