A lesson in everyday art at the MOA.
I visited the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia this past weekend. Despite it’s location very near my residence, it was my first visit to this Vancouver jewel. If you appreciate anthropology, history and/or art, I highly recommend it. While it has exhibits from around the globe, the museum’s primary focus is on British Columbian and Canadian First Nations peoples.
I’m a big history buff, and while the First Nations people of Canada have a rich and diverse history, what always strikes me is the art. Simply put, it’s amazing.
Most of us in BC are familiar with First Nations art, it’s everywhere. The beautiful craftsmanship, colours and detail of the totem pole dot this land. Galleries and gift shops are filled with everything from masks, to carving, to prints, to massed produced coasters and t-shirts.
The art influences local graphic and logo design, sports teams uniforms, public mural and sculpture, and even the look of the Olympic Games. It’s a huge commercial industry. Some people feel it has become over used and gimmicky in the Vancouver lower mainland.
However, the art that fascinates me is not what you’d find in a Robson street boutique gallery or an YVR airport gift shop. The First Nations peoples of Canada had an appreciation for art and detail that permeates the mundane and everyday.
The amount of care, craftsmanship, tradition and detail was put into common items that we now take for granted is truly awe-inspiring. We live in a country with strong roots to the European tradition, so it’s easy for some us to slip into a modern euro-centric view of traditional art: paintings, photography, sculptures and etchings, neatly displayed in an almost sterile setting.
The First Nations peoples, however, mixed art with functionality and necessity. Beautiful weaving, beads and embroidery create a palette of colour on mats, baskets, hats, sweaters, parkas, pants, leggings, mittens, shoes and boots. Skilled carvings adorn house posts, simple tools, cutlery, bowls, combs, canoes, kayaks, and even weapons. Some of it tells a story, some a family history, others depicts the natural world around us. One thing all this art shares in common is the time and dedication that would put into crafting everything.
Pablo Picasso once said “art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life”. Centuries earlier, the First Nations people took that statement even further and mixed art with the everyday life. What would our world be like if art filled our everyday lives? If aesthetic, quality and craftsmanship were more important than speed, profit and fame? Perhaps here is a valuable lesson for western society, a mindset long forgotten.
