Art & Art History ETDs
Publication Date
Fall 11-8-2017
Abstract
Cultural imPRINT provides the first substantive art historical investigation into Northwest Coast Indigenous prints. Since the 1960s, Northwest Coast artists have employed the print medium to share their histories, heritage, and culture amongst each other and with the larger world. Because print artists number in the hundreds, and print editions in the thousands, this dissertation takes a socio-cultural approach to understanding the purposes for the medium’s production and circulation. First, it analyzes the deep histories of reproduction in the North American art world and in Northwest Coast Indigenous communities, asserting that reproduction within coastal communities serves to perpetuate history from one generation to the next. Both objects and images are imbued with the authority to carry histories so they may be retold. From this foundational understanding, prints are presented as the cultural ambassadors of the Northwest Coast Native art market. The chapter on the market centers prints to critically reevaluate the larger creation and continuance of a distinctive art world. The final chapter details the biographies of key print artists Robert Davidson, Roy Henry Vickers, Marvin Oliver, and Susan Point. These artists strategically employ the medium to create a social space for themselves and their communities’ arts practices. Their prints educate the public about Northwest Coast Indigenous cultures and insist upon the visibility of Indigenous peoples in the Pacific Northwest. In observing changes to creation, reproduction, and circulation, the conclusion documents the beginning of a new era for printmaking. Cultural imPRINT surveys the first revolution in the cycle of a vital Northwest Coast arts tradition.
Language
English
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Art History
Level of Degree
Doctoral
Department Name
UNM Department of Art and Art History
First Committee Member (Chair)
Dr. Joyce Szabo
Second Committee Member
Dr. Kirsten Buick
Third Committee Member
Professor Aaron Fry
Fourth Committee Member
Dr. Allan Ryan
Keywords
Indigenous, Native, Northwest Coast, Prints, art print, reproduction
Recommended Citation
Young, India Rael. "Cultural imPRINT: a History of Northwest Coast Native and First Nations Prints." (2017). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/arth_etds/68
Included in
Contemporary Art Commons, Fine Arts Commons, Indigenous Studies Commons, Other History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons, Printmaking Commons
