Haida Art: Mapping an Ancient Language at McCord Museum

Saturday, 22 April 2006 10:28

Montréal - The McCord Museum presents Haida Art: Mapping an Ancient Language from April 29 to October 22, 2006. The exhibition features objects from the rarely displayed McCord collection of historic Haida masterpieces dating to the 18th and 19th century. The McCord Haida collection is one of the earliest and most significant in North America – the majority of items collected in 1878 by George Mercer Dawson during his travels to Haida Gwaii (the Queen Charlotte Islands) off the Northwest Coast. The exhibition highlights over eighty extraordinary objects including carved feast bowls, bentwood boxes, a woven and painted hat, masks and rattles as well as argillite sculptures. These remarkable artworks provide a glimpse of the artistic and cosmological universe of Haida culture in all its splendor and complexity. The Haida artistic style can be compared to a formal language based on a kind of visual grammar, with a vocabulary that consists of animals and mythological creatures, depicted in a naturalistic or an abstract style. This vocabulary forms a narrative that could indicate the function of an object, tell a story, identify the lineage of a social group or explore philosophical ideas. Often the design composition is so abstract that the creatures represented are not identifiable, its meaning embedded in oral tradition, ancestral privilege and the cultural knowledge of its maker and owner. Contemporary Haida artists are constantly exploring this ancient language in their art – it is the foundation on which new endeavors are built and the grammar with which future histories are written. The McCord was delighted when renowned Haida artist Robert Davidson accepted the invitation to visit the Museum to guide the curatorial team in the selection of artworks. His insights are woven into the exhibition commentary. “The influence of traditional Haida pieces on the work of contemporary artists cannot be underestimated,” says the McCord’s Executive Director, Dr. Victoria Dickenson. “The presentation of Haida historical artworks in conjunction with a major exhibition of works by a leading contemporary Haida artist offers an unparalleled opportunity, not only to appreciate the artworks of Robert Davidson, but to understand the historical context and sources of inspiration for his work.” The McCord The McCord is home to one of the finest historical collections in North America. It possesses some of Canada’s most significant cultural treasures, including the most comprehensive collection of clothing made or worn in Canada; an extensive collection related to Aboriginal history and art; and the renowned Notman Photographic Archives. Visit The McCord Museum

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