Argillite Pipe depicting a Human Face with Goatee on the Bowl; a Bear holding the Bowl, a Raven and a Frog Facing each Other and another Bear

Label

Two-dimensional formline design—such as the painting on the model canoe paddles in this case—is the distinctive style of Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian communities in the Pacific Northwest. It emerged from existing sculptural traditions, which, like formline art, continue to be practiced today. Contemporary artist Preston Singletary derives the direction and purpose of his work from his Tlingit cultural heritage. Yet he utilizes an unexpected medium to perpetuate the visual language of his people. Drawing on more than thirty years of experience working with glass in Seattle, Sweden, and among Venice’s legendary artisans, Singletary employs a mastery of European glass-blowing techniques and etching to intensify and enliven the formline designs in his works.

From the 2022 exhibition Unbroken: Native American Ceramics, Sculpture, and Design, curated by Dillen Peace '19, Native American Art Intern and Sháńdíín Brown '20, Native American Art Intern 

Course History

ANTH 3.01, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, Sienna Craig, Winter 2022

Writing Program 5.24, Photographic Representations, Amanda Wetsel, Winter 2023

Writing Program 5.25, Photographic Representations, Amanda Wetsel, Winter 2023

Exhibition History

Arts Education Services, Peter Smith Studio, Wilson Hall, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire.

Native American Art at Dartmouth: Highlights from the Hood Museum of Art, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, October 8, 2011-March 12, 2012.

Unbroken: Native American Ceramics, Sculpture, and Design, Ivan Albright Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 22, 2022-March 12, 2023.

Publication History

[Northern, Tamara]. "Native American Art". Hanover, New Hampshire: Hood Museum of Art, page 13 . (Published in conjunctionwith Gutman Gallery opening exhibition)

Provenance

Collected by Victor Justice Evans (1865-1931), Washington, D.C, date unknown; to his widow, (Mabel) Karen Gram Schaefer Evans Scott Allen (1891-1974), Meriden, New Hampshire, 1931; given to present collection, 1957.

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Subjects