Vancouver Airport First Nations Art
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Stuck in Transit? Check out the Vancouver Airport First Nations Art
Vancouver Airport First Nations Art. The Vancouver, British Columbia Airport (YVR), contains an impressive collection of regional First Nations art. Divided into pieces that represent land, sea, and sky, the YVR art collection reflects not only the ancient Haida and other first nation traditions throughout British Columbia, but also the prominence of indigenous culture and experience here and elsewhere in Canada. From Bill Reid’s Spirit of the Haida Gwaii: The Jade Canoe (1994) to Joe David’s Welcome Figures carved in the Clayoquot tradition of the Nuu-chah-nulth people, First Nations Art transforms the otherwise typical contemporary airport facility into a remarkable collection of national importance. The diverse and visually interesting collection is a welcomed break from usual airport fare consisting of a predictable combination of restaurants, souvenir shops, and uncomfortable terminal waiting areas.
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Vancouver Airport First Nations Art: Spirit of the Haida Gwaii: The Jade Canoe (1994)
Bill Reid’s Spirit of the Haida Gwaii: The Jade Canoe (1994) sits surrounded by a curved seating area that allows visitors to enjoy the many Haida designs atop a bronze canoe covered in a jade patina. Even if you are not traveling, you can view this piece in the international terminal, level 3, before security. The artist found inspiration for the Jade Canoe in nineteenth-century miniature canoes carved by the Haida of the Vancouver area. Reid designed the sculpture for the new Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C.
Spirit of the Haida Gwaii: The Jade Canoe (1994)
“This acclaimed sculpture was inspired by nineteenth-century miniature canoes carved in argillite, a soft sedimentary rock that is found near Skidegate on Haida Gwaii. As with many historic examples of miniature canoes, this vessel is crowded with creatures and beings, their identities drawn from legends and oral histories of the Haida, and their forms energetically and sometimes fiercely interacting with each other in the manner of rivalrous siblings.”
– Vancouver International Airport
Vancouver Airport First Nations Art: Joe David’s Welcome Figures (1986)
Just below The Spirit of Haida Gwaii sit two imposing wooden sculptures, welcoming travelers through the entrances of the international terminal. Created by Nuu-chah-nulth artist Joe David for the Vancouver Expo 86, the Clayoquot traditional carvings are the same as those that would welcome invited guests to special events. Clayoquot Welcome Figures would traditionally be placed on the beach in front of a village in order to welcome arriving guests.
Welcome Figures (1986)
“Each figure is designed to look out to sea, arms raised, palms facing upward. The male figure wears the traditional knobbed hat denoting a high-ranking personage, possibly a whaling chief. The female figure wears the common domed hat. Both wear an apron-like garment traditionally made from the shredded, beaten and woven inner bark of the cedar tree.”
– Vancouver International Airport
Vancouver Airport First Nations Art: Susan A. Point’s Land, Sea, and Sky
Near the Alaska Airlines Gates 90-99 of the international terminal, you’ll find a series of Haida-inspired etchings that reflect each of the airport’s art collection themes of land, sea, and sky. Using what the artist refers to as “Intaglio aqua tint,” Point depicts wolf, salmon, and eagle motifs in these bold, high-contrast etchings. Closer to gates 90-99, the same designs can be seen in carved glass and etched copper. In “Serpent Forms,” a repeating pattern gradually turns from shades of red to amber. The two-headed serpent adapts a traditional comb design.
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