Formline art is a feature in the Indigenous art of the Northwest Coast of North America, distinguished by the use of characteristic shapes referred to as ''ovoids'', ''U forms'' and ''S forms''. Coined by Bill Holm in his 1965 book ''Northwest Coast Indian Art: An Analysis of Form'', the "formline is the primary design element on which Northwest Coast art depends, and by the turn of the 20th century, its use spread to the southern regions as well. It is the positive delineating force of the painting, relief and engraving. Formlines are continuous, flowing, curvilinear lines that turn, swell and diminish in a prescribed manner. They are used for figure outlines, internal design elements, and abstract compositions."

History

After European contact in the late 18th century, the peoples who produced Northwest Coast art suffered huge population losses due to diseases such as

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

, and cultural losses due to forced assimilation into European-North

American culture The culture of the United States encompasses various social behaviors, institutions, and Social norm, norms, including forms of Languages of the United States, speech, American literature, literature, Music of the United States, music, Visual a ...

, Canadian colonial cultural suppression, and the confiscation or destruction of traditional art and artifacts of ritual and governance. The production of their art dropped drastically. Toward the end of the 19th century, Northwest Coast artists began producing work for commercial sales, such as small argillite carvings produced by the Haida. The end of the 19th century also saw large-scale export of totem poles, masks and other

traditional art Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative. The makers of folk art are typically tra ...

objects from the region to museums and private collectors globally. Some of this export was accompanied by financial compensation to people who had a right to sell the art, and some was not. In the early 20th century few First Nations artists in the Northwest Coast region produced art. A tenuous link to older traditions remained in artists such as Charles Gladstone (

Haida Haida may refer to: Haida people Many uses of the word derive from the name of an indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. * Haida people, an Indigenous ethnic group of North America (Canada) ** Council of the Haida Nati ...

), Stanley George (

Heiltsuk The Heiltsuk , sometimes historically referred to as ''Bella Bella'', or ''Híɫzaqv'' are an Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, Indigenous people of the Central Coast Regional District, Central Coast region in British Columbia, ...

) and

Mungo Martin Chief Mungo Martin or ''Nakapenkem'' (lit. ''Potlatch chief "ten times over"''), ''Datsa'' (lit. ''"grandfather"''), was an important figure in Northwest Coast style art, specifically that of the Kwakwaka'wakw Aboriginal people who live in the ...

( Kwakwaka'wakw). The mid-20th century saw a revival of interest and production of Northwest Coast art, due to the influence of artists and critics such as

Bill Reid William Ronald Reid Jr. (12 January 1920 – 13 March 1998) also known as Iljuwas, was a Haida artist whose works include jewelry, sculpture, screen-printing, and paintings. Producing over one thousand original works during his fifty-year car ...

, a grandson of Charles Gladstone, and others. Reid developed his understanding of Haida formline by studying ethnographic museum collections, and by making sculptures and serigraphs. In 1975, American anthropologist Edmund “Ted” Carpenter invited Reid and Holm to co-author ''Form and Freedom: A Dialogue on Northwest Coast Indian Art'', a book documenting the pair's discussions about more than one hundred Northwest Coast art objects. The renewal of Haida art is part of a wider cultural and political awakening among First Nations. It also saw an increasing demand for the return of art objects (known as Repatriation) that were illegally or immorally taken from First Nations communities. This demand continues to the present day. Today, numerous art schools teach formal Northwest Coast art of various styles, and there is a growing market for new art in this style.Jonathan Meuli. ''Shadow House: Interpretations of Northwest Coast Art''.

References

External links

Bill Holm Center for the Study of Northwest Coast Art
at the

Burke Museum The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture (commonly as Burke Museum) is a natural history museum on the campus of the University of Washington, in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States. It is administered by the University ...

Reciprocal Research Network
{{Canadianart Canadian art movements Indigenous art in Canada American art movements Northwest Coast art

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links