First Nations Art of the Northwest Coast

This course will examine the diverse and rich production of objects by Northwest Coast First Nations people, including the Coast Salish, Haida, Kwakwaka'wakw, Nuu-chah-nulth, Tlingit, and Tsimshian. The characteristics of material culture both before European colonization and up until the present day will be discussed in relation to: traditional visual practices; the impact of colonialism on aboriginal objects; the "salvage paradigm"; constructed notions of "authenticity", "art", and "artifact"; the roles played by art history, anthropology, and ethnology in the preserving and collecting of artifacts; the roles played by museums and galleries in object display, and how the tourist market and art market shape art production.