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A brief autobiography of my interest in Haida culture.
I was born in Victoria BC and grew up all over Canada. Fortunately
my 1979 grade 4 class was studying the Northwest Pacific Coast
Native American culture and I was mesmerized by the contrasting
advanced and primitive, abstract and the reality based art of
the Haida. We studied the 13 tribes of the BC coast, but the Haida
fascinated me most and I did a project featuring a beaver totem
pole (1).
In 1986 at the age of 15 I spent part of my summer in Vancouver
and on Vancouver Island. At Expo '86 I visited the California
pavilion where I made my first discovery of computer animation
and it's wonderful possibilities in a compilation video (2).
In Vancouver I also enjoyed the Aboriginal culture everywhere
I went, from the University of British Columbia's Museum of Anthropology
to the abundant totem poles throughout the city, such as in Stanley
Park. A good deal of that summer was also spent visiting my declining
grandfather near Victoria, in Sooke, on the west side of Vancouver
Island. On the island I saw many more wonderful fine examples
of Northwest Native art. Of exceptional note was Henry Roy Vicker's
Eagle Airy Gallery in Tofino Bay up the coast of Vancouver Island
(3).
It was here that I spent my savings on and devoured three very
good books detailing and defining the Northwest Native art forms
and functions. As it turns out, two of those books (4)
are amongst the best on the subject of Haida design, and the other
is a wonderful documentation of the totem poles of the village
of Skedans (5),
though out of print now.
Four years later in 1989-1990, while attending Sheridan College's Classical Animation Program, I had the idea of animating a Haida Story. In the summer of 1991 I was living in Vancouver where I met Storyary Haida artist Bill Reid at his studio on Grandville Island. However thrilling the experience, unfortunately he was little help suffering from Parkinson's disease and the woman doing an article for Equinox featuring him seemed to know more than he did. I visited the Queen Charlotte Islands for a few weeks that summer where I camped, fished, traveled and visited every place I could. There are a few small towns (Masset has a large defense base) and a scattering of dwellings. I visited with people of the Haida Counsel, elders, ministers and basketball players and absorbed as much as I could. One of the highlights of my trip was a day long zodiac expedition around Louise Island and the surrounding islands, 1940's logging camps, much wild life and a visit to the remains of the village of Skedans, the book I had ironically bought 5 years previous.
In March 1999, encouraged to pursue my long time dream by Pitch Animation Studio in Manhattan (where I was art directing and supervising animation) I ordered every item I could find on Amazon.com relating to Haida culture. I mean everything. Although impulsive, I was determined to make a serious thrust towards my goal with a personal financial commitment to the resources I would need. I obtained many unavailable books and maintain a list of references sought. I drafted my first treatment and worked on the logical production process but had massive amounts of research to understand the culture, art and best Storys suitable for the screen.
A couple years later with a couple thousand dollars worth of books I still had much reading yet to do the project was again shelved. Fortunately, while working at Guru Animation Studio (Frank Falcone and Anne Deslauriers) with Chuck Gammage Animation Studio (across the hall and partner in Guru) I revealed my long-time dream and discovered a common interest held by Chuck Gammage. I furthered work on my initial concepts for Chuck, Frank and Anne in February 2001. In April I retreated for a couple months to focus and research the Haida Storys and culture.
Personal Goals
My personal goals in this project are to educate and inspire about the wonderful Haida culture that is diluting into the global village as the past fades away. Unfortunately elders that remember earlier culture with less dilution of modern influences are dying out. With their help I aspire to create wonderful pieces to the best of my teams ability that will outlast our lifetime and my other ephemeral commercialized work. I do not seek recognition but rather the satisfaction in the personal accomplishment and tribute to beautiful art and culture from a proud and noble nation. To achieve recognition within the animation industry for work of quality would certainly be good and perhaps I might be fortunate to later create more challenging and equally rewarding projects with even greater artistic freedom.
Modern World Out Of Balance
- unfinished note -
• • • • •
Footnotes
1. Ironically, the beaver is not native to the Queen Charlotte Islands.
2. This was also my first exposure to The Art of Noise's "Close to the Edit" used as the soundtrack.
3. This was my first exposure to Andreas Vollenweider.
4. By Bill Holm & Hilary Stewart.
5. John and Carolyn Smyly, Those Born at Koona (Surrey, BC: Hancock House, 1973) - In the 1830's John Work of the Hudson's Bay Company called the 471 inhabitant village "Skee-dans". Skedans is a corruption of the name of its chief, Gidansta, and not his villages true name, Q'ona (or Koona). p.18-19.
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