Art books released in time for Christmas

Page 12

One of the major art events of this year is a touring exhibition of Robert Davidson's sculptures, jewelry and prints. It won't be seen now in the West, since it moved to Ottawa after its Vancouver opening, but readers may rejoice in the companion book to the show.

Robert Davidson: Eagle of the Dawn (Douglas & McIntyre, $560, 192 pp.) is a lavish tribute to an inventive and innovative artist who leads the revival of Northwest Coast art.

Davidson's creative energy has led him to work with a variety of media. Some 150 color plates show this Haida artist's powerful work, which ranges from argillite, bronze and wood sculpture to silver and gold jewelry to drawings and prints.

His art is stunning. One of the highlights of the book is a moon pendant fashioned from gold, with abalone eyes and ivory teeth. The face on the pendant is so expressive it is as if Davidson breathed life into it. Elsewhere, readers may marvel over the elaborate Eagle Transforming into Itself mask or the intricate painted drum titled Raven Bringing Light to the World.

Further north, we find The Inuit Imagination: Arctic Myth and Sculpture (Douglas & McIntyre, $65, 224 pp.) Harold Siedelman and James Turner contrast 175 plates of contemporary Inuit sculpture with traditional myths and stories to show the relation between the two forms of expression.

The examples of sculptures are startling. These are forceful and exuberant art works. It would have been nice, however, if the authors had documented the size of the pieces and the materials they were carved from. Without that vital information, it is difficult to put the works into perspective.

Still, in this authoritative work, Siedelman and Turner show how the Inuit work to preserve their culture through the creation of their art, even as they deal with intense cultural upheaval. And the artworks themselves are as mysterious and as haunting as the Arctic itself.

From south of the border comes the aptly titled Grand Endeavors of American Indian Photography (Smithsonian Institution Press; 176 pp.). Paula Richardson Fleming and Judith Lynn Luskey have reached a book that is at once incredible and moving.

They have collected the work of a number of photographers who actively set about to capture images of American Indians around the turn-of-the-century. These photographers were certain they were recording a way of life that was about to vanish forever.

The 129 photos include potlatch ceremonies, Whale House interiors, and a Hopi Snake Dance. From the cameras of Roland Reed and Joseph Kossuth Dixon come portraits of almost unearthly beauty.

Finally, just in time for the holidays comes the paperback version of Two Spirits Soar: The Art of Allen Sapp; The Inspiration of Allan Gonor (Stoddard; $22.95; 134 pp.)

Two Spirits Soar documents the life and art of Allen Sapp, a Cree born on Saskatchewan's Red Pheasant Reserve, and his friendship with his patron Allan Gonor.

It is a remarkable story. Gonor, a North Battleford doctor, met Sapp on the North Battleford streets. At that time, Sapp was not yet painting his pictures of life on the reserve. Rather, he dashed off portraits for whatever money he could convince a customer to give.

Gonor saw past Sapp's weak subject matter and determined that he was a painter of no small talent. Gonor encouraged Sapp to draw on his own experience for his paintings.

What resulted was a wonderful series of acrylic paintings telling the story of Sapp's life

These paintings depict life on the reserve. They show everything from powwows and Sun Dances to children playing in the snow and men and women going about their work.

As Sapp painted, Gonor collected together the work and helped his friend market it. Their friendship eventually culminated in the establishment of the Allen Sapp Gallery - The Gonor Collection.

The gallery, founded when Gonor died in 1985, is housed in the renovated Carnegie Library in North Battleford.

"The paintings of Allen Sapp. The inspiratin of Allan Gonor. Two spirits soars," concludes this book, "and we have a legacy of friendship and commitment to appreciate and emulate."