Mythic Beings: Spirit Art of the Northwest Coast

by Gary Wyatt

Book Overview

Mythic Beings brings together 80 outstanding works by 20 contemporary artists that powerfully interpret Northwest Coast myths and legends. These works include totem poles, argillite sculptures, jewelry in silver and gold, carved and painted boxes, painted drums, and masks. They depict beings of the forest, sea, sky, and spirit worlds: Raven, Thunderbird, Salmon Bringer, Volcano Woman, and many more.

Accompanying each work are a retelling...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0295977981
• ISBN13: 9780295977980
• Release Date: September 1999
• Publisher: University of Washington Press
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 1.27 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 8.6" x 10.0"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

A FIND

I recently came back from a trip to the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. It isn't enough that it is some of the most beautiful landscape on Earth, but I also discovered the amazing artists of the Pacific Northwest community. The artworks within this book (as well as Spirit Faces also by this author) are so moving and beautiful, my only regret is that I am not able to start collecting on a massive scale. Mr. Wyatt also allows the artists to describe for the readers their inspirations and ideas behind their products, which allows us to get to know them a little. After a short while I was able to determine the various artists based upon the varying styles of the pieces depicted here.Highly recommended!

Mythic Beings : Spirit Art of the Northwest Coast

Great color photos and and discriptions of the carvings and artwork. I would definatly recommend this to anyone that is interested in Northwest Coast art.

Mythic Beings : Spirit Art of the Northwest Coast

Great color photos and and discriptions of the carvings and artwork. I would definitely recommend this to anyone that is interested in Northwest Coast art.

A welcome addition to Native American art/culture studies.

Profusely illustrated with brilliant, full color photography, Gary Wyatt's Mythic Beings: Spirit Art Of The Northwest Coast is a superb introduction to aboriginal art including totems, wood sculpture, masks, stone carvings and more. Wyatt's informative text is an outstanding survey placing each art piece within their cultural context, enhanced with the artist's own descriptions and commentaries. Mythic Beings is a very welcome addition to personal, academic, and professional Native American art and cultural reference collections.

Impressive Book on Northwest Coast Art

Mythic Beings is an unassuming but impressive book. The major organizing theme is that spirit art captures the rich cultural and aesthetic traditions that permeate regional artistic expression. Northwest Coast art can be intimidating because it has a complex cosmology and iconography. Wyatt, however, makes this complexity accessible by using two underlying principles. The universe consists of separate but interrelated realms (e.g., sky, underwater), and each realm has its characteristic real and mythical creatures. Mythical creatures have distinctive physical representations used in both sacred and secular representations.Mythic Beings features 75 beautifully reproduced photographs of masks, robes, and rattles representing the work of 34 artists. Each artist provides a commentary about his/her piece. This provides an opportunity to become familiar with the physical depiction and mythological roles of the creatures depicted by the artists.Mythic Beings is a gem. It is a wonderful gift book for anyone interested in indigenous art and First Nations peoples.