During my trip to British Columbia in December 2007, there were two pieces of art that made a very strong impression on me due to their visual plasticity and their powerful symbolism: the Raven and the Inuksuk. They will live on in my mind as perennial avatars of Vancouver and Whistler respectively.
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‘The Raven and the First Men’ is the name of an amazing wood sculpture that I saw at the Museum of Anthropology, which is located at the UBC campus. Apparently, it was carved by Canadian artist Bill Reid from a giant block of laminated yellow cedar. The work took two years to complete and was finally dedicated in 1980. As I learnt during my visit to the museum, the sculpture was inspired by a local legend from the Haida culture which provided a rather imaginative description for the origin of the human race.
Quoting from the Bill Reid Foundation website:
On the other hand, when I first arrived at Whistler, I went for a walk around the town and I looked for a couple of postcards to send to my family. I found that many of them showed a strange stone symbol covered in snow which, apparently, was located somewhere around the area. At first, I didn’t pay much attention to it. However, the following day I took the gondola-lift to the top of Whistler Mountain and, when I reached the top, I came across that very same symbol in all its glory: a big stone landmark that looked out to the valley and which crowned one of the most spectacular landscapes that I had ever seen in my entire life.
As I went back to my hotel, I did some research in Wikipedia and this is what I found:
Quoting from the Bill Reid Foundation website:
"The sculpture of The Raven and the First Men depicts the story of human creation. According to Haida legend, the Raven found himself alone one day on Rose Spit beach in Haida Gwaii (also known as the Queen Charlotte Islands). He saw an extraordinary clamshell and protruding from it were a number of small human beings. The Raven coaxed them to leave the shell to join him in his wonderful world. Some of the humans were hesitant at first but, overcome by curiosity, they eventually emerged from the partly open giant clamshell to become the first Haida."
* * * * *
On the other hand, when I first arrived at Whistler, I went for a walk around the town and I looked for a couple of postcards to send to my family. I found that many of them showed a strange stone symbol covered in snow which, apparently, was located somewhere around the area. At first, I didn’t pay much attention to it. However, the following day I took the gondola-lift to the top of Whistler Mountain and, when I reached the top, I came across that very same symbol in all its glory: a big stone landmark that looked out to the valley and which crowned one of the most spectacular landscapes that I had ever seen in my entire life.
As I went back to my hotel, I did some research in Wikipedia and this is what I found:
The word inuksuk means "something which acts for or performs the function of a person." The word comes from the morphemes inuk ("person") and -suk ("ersatz or substitute"). An inuksuk (plural inuksuit) is a stone landmark used as a milestone or directional marker by the Inuit of the Canadian Arctic. They vary in shape and size, and perform a diverse array of tasks. It is a symbol with deep roots in the Inuit culture, a directional marker that signifies safety, hope and friendship. A structure similar to an inuksuk but meant to represent a human figure, called an inunnguaq.An inunnguaq forms the basis of the logo of the 2010 Winter Olympics designed by Vancouver artist Elena Rivera MacGregor, which is meant to be a symbol of friendship and the welcoming of the world.
