The theme of water connects two adjacent installations, Pacific Currents and Billabong Dreams. Waterways in their myriad manifestations—rivers, Australian billabongs, saltwater seas—are not only places for navigation and subsistence; they contain great ancestral forces that have shaped the lives and laws of indigenous people across the Pacific. The essence of water as “life-giving” is affirmed in rituals where sea-bears, frigate birds, crocodiles, lightning snakes and undersea chiefs preside, yet the inherently dangerous aspect of deep, powerful and mysterious water features is acknowledged. This duality in the character of water is expressed in symbolic visual vocabularies—often represented in abstract forms—that reveal the abiding, but tenuous, threshold between humans and the beings that dwell in the waterways. Knowledge passed down through generations, ceremonies, and life-experiences can provide a degree of safety while on the water, but danger is ever-present and requires the anticipated intervention of ancestors and elders. Today, canoes continue to traverse the waters of the Pacific highway. New generations, honoring the old, are activists for environmental protection and maintaining sovereignty over their territories of land and water. Events like the bi-annual Canoe Journey hosted by indigenous coastal nations bring forward ancient teachings about mindful living on the water, among its magnificent creatures.Sea Bear Crest Hat (Tsa.an Xuu.ujee Dajangee), ca. 1870, Haida, red cedar and paint, 10 1/2 x 15 3/4 in., Seattle Art Museum, Gift of John H. Hauberg, 83.228.
Mexican and Latino Art Museum | San Francisco | In Association With The Smithsonian Institution - Th
Fort Mason Center, 2 Marina Blvd., Building D
San Francisco
Pacific CurrentsSeattle Art Museum Main address:
Seattle Art MuseumWells Fargo Center1300 FIRST AVENUEWA 98101Seattle, United statesSeattle Art MuseumWells Fargo Center1300 FIRST AVENUEWA 98101Seattle, United statesThe theme of water connects two adjacent installations, Pacific Currents and Billabong Dreams. Waterways in their myriad manifestations—rivers, Australian billabongs, saltwater seas—are not only places for navigation and subsistence; they contain great ancestral forces that have shaped the lives and laws of indigenous people across the Pacific. The essence of water as “life-giving” is affirmed in rituals where sea-bears, frigate birds, crocodiles, lightning snakes and undersea chiefs preside, yet the inherently dangerous aspect of deep, powerful and mysterious water features is acknowledged. This duality in the character of water is expressed in symbolic visual vocabularies—often represented in abstract forms—that reveal the abiding, but tenuous, threshold between humans and the beings that dwell in the waterways. Knowledge passed down through generations, ceremonies, and life-experiences can provide a degree of safety while on the water, but danger is ever-present and requires the anticipated intervention of ancestors and elders. Today, canoes continue to traverse the waters of the Pacific highway. New generations, honoring the old, are activists for environmental protection and maintaining sovereignty over their territories of land and water. Events like the bi-annual Canoe Journey hosted by indigenous coastal nations bring forward ancient teachings about mindful living on the water, among its magnificent creatures.Sea Bear Crest Hat (Tsa.an Xuu.ujee Dajangee), ca. 1870, Haida, red cedar and paint, 10 1/2 x 15 3/4 in., Seattle Art Museum, Gift of John H. Hauberg, 83.228. Book tickets
TheArtKey.com is a product of ArtKey Media Inc., a Swiss media company. Its mission is to offer individuals and companies creating or offering visual art (such as artists, art galleries, art academies, auction houses, art fairs, etc.) and art interested people (such as art lovers, art collectors, etc.) a global platform to promote and find art.
Our team has all core competences necessary to accomplish this mission: Artists, art connoisseurs, IT specialists, editors and entrepreneurs.
