Art Thompson

Art Thompson belongs to the Ditidaht Band of the Nuu-Chah-Nulth (Nootkan)
people. Born in 1948 in the village of Whyac, he maintains a dedicated
involvement in the cultural life of his community. He also traces matrilineal
heritage to the Salish. His dedication came after spending his early years in health
institutions for tuberculosis, residential schools, logging, drugs and wandering
before returning home in his late 20's. Art became aware of the Westcoast style
from Joe David and Ron Hamilton. Art developed his own unique interpretation of
the ancient Nuu-Chan-Nulth art in over 1 00 published serigraphs. He started in
the late 1960's and was one of the first artist to develop a print style starting with
traditional large blocks of color to anchor the design and traditional crest figures,
more Northern than Westcoast. By the late 1970's new animal figures were being
incorporated into his designs. In the mid-80's his print style included angular Coast
Salish elements in with his traditional figures. During this time he worked with
Duane Pasco and Steve Brown, both non-native artists working in the native
styles. Since then he has worked in his own style continuing with his self-taught
experimental approach and becoming more involved in being a Westcoast Indian.
After living in Victoria, Art moved to Neah Bay to work and live away from the
urban environment. Art represents the development of the Westcoast style of art,
which is primarily Nootka, Coast Salish and Makah, as separate from and
creatively equal to the Northern style, Haida and Kwakuitl. The Northern style has
received most of the recognition traditionally and has been held as the best
examples of the Northwest Coast to the detriment of the Westcoast style.
Traditional Westcoast style in the pre-contact period focused on animal and
human subjects in a rather realistic and naturalistic manner with the emphasis on
important features such as heads and faces with suppression of other detail. The
emphasis was put on the sculptural details and little decoration was added. In the
late 1800's there was a lot of contact with Haida artists and their graphic styles with
formlines, emphasis on elaborate details, greater stress on symmetry and less
cursive treatment. This hybrid style became the basis for the modern Westcoast
style with its use of distinct elements such as the for pointed stars, relative
naturalism, tolerance of open spaces, humanoid face shapes, geometric elements
(especially as borders) and finally the use of dashes, circles and curlicues.
Influenced by the rugged environment of the Northwest Coast, Art graphically
portrays the compassion for nature reflected in the legends and history of his
people. Art devotes much of his time to educating a wide range of art-enthusiasts
on Native culture.