Thunderbird mask and regalia

Date2006

Maker Calvin Hunt (Tlasutiwalis) First Nations, Kwakwaka’wakw, Kwagiulth/Nuu-chah-nulth, born 1956

Label Text"In the myth stories in our culture we believe that the animals and the birds can take off their cloaks and transform into human beings." (Calvin Hunt) Spectacular, articulated dance masks are the specialty of Kwakwaka’wakw artists who craft the elaborate regalia worn in the dance- dramas depicting mythic events and deeds of ancestors, and supernatural beings. The songs accompanying the dance reinforce the dramatization of the stories, and are as important as the mask and costume. Together they transport the audience to a time when supernatural beings and humans interacted, as represented in this mask, in which the Thunderbird transforms into a human, Hunt’s first ancestor. The artist danced in this ensemble at his potlatch in April 2006 at Fort Rupert, British Columbia (see accompanying video).

Spectacular, articulated dance masks are the specialty of Kwakwaka’wakw artists who craft elaborate regalia that is worn in the dance-dramas that depict mythic events and deeds of ancestors and supernatural beings. The songs that accompany the dance aid the dramatization of the stories and are as important as the mask and costume. Together they transport the audience to a time when supernatural beings and humans interacted, as depicted in this mask, in which the Thunderbird transforms into a human. This ensemble is one of ten mask and regalia combinations created by artist Calvin Hunt. Some are in world museums and some are for his own use. The artist danced in this ensemble at his potlatch in April 2006 at Fort Rupert, British Columbia.

Object number2006.6

ProvenanceMade by Calvin Hunt; purchased by Seattle Art Museum

Photo CreditPhoto: Paul Macapia

In the myth stories in our culture we believe that the animals and the birds can take off their cloaks and transform into human beings.

Calvin Hunt, 2006

Exhibition HistoryKansas City, Missouri, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Regarding Spirituality, September 2017 – January 2018 Published ReferencesSeattle Art Museum: Bridging Cultures, London: Scala Publishers Ltd. for the Seattle Art Museum, 2007, p. 28, illus. p. 29 Brotherton, Barbara, Native Art of the Northest Coast, A Community of Collectors, Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 2008, p. 144, illus. 121.

Credit LineGift of the Native Arts of the Americas and Oceania Council, friends of Native American Art and the Ancient and Native American Endowment, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum

Dimensions87 x 54 x 32 in. (221 x 137.2 x 81.3 cm)

MediumWood, paint, feathers, rabbit fur, cloth