Joe David

Joe David is an artist and dancer. He was born in the village of Opitsaht on the

west coast of Vancouver Island in 1946. Both of his parents were artists and his

dad, Hyacinth David, was a speaker and dancer. His Westcoast Indian name was

Ka-Ka-Wha-Cheelth and his family crest is a Wolf. He was exposed to potlatches

and old artwork as a youth. At the age of 16 Joe began his art work at Tillicum

Village which had opened in 1962 at the time of the Seattle World's Fair. He was

a dancer, singer, carver and artist at Tillicam Village. He studied commercial art

before investigating Northwest Coast art. In 1981 Joe was adopted by Haida artist

Robert Davidson at a potlatch and received a new name at that time in the Eagle

lineage. Joe was one of the earliest printmakers and worked in the Westcoast

(formerly Nootka, as of 1978 referred to as Nuu-Chah-Nulth) style. A style with

rounded, often elongated U-Forms, curlicue and geometric elements, four way

splits, distinctive eye shapes and profile faces, free flowing formlines and extensive

use of blue as a primary or secondary color. Joe further developed a more flowing

version of the formline which he called the fluid or liquid line. It is his intent to

illustrate with his prints that the art of his people is growing and changing as it

always has in the past, marking in history the presence and contribution of the

artist and historian to the traditions of his people.