Susan Point

{{Infobox artist

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| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1952|04|05}}

| birth_place = British Columbia

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| nationality = Musqueam

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| field = Sculptor

| training = Self-taught

| movement = Coast Salish

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| awards = YWCA Woman of Distinction

| elected = Royal Canadian Academy of Arts

| website = https://susanpoint.com/

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Susan Point {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|RCA|size=100%}} (born 1952{{cite web|url=http://www.lattimergallery.com/artistbio.php?a=90|title=Lattimer Gallery - Artist Bio - Susan Point|work=Lattimer Gallery|accessdate=21 August 2013}}) is a Musqueam Coast Salish artist from Canada, who works in the Coast Salish tradition.{{cite book|last=Magocsi|first=Paul Robert|title=Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dbUuX0mnvQMC&pg=PA91|accessdate=24 July 2013|year=1999|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=9780802029386|page=91}} Her sculpture, prints{{Cite book |last1=Croes |first1=Dale |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Oti-ngEACAAJ&q=Susan+Point |title=Susan Point: Works on Paper |last2=Point |first2=Susan |date=2014 |publisher=Figure 1 Publishing |isbn=978-0-9918588-9-7 |language=en}} and public art{{Cite book |last=Watt |first=Robert D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5dquugEACAAJ&q=Susan+Point |title=People Among the People: The Public Art of Susan Point |date=2019 |publisher=Figure 1 Publishing |isbn=978-1-77327-042-5 |language=en}} works include pieces installed at the Vancouver International Airport, the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C., Stanley Park in Vancouver, the Museum of Anthropology at UBC, the Penn Museum in Philadelphia, and the city of Seattle.{{cite book|last=Thom|first=Ian MacEwan|title=Challenging Traditions: Contemporary First Nations Art of the Northwest Coast|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tKupaO3mzS0C&pg=PA117|accessdate=20 July 2013|year=2009|publisher=Douglas & McIntyre|isbn=9781553654148|pages=117–120}}{{Cite web|title = Susan Point / Alcheringa Gallery - Contemporary Aboriginal Art|url = http://www.alcheringa-gallery.com/susan-point.html|website =Alcheringa Gallery|access-date = 2016-02-15}}{{Cite web|title = Washington State Public Stadium Authority :: Public Art|url = http://www.stadium.org/public-benefits/public-art/|website =Washington State Public Stadium Authority|access-date = 2016-02-15}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.penn.museum/collections/object/124114|title=Whorl - 94-15-15A {{!}} Collections - Penn Museum|last=Point|first=Susan|date=March 10, 2020|website=www.penn.museum|access-date=2020-03-11}}

Biography

Point was born in Alert Bay while her parents, Edna Grant and Anthony Point{{Cite web|url=https://susanpoint.com/about/|title=susan point. about.|last=heyshauna.com|website=susanpoint.com|language=en|access-date=2017-11-18}} were salmon fishing. Her parents both used the Salish language Halkomelem in their home on the Musqueam First Nation.{{cite book|last=Martin|first=Katherine|title=Women of Spirit: Stories of Courage from the Women Who Lived Them|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k1KYB29a7kUC&pg=PA213|accessdate=20 July 2013|date=2010-10-06|publisher=New World Library|isbn=9781577318231|pages=213–219}} In the early 1980s, she joined a group of artists interested in reviving the traditions of Coast Salish art and design, including artists such as Stan Greene, Rod Modeste, and Floyd Joseph. Little research had been done on Salish art, so Point taught herself the Salish traditions. She studied the collections of Coast Salish art at the University of British Columbia's Museum of Anthropology and at the Royal British Columbia Museum.{{Cite web|url = http://www.burkemuseum.org/static/Susan_Point_Web_Exhibit/sp%20point.html|title = The Graphic Works of Susan A. Point|date = |access-date = |website = History of Northwest Coast Graphic Art|publisher = Burke Museum|last = Swan|first = Deborah}} There is broad agreement that Point's works were critical to the current efflorescence of contemporary Coast Salish art. She was a leader in expanding the audience for Salish art to a market that was heavily biased towards Northwest Coast artworks produced in northern Northwest Coast formline design principles. Her close study of the formal characteristics of historical works of Salish art laid the foundation for her contemporary productions - some based closely on new renderings in print form of historical spindle whorls in museum collections, and later expanding out into original forms in new media, such as glass, concrete, and bronze.

Much of her art practice has involved the adaptation of traditional spindle whorl carvings into the medium of screen printing. Her work helped revive Coast Salish design and brought new scholarly attention to her culture. She has produced more prints than any other artist on the Coast, with over 360 prints in her oeuvre by 2016. For several decades (starting in the late 1990s), she completed both a major public work of art within British Columbia or the Seattle metropolitan area along with a series of prints and works in glass each year.{{Cite book|title=Susan point : spindle whorl.|date=2017-01-01|publisher=Black Dog|isbn=978-1911164265|oclc=954670684}}

File:Vancouver Airport Inside.jpg

A major retrospective of her work was shown by the Vancouver Art Gallery in 2017, Susan Point: Spindle Whorl.{{Cite web|url=https://www.vanartgallery.bc.ca/the_exhibitions/exhibit_point.html|title=Vancouver Art Gallery|website=Vancouver Art Gallery|access-date=2017-03-04}}

Works

File:Musqueam House post MOA.jpg

Point's works include Salish Footprint in the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia,{{cite book|last1=Mayer|first1=Carol Elizabeth|last2=Shelton|first2=Anthony|title=The Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T-UcJJhUYx4C&pg=PA1|accessdate=15 August 2013|year=2009|publisher=Douglas & McIntyre|isbn=9781553654155|pages=1–2}} Musqueam house posts at the American Museum of Natural History,{{cite book|last1=Mayer|first1=Carol Elizabeth|last2=Shelton|first2=Anthony|title=The Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T-UcJJhUYx4C&pg=PA26|accessdate=15 August 2013|year=2009|publisher=Douglas & McIntyre|isbn=9781553654155|page=26}} and carvings installed at the Vancouver International Airport{{cite book|last = Jonaitis|first = Aldona|title = Art of the Northwest Coast|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=znu4KYeppr0C&pg=PA270|accessdate = 15 August 2013|date = 2006-01-01|publisher = University of Washington Press|isbn = 9781553652106|page = 270}} and at Brockton Point in Stanley Park.{{cite web|url=https://www.straight.com/article-150247/susan-point-people-amongst-people|title=Susan Point's huge Coast Salish portals pay rich tribute|last=Laurence|first=Robin|date=18 June 2008|work=The Georgia Straight|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321173009/http://www.straight.com/article-150247/susan-point-people-amongst-people|url-status=live|archivedate=21 March 2012}}

In 1995, Point's "Flight (Spindle Whorl)" was installed at the Vancouver International Airport. It is the largest spindle whorl in the world at 4.8 meters (16 feet) in diameter. The piece is set against a stone waterfall to symbolize the connection between land and sky.{{Cite web|title = Flight (Spindle Whorl)|url = http://www.yvr.ca/en/about/art-architecture/Spindle-Whorl.aspx|website =Vancouver International Airport |access-date = 2016-02-15}}

In 2008, Point created "Buttress Runnels" for the Richmond Olympic Oval in Richmond, B.C.. The runnels move water from the roof of the building away from the site. The runnels include cast images of the life of the Fraser River, including fish, sand, herons. A heron is used for the logo of the City of Richmond and the symbol figures prominently in stories and histories of the Musqueam people.{{Cite web|url=http://www.richmond.ca/culture/publicart/collection/PublicArt.aspx?ID=18|title=City of Richmond BC - Buttress Runnels (2008)|website=City of Richmond|language=en|access-date=2017-03-04}}

In 2009, Point's “Tree of Life” stained glass window was installed in Christ Church Cathedral in Vancouver. The design represents the Salish belief in the interconnectedness of all forms of life, uniting Christian theology with First Nations culture. Point was commissioned by the church to design the windows after winning a competition.{{Cite web|title = 'Tree of Life' window dedicated at Cathedral|url = http://www.vancouver.anglican.ca/news/tree-of-life-window-dedicated-at-cathedral|website = Diocese of New Westminster {{!}} Anglican Church of Canada|access-date = 2016-02-15|first = Diocese of New Westminster {{!}} Anglican Church of|last = Canada}}

File:Manhole cover in sidewalk Coal Harbor, Vancouver, BC.jpg

Since 2014, the Penn Museum of the University of Pennsylvania has displayed a glass whorl by Point, made in 1994, in its "Native American Voices: The People – Here and Now" exhibit.{{Cite web|url=https://www.penn.museum/sites/nativeamericanvoices/|title=Native American Voices {{!}} Penn Museum|last=Penn Museum|date=|website=www.penn.museum|access-date=2020-03-11}}

Awards and honours

Honorary doctorate in Fine Arts from the University of British Columbia (2000),{{cite book|last1=Valaskakis|first1=Gail Guthrie|last2=Stout|first2=Madeleine Dion|last3=Guimond|first3=Eric|title=Restoring the Balance: First Nations Women, Community, and Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=esCEfUXWy9UC&pg=PA279|accessdate=15 August 2013|date=2009-01-01|publisher=Univ. of Manitoba Press|isbn=9780887553615|page=279}} University of Victoria (2000),{{Cite web|title = University of Victoria -Honorary degree recipients - University of Victoria|url = https://www.uvic.ca/universitysecretary/senate/honorary/recipients/|website = University of Victoria|access-date = 2016-02-15}} Simon Fraser University (2008),{{Cite web|title = Past Honorary Degree Recipients - Ceremonies and Events - Simon Fraser University|url = https://www.sfu.ca/ceremonies/honorary-degrees/past_honorary_degrees.html|website = Simon Frasier University|access-date = 2016-02-15}} and Emily Carr University of Art and Design (2008){{cite press release |url=http://www.connect.ecuad.ca/about/news/315652 |title=Emily Carr University of Art + Design Announces 2014 Honorary Doctorate and Emily Award Recipients |date=23 April 2014 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170319023647/http://www.connect.ecuad.ca/about/news/315652 |url-status=live |archivedate=19 March 2017}}
Appointment to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (2004)
National Aboriginal Achievement Award (2004)
Officer of the Order of Canada (2006){{cite web|url=http://archive.gg.ca/honours/search-recherche/honours-desc.asp?lang=e&TypeID=orc&id=10641|title=Order of Canada - Susan A. Point, O.C., D.Litt., D.F.A., R.C.A.|work=archive.gg.ca|publisher=Governor General of Canada|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150603050537/http://archive.gg.ca/honours/search-recherche/honours-desc.asp?lang=e&TypeID=orc&id=10641|url-status=live|archivedate=3 June 2015}}
One of B.C.'s 100 most influential women (2010){{Cite web|url = http://www.orangyandsweet.com/staging/chanhongoh/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/2010-10-30-The-Vancouver-Sun-B.C.s-100-of-Influence.pdf|title = B.C.'s 100 of Influence|date = 2010|access-date = |website = |publisher = Vancouver Sun|last = |first = }}
Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012){{Cite web|title = The Governor General of Canada|url = https://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=14019&lan=eng|access-date = 2016-02-15|language = en|first = The Office of the Secretary to the Governor|last = General}}
2018: Audain Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Visual Arts{{Cite web |url=http://www.burnabynow.com/entertainment/susan-point-earns-audain-prize-1.23301634 |title=Susan Point earns Audain Prize |website=burnabynow.com |date=2018-04-14 |accessdate=2018-05-14}}

References

External links

{{official website|https://susanpoint.com/}}
[https://douglasreynoldsgallery.com/artist/susan-point/ Douglas Reynolds Gallery (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)]

Category:1952 births

Category:Living people

Category:20th-century First Nations sculptors

Category:20th-century First Nations women

Category:20th-century Canadian sculptors

Category:21st-century Canadian sculptors

Category:21st-century First Nations artists

Category:21st-century First Nations women

Category:20th-century Canadian women artists

Category:21st-century Canadian women artists

Category:Canadian woodcarvers

Category:Coast Salish woodcarvers