Kwakiutl (statue)

Last updated
Kwakiutl
(statue)
Kwakiutl statue SAM 1348.JPG
Artist Simon Charlie
Year1972 (1972)
Type cedar wood [1]
Dimensions270 cm(108 in)
LocationChinguacousy Park greenhouse, Brampton, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates 43°43′22.19″N79°43′16.25″W / 43.7228306°N 79.7211806°W / 43.7228306; -79.7211806
Owner City of Brampton

Kwakiutl (or variously KwaKiutl) [2] is a totem sculpture by Aboriginal Canadian artist Simon Charlie, which has caused controversy for its nudity over multiple decades of display in Chinguacousy Township, and later Brampton, both near Toronto in Ontario, Canada. Charlie, also known as Hwunumetse', later received the Order of Canada. [3] The 9-foot-tall cedar wood sculpture is best known for its exposed male genitals.

Contents

Creation

Named after a native Canadian, [4] Chinguacousy Township was rapidly growing due to the Bramalea development, [5] initiated in the late 1950s and early 1960s. [6] Simon Charlie was hired as the artist for a statue that was commissioned for a new township hall. [7] Charlie was a sculptor of the Cowichan Tribes of the Coast Salish peoples. [8] The Indians of Canada pavilion at Expo 67 included a totem pole and "welcome figure" carved by Charlie and two Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwakiutl) artists. [9] For the 1971 centennial of British Columbia, Charlie and thirteen other carvers were commissioned to carve totems presented to each of the other nine provinces, two territories, and the federal government. [10] Internationally collected and displayed, he had already been awarded the Canadian Centennial Medal. [8]

The figure depicted by the statue is that of a nearly-naked Aboriginal man, and the name of the sculpture refers to a Pacific Northwest coast tribe. [2] He wears a wide-brimmed Kwakwaka'wakw hat, [11] and a cape. [7] The sculpture features outstretched arms and exposed male genitals. [2] The statue is made of cedar wood, [1] and 9-foot tall. [7]

Exhibition and reception

The Township of Chinguacousy unveiled the sculpture on July 19, 1972, in front of roughly 100 spectators. [1] It was originally intended to be placed at the doors of the Chinguacousy Township municipal offices. [7]

Reverend Edward Robinson of All People's Church, in attendance, described the sculpture as "disgusting". [1] The Reverend insisted that the sculpture violated Christian principles, morality, and decency. According to The Globe and Mail :

"A lot of Christians wouldn't want their children to see it," said Mr. Robinson, urging that it be dispatched to Toronto where presumably he believes (a) there are no Christians; or (b) their children have already seen everything. He knows his Toronto; we'll give him that. [7]

He left the event relatively promptly. [1] The Globe and Mail ran an editorial commenting they were "striving (against the wicked odds that only Toronto can provide) to view the situation with proper seriousness. But Mr. Robinson has not been making it easy for us." The paper suggested that Robinson's insights "doubtless would have stopped Michelangelo in his tracks and branded him as nothing more than a dirty chisler." [7]

Reeve Robert Williams suggested ferns and flowers indigenous to British Columbia would be brought in, and planted around the statue. Williams insisted the flora would not obscure anatomy. [1] Township Council voted to place the statue in a "suitable place" in the yet-to-be-opened municipal offices. [1] The sculptor suggested that he was not even sure what a fig leaf looked like, an often suggested addition, and no coverage was requested during the commission. [7]

By late August, the statue had developed a crack in its back. According to a Canadian Press report, "One civic official said it was probably the weight of the moral controversy, rather than the weather, which broke Kwakiutl′s back." [12]

On January 1, 1974, the Town of Brampton, some of the Township of Chinguacousy, a portion of Toronto Township, and most of Toronto Gore Township merged into the City of Brampton. Municipal offices for Brampton were moved to the Civic Centre, and the statue moved into the Chinguacousy branch of the Brampton Public Library, [2] within the same building. Shirley Morriss was the curator of the facility, until 1991. [13]

Changing locations

Tom Drynan was named executive director of the Brampton Public Library system in July 1993. [14] In August that year, Drynan decided to evict the sculpture, after three years at the entrance of the art gallery at the Brampton Library branch. [2] In a letter to community services commissioner Donald M. Gordon, Drynan wrote: "I am sure that the statue has artistic merit and needs to be preserved. However, it is quite inappropriate in its present location within the newly renovated gallery. Its presence dominates any other exhibits which are placed in the area. I hope we can find a solution without having yet another tempest in a teapot." [2]

A report was approved by Brampton City Council during a council meeting on August 16, 1993. The report suggested that in British Columbia, such sculptures are frequently displayed outdoors. As Chinguacousy Park bears an Aboriginal name, it was deemed appropriate for the sculpture to be used at the entrance of the nearby area. It was to be bolted to a 1.5-metre high (five-foot high) tree stump. [2]

At some point before May 2010, the sculpture was moved into the Chinguacousy Park greenhouse. [15] Former mayor Peter Robertson questioned where the statue was located, during a 2011 meeting about the "Southwest Quadrant Renewal", an expansion of Brampton's City Hall. [16] In 2015, Robertson made a submission to council about the statue, requesting that it be given a more prominent place in the community. He suggested that Reeve Bob Williams was told that similar statues would be rotated by the Kwakiutl people, forward facing to welcome visiting tribes, backward facing to discourage their arrival. He suggested that the forward-facing position would symbolize Brampton's welcoming of immigrants. [17]

In 2021, an art conservator recommended that Kwakiutl "be relocated to more suitable location for its long term preservation and appreciation." [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brampton</span> City in Ontario, Canada

Brampton is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a lower-tier municipality within Peel Region. The city has a population of 656,480 as of the 2021 Census, making it the ninth most populous municipality in Canada and the third most populous city in the Greater Golden Horseshoe urban area, behind Toronto and Mississauga.

Visual Arts Brampton is a non-profit community art group located in Brampton, Ontario formed in 1986 to organize the arts community, providing workshops, and exhibits, among other things.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kwakwakaʼwakw</span> Indigenous ethnic group of the Pacific Northwest Coast

The Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw, also known as the Kwakiutl, are one of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Their current population, according to a 2016 census, is 3,665. Most live in their traditional territory on northern Vancouver Island, nearby smaller islands including the Discovery Islands, and the adjacent British Columbia mainland. Some also live outside their homelands in urban areas such as Victoria and Vancouver. They are politically organized into 13 band governments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bramalea City Centre</span> Shopping mall in Ontario, Canada

The Bramalea City Centre is a large shopping mall located in the city of Brampton, Ontario, Canada. With over a 1.5 million square feet of retail space and more than 300 outlets, it is one of Canada's largest shopping malls. Regarded as a super regional mall, the Bramalea City Centre has a market of more than 500,000 residents and attracts 16 million visitors annually. The Bramalea City Centre is located near the intersection of Queen Street and Dixie Road, just east of Highway 410.

The Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives (PAMA) is a museum, art gallery, and archives for the Regional Municipality of Peel and are located in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. Previously, it was the Peel Heritage Complex. Its facilities were originally the Peel County Courthouse, Brampton Jail, a land registry office, and a county administration building. It is opposite Gage Park and Brampton City Hall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bramalea, Ontario</span> Suburban district in Peel, Ontario, Canada

Bramalea (Bram-a-lee) is a large suburban district in the City of Brampton, Ontario, Canada. Bramalea was created as an innovative "new town", and developed as a separate community from the city. Located in the former Chinguacousy Township, it was Canada's first satellite community developed by one of the country's largest real estate developers, Bramalea Consolidated Developments, formerly known as Brampton Leasing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brampton Library</span>

The Brampton Library is a system of public libraries in Brampton, Ontario, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shoppers World Brampton</span> Shopping mall in Ontario, Canada

Shoppers World Brampton is a shopping mall in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. It is host to over 190 stores, including Canadian Tire, Winners and Staples.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toronto Gore</span>

Toronto Gore is a former incorporated and now geographic township in Ontario, Canada. It is today split between Mississauga and Brampton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northwest Coast art</span>

Northwest Coast art is the term commonly applied to a style of art created primarily by artists from Tlingit, Haida, Heiltsuk, Nuxalk, Tsimshian, Kwakwaka'wakw, Nuu-chah-nulth and other First Nations and Native American tribes of the Northwest Coast of North America, from pre-European-contact times up to the present.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mungo Martin</span>

Chief Mungo Martin or Nakapenkem, Datsa, was an important figure in Northwest Coast style art, specifically that of the Kwakwaka'wakw Aboriginal people who live in the area of British Columbia and Vancouver Island. He was a major contributor to Kwakwaka'wakw art, especially in the realm of wood sculpture and painting. He was also known as a singer and songwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Brampton</span>

Following is an outline is for the history of Brampton, the fourth largest city in Ontario, Canada. European settlers arrived began to settle the area in the early 19th century, with Brampton being formally incorporated into a village in 1853.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Hunt (ethnologist)</span>

George Hunt (Tlingit) was a Canadian and a consultant to the American anthropologist Franz Boas; through his contributions, he is considered a linguist and ethnologist in his own right. He was Tlingit-English by birth and learned both those languages. Growing up with his parents at Fort Rupert, British Columbia in Kwakwaka'wakw territory, he learned their language and culture as well. Through marriage and adoption he became an expert on the traditions of the Kwakwaka'wakw of coastal British Columbia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Hunt (artist)</span>

Henry Hunt was a First Nations woodcarver and artist from the Kwakwaka'wakw people of coastal British Columbia. He carved a number of totem poles which are on public display in Canada and internationally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Springdale, Brampton</span> Suburban district in Peel, Ontario, Canada

Springdale is an old rural community of Brampton, Ontario, Canada covering 4,000 acres (1,600 ha) in the northern part of the city. It is generally bounded by Countryside Drive to the north, Bovaird Drive to the south, Heart Lake Road to the west, and Airport Road to the east. Springdale is sometimes referred to Singhdale due to its large population of Sikh Canadians, who make up 39.6% of the community's population and often have the last name Singh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ellen Neel</span>

Ellen Neel (1916–1966) was a Kwakwakaʼwakw artist woodcarver and is the first woman known to have professionally carved totem poles. She came from Alert Bay, British Columbia, and her work is in public collections throughout the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kwakwakaʼwakw art</span> Art of Canadian indigenous peoples

Kwakwaka'wakw art describes the art of the Kwakwaka'wakw peoples of British Columbia. It encompasses a wide variety of woodcarving, sculpture, painting, weaving and dance. Kwakwaka'wakw arts are exemplified in totem poles, masks, wooden carvings, jewelry and woven blankets. Visual arts are defined by simplicity, realism, and artistic emphasis. Dances are observed in the many rituals and ceremonies in Kwakwaka'wakw culture. Much of what is known about Kwakwaka'wakw art comes from oral history, archeological finds in the 19th century, inherited objects, and devoted artists educated in Kwakwaka'wakw traditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bramalea Terminal</span>

Bramalea Terminal is a Brampton Transit bus station serving the community of Bramalea in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. It is located at the south west corner of Peel Centre Drive and Central Park Drive on the north side of the Brampton Civic Centre. The customer service centre building is situated in the northerly of two island platform areas, which are accessed by pedestrian cross walks. Within the building are service counters, washrooms, snack vending machines and a heated waiting area with screens displaying current bus route information.

Peter Robertson was mayor of Brampton, Ontario from 1991 to 2000. In 2000, he was defeated in the municipal election by then-councillor Susan Fennell.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Chinguacousy's nude unveiled before 100". The Globe and Mail. Canadian Press. 20 July 1972. p. 8.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Funston, Mike (19 August 1993). "Sculpture to be moved to Chinguacousy Park". The Toronto Star. p. MS08.; Appeared in the Brampton and Mississauga local sections.
  3. ↑ "Hwunumetse' - Simon Charlie, C.M., O.B.C." Order of Canada. Ottawa ON: The Governor General of Canada. 2005. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
  4. ↑ Davidson, Donald J. (1964). "BRAMPTON – Then and Now" . Retrieved 16 March 2012.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. ↑ "Bramalea". The Financial Post. Toronto ON. 22 February 1964. p. 66.
  6. ↑ "Bramalea Ltd". Funding Universe. c. 1992. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Autumn in Bramalea". The Globe and Mail. 19 July 1972. p. 6.
  8. 1 2 "Simon Charlie". Vancouver Art in the Sixties. Vancouver BC: Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  9. ↑ "Indian Carvers Start Work On Totem Design For Expo". The Montreal Gazette. Montreal QC. Canadian Press. 1 November 1966. p. 21.
  10. ↑ "Centennial carvers chosen". North Island Gazette. Port Hardy BC. 5 August 1970. p. 5.
  11. ↑ "Map Three - Linguistic Approach". Canada's First Nations. Calgary AB: University of Calgary and Red Deer College. 2000. Archived from the original on 16 March 2012. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  12. ↑ "This weather . . . ugh!". The Windsor Star. Canadian Press. 29 August 1972. p. 22.
  13. ↑ "Curator calls it quits". The Brampton Guardian. Brampton ON. 19 July 1991. p. 8.; article indexed on PINET.
  14. ↑ "Library names Executive Director". The Brampton Guardian. 8 July 1993. p. 3.; article indexed on PINET.
  15. ↑ "Minutes of Brampton Heritage Board Resources Sub-committee" (PDF). Brampton ON: City of Brampton. 11 May 2010. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  16. ↑ Douglas, Pam (2 November 2011). "About 350 attend Dominus meeting". The Brampton Guardian. Brampton ON. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  17. ↑ http://www.brampton.ca/EN/City-Hall/meetings-agendas/Agenda%20Packages/20150902spcc_AGENDA.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  18. ↑ Tamming, Jason. "Municipal Public Art Conservation Update and Recommendation Report" (PDF). Brampton ON: The Corporation of the City of Brampton. Retrieved 13 November 2021.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.