TITLE: Salmon Totem
DATED: 2001
NAME: Blaine Billman
E-Mail Address:
Website:
DATE: (born 1953)
MEDIUM: stained wood on masonite
DIMENSIONS: 20 x 33 1/2 x 1 in. (50.8 x 85.1 x 2.5 cm)
CREDITLINE: Courtesy of the artist, Dallas, Oregon
CURRENT SITE: Kinshasa
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ARTIST STATEMENT/BIO: Blaine Billman's artwork shows the clean, symbolic, and dynamic nature of the totemic artform. He's spent a great deal of time in Alaska, British Columbia, and Washington studying the cultures and styles to ensure that the art shows respect for the "first nations" people and their heritage. On occasion he blends realistic nature with related totemic design to show both the real and spiritual relationship we have with our world.
The Pacific Northwest is home to one of the world's most unique cultural artforms. The "first nations " used their totemic style to decorate everything from household items, tools, and clothing to totem poles and canoes. There were basic stylistic forms used to fill space and a formline principle that was used to outline the totemic subjects. Totems were not used for worship but to symbolize stories, honor individuals and families, and simply for decoration. These cultures were very unique and creative through their love for art and beauty.
Blaine Billman was born in 1953 and graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1978. He has worked with pen and ink for over 20 years, and has exhibited at the National Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, Wisconsin, and the Night Walker Juried Exhibition of Native American Arts and Crafts, in Fort Collins, Colorado. He has also been the featured artist for the Alaska Federation of Natives.
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