BOOK REVIEW S


p BOOK REVIEW BY JOCK HILDEBRAND PAGE 37 SUMMER 2011


HAIDA MONUMENTAL ART GEORGE F MACDONALD


PUBLISHED BY UBC PRESS VANCOUVER & UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON PRESS SEATTLE


Of course this book is not about contempo- rary art, rather it is a beautiful reminder of sculpture from the Pacific region in days gone past. Broken up into overviews of fifteen major villages and several smaller sites, Haida Monumental Art combines eth- nology and archeology. Author George Mac- Donald delivers a stunning photographic collection of some of the coast’s most mag- nificent carved totem poles. MacDonald skillfully weaves together information that allows the reader an insight into the physical structure of the villages.


During the last quarter of the 19th century,


photographers using glass plates and later film, travelled to extremely remote villages such as Masset and Skidigate to record the beautiful and historic art of that time and place.


The book itself is a beautiful piece of art and a valuable resource for all sculptors looking for inspiration from sculpture of the Pacific’s past.


It includes a wonderful foreword by acclaimed Haida artist Bill Reid who says: “We can all find in these amazing crisp images an immediately comprehensible re- cord of the major accomplishments of the Haidas who, through their genius, ingenuity, dedication, and energy, transcended their lack of numbers and sophisticated technical resources and organization to make an out- standing contribution to the sum of human achievement.”


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