It's obvious the Field Museum's newest totem pole doesn't date back as far as 1899 like the one it replaced.
It's asymmetrical, partly made of silicon and was designed by using a computer.
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But it is a testament, some say, to how a successful reparation can be conducted.
The piece replaces a much older totem pole the museum repatriated to the Cape Fox Tlingit community in 2001, just one example of a national effort by museums to return objects and remains to native communities.
Unveiled Monday, the new totem pole was carved by Tlingit artist Nathan Jackson of Alaska with his son, Stephen, a sculptor in New York City. It sits regally on a stage in the museum's Stanley Field Hall.
The modernistic swooping lines and varying textures mix the traditional with the abstract, the artists say, a blend of the two men's styles. The totem pole rises about 14 feet and weighs 16,000 pounds with its metal frame. Traditional light blue, red and black paint adorn the intricate carvings of eagles and bears on the cedar pole.
The Cape Fox Tlingit tribe furnished the museum with a 3-foot-wide uncarved log as a gesture of appreciation for returning its native piece. The museum commissioned the Jacksons to carve it two years ago and reviewed three drafts for the proposed totem pole.
"It's clearly a melding of traditional carving styles and new media," said Janet Hong, project manager for exhibitions at the Field. "There's not specific iconography, and a lot of it is abstracted. It is unique."
Jackson, a small man with a cloud of white hair and a thick white mustache, was raised a fisherman and began carving about 40 years ago to supplement the seasonal work. Today, his body of work includes about 30 totem poles.
"For a long time, I never thought I would end up doing something monumental," he said. "I always thought it would be small stuff."
But this commission differed from others, most notably in the way he shared the design responsibilities with his son. Stephen Jackson, 30, began the design process by scanning a poster of one of his father's totem poles and playing with it on his computer, stretching the image to test more modern looks.
"The Field has given us a lot of latitude, whereas a lot of people want things they've seen already," said Stephen Jackson, who shaped the silicon portion on the upper left side of the totem pole. "They've really attempted to empower the artist more."
He and his father e-mailed versions back and forth, tinkering with designs and shapes, attempting to tell a different story from the totem pole they were charged with replacing.
"It's beautiful and very vibrant," said Lori Hotari, a vacationing Michigan resident who passed by the exhibit Monday. "It's a little more flowing than the broken-up sections of traditional ones." "
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Directory of cultural resource and historic preservation firms.
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Ohio -
11-03-11
New South Associates, Inc. New South Associates is a women-owned small business providing cultural resource management services, both nationally and internationally. Our specialities include archaeology, history, architectural history, preservation planning, and public interpretati
Georgia -
03-25-11
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Maryland -
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SWCA Environmental Consultants Acquires Northwest Archaeological Associates SWCA Environmental Consultants has acquired Northwest Archaeological Associates, expanding SWCA's Pacific Northwest presence with a new Seattle office offering cultural and natural resource management and environmental permitting and compliance consulting.
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ACHP Section 106 Essentials two-day course which explains the requirements of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.
02-02-11
