Bill Reid by Karen Duffek

Bill Reid by Karen Duffek

Bill Reid, master artist, goldsmith, carver, writer, and spokesman,has been widely acclaimed as the pivotal force in the rediscovery andreflowering of the great art traditions of the Natives of the NorthwestCoast. According to eminent French anthropologist Levi-Strauss, Reid"brought Northwest Coast art to the world scene, into dialoguewith the whole of mankind."

In this artistic biography, Karen Duffek gives an account of BillReid's life and work and of his role as artist, innovator, andambassador of Haida art. After describing the processes by which Reidcame to reconstruct the formal rules of a complex artistic tradition,Duffek focuses on his mastery of new techniques, particularly in makingjewellery, techniques which others now emulate. In the key chapter"Beyond the Essential Form," she uses Reid's owncategories of his work as "copies, adaptations andexplorations," to give a candid appraisal of his artisticachievements -- from massive poles to gold boxes, from intricatebracelets to the great bronze Killerwhale statue.

Specialists, collectors, and lay readers with an interest inNorthwest Coast Native art or in Reid's work in particular willwelcome this insightful critical biography published in associationwith a Reid exhibit at the University of British Columbia's Museumof Anthropology.