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Cultural Context

contemporary art

Iconographic Meaning

This print illustrates the Frog-man Legend. The Legend concerns a hunter faced with hard times. He traps, kills and skins a large frog that attacked him. The hunter begins wearing the frog's skin, and in doing so, is able to catch abundant food to feed his family. Every day it becomes harder to remove the skin, until finally he knows he will continue to be fed. This print depicts the last night the hunter is able to remove his skin.

Description

Serigraph print. Bold design of a human figure in a frog mouth, with the human face at the centre. Figure is bound by a wide red mouth with eyes above and a red band across the centre dropping below the chin. The figure's right forearm and upper arm are parallel and his right hand parallel to the upper band. His left arm is out to the side with the hand flat to the ground. Figure has black and white banded ribs, asymmetrical eyes with double black and white circles at the centre. Figure is surrounded by a large open mouth of a blue frog, showing teeth with red detail and red nostrils. Major joints are double ovoids. Above the top band, on either side, there are large red ovoids with black and white eye shapes at the centre surrounded with blue. Blue flowing line outlines all. Red band frames the print. Pencil inscription along the bottom edge reads '34/100 Man Frog Legend Cranmer 78'. The print is on horizontally rectangular, light brown paper.

History Of Use

Northwest Coast serigraphs are a contemporary art form, deriving from early 20th century drawings of traditional crest and decorative designs, commissioned by anthropologists and undertaken by artists such as Charles Edenshaw. Residential schools reinforced the medium, while discouraging the use of traditional themes. The 1960's saw the rapid growth of prints, first in unlimited poster editions, and later with the establishment of the Gitanmaax School of Northwest Coast Indian Art at 'Ksan (1967), and of the Northwest Coast Indian Artists Guild (1977), limited edition art runs became the standard. Northwest Coast silkscreen prints are part of the mainstream art market, as well as, functioning within the native context as potlatch gifts, and commemorative prints.

Narrative

The print is derived from a 1976 painting on mahogany plywood; the painting is shown on the back cover of "Kesu': The Art and Life of Doug Cranmer".

Specific Techniques

Screened on arches 100 % rag paper.