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| About 1884/1951 [−] |
67 spun copper cups, grande size
2009
Image courtesy of the Vancouver Art Gallery (Install #1)
Text courtesy of Sonny Assu and Kathleen Ritter.
1884/1951 was part of the exhibit "How Soon Is Now?" at the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Sonny Assu merges traditional North West Coast Aboriginal iconography with the aesthetics of popular culture. In the past, he has satirically "branded" Salmon Loops as a breakfast cereal and appropriated the Coca-Cola slogan to welcome people to Coast Salish Territory.
2009
Image courtesy of the Vancouver Art Gallery (Install #1)
Text courtesy of Sonny Assu and Kathleen Ritter.
1884/1951 was part of the exhibit "How Soon Is Now?" at the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Sonny Assu merges traditional North West Coast Aboriginal iconography with the aesthetics of popular culture. In the past, he has satirically "branded" Salmon Loops as a breakfast cereal and appropriated the Coca-Cola slogan to welcome people to Coast Salish Territory.
In 1884/1951, Assu has rendered 67 disposable coffee cups in copper referencing everyday objects that are given away during a potlatch. His use of copper refers specifically to its unique value to the Aboriginal people of the West Coast.
"Copper was a form of wealth for the First People of the West Coast. However the basis of wealth for the Aboriginal people was significantly different than what the European settlers were accustomed to. As a Western society, we horde to prove our wealth, keeping it for ourselves or buying objects that demonstrate our placement in society. The First Peoples of the Pacific North West (specifically those who practised the Potlatch) saw wealth in a dramatically different way; saving for years, hoarding wealth only to give away. It was that demonstration of giving that deemed you wealthy.
The status of wealth for a Chief was his copper shield; I've heard stories of Chiefs who felt they were so rich after a potlatch, that they destroyed parts of their Copper to prove it. Chief's would commonly one-up themselves by breaking off pieces of their copper and tossing them in the fire.
One story I heard gave rise and relevance to 1884/1951. It was a story of a Chief who felt he was so wealthy after a potlatch that he no want of anything. He proved his bravado by tossing his full copper in the fire.
I found it an interesting juxtaposition of culture, were we as a western society will happily spend $5 on a latte and walk around town displaying our wealth in these disposable cups, only to toss them away in an unconsoous act of proving ourselves."
With 67 cups in total, 1884/1951 presnets a cup for each year that the potlatch ceremonies were banned by Canadian law. The positioning of the cups started to play heavily on the meaning of the piece for him. The systematic discarded piling of the cups references the the act of the banning and our momentum toward become a disposable society.
"The Potlatch moved underground in those 67 years of the ban. But the will of the people remained strong, knowing it was their right to practice their beliefs. An Indian agent would be sent to confiscate all the regalia, materials and gifts to be given away during a Potlatch. Jailing the host and piling up the regalia and other materials to be given away. Taking photo's of confiscated wealth, like trophies, to be hoarded away in museums."
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Aiming to shed light on the dark, hidden history that Canada continues to harbour towards it's Aboriginal people; Sonny Assu's work is conceptually and aesthetically designed to challenge the authenticity of Aboriginal art while simultaneously reflecting upon our western civilization's consumption culture.
His work is a richly layered introspection of our consumer driven monolithic society. He infuses his work with wry humour to open the dialogue towards the use of consumerism, branding and technology as totemic representation. Within this, his work deals with the loss of language, loss of cultural resources and the effects of colonization on the indigenous people of North America.
Sonny Assu
(b.1975)
Painter, sculpture/installation and mixed media artist
Regarded as a ' Vanguard' for his piece in the Vancouver Art Gallery's exhibit, How Soon Is Now?, Sonny Assu continues to push the boundaries of contemporary art by challenging the perception of Aboriginal art. A multi-disciplinary artist, Assu merges Aboriginal iconography with the aesthetics of popular culture to challenge the social and historical values placed upon both. An exploration of his mixed ancestry, his work appropriates or transforms items of consumer and popular culture to trace the lineage of his own personal life. Interested in ideas around Aboriginal issues, branding and new technologies, he works across many boundaries and disciplines and in doing so, reveals a ravishing oeuvre that speaks to many.
Assu's work has been featured in several group shows over the past years, notably How Soon is Now? at the Vancouver Art Gallery, Comic Relief at the National Gallery of Canada and Changing Hands: Art With Reservation Part 2 at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City. Sonny's first solo exhibit, Sonny Assu: As Defined Within the Indian Act, was held at the Belkin Satellite Gallery in Vancouver, in April 2006. It garnered him considerable attention and landed him a partnership with the Equinox Gallery in the fall of 2006. Assu's work has been accepted into the National Gallery of Canada, the Seattle Art Museum, the Museum of Anthropology at UBC and in various other public and private collections across Canada and the United States.
Sonny Assu is Laich-kwil-tach (Kwakwaka'wakw) of the Weka'yi First Nation (Cape Mudge), the artist has lived in Vancouver since 1999. He graduated from the Emily Carr University in 2002 with a major in Printmaking.
Solo Exhibitions
2010
Sonny Assu
Equinox Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2009
iDrums - Equinox Gallery (Gallery 2), Vancouver, Canada
2007
iPotlatch - Art Gallery of South Western Manitoba, Brandon, Canada
2006
Sonny Assu: As defined by the Indian Act. - Belkin Satellite Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2/3-Person Exhibitions
2009
Pop Goes the World - The Red Shift Gallery, Saskatoon, SK Canada
2005
Futuristic Regalia - Campbell River Art Gallery, Campbell River, BC, Canada
Futuristic Regalia - Alternator Gallery, Kelowna BC, Canada
2004
Futuristic Regalia - Grunt Gallery, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Group Exhibitions
2010
Exhibit E - Rennie Collection at Wing Sang, Vancouver, Canada
Challenging Traditions: Contemporary First Nations Art of the Northwest Coast - The Reach Gallery Museum, Abbotsford, BC, Canada
The Home Team - Equinox Gallery (Gallery 2), Vancouver, Canada
Alternorthern - The LAB, San Francisco, CA, USA
Endlessly Traversed Landscapes - Public Transit exhibit (VANOC Cultural Olympiad)- Vancouver, Canada
Seattle City Light Portable Works: Part lll - Seattle Municiple Tower Gallery - Seattle, WA, USA
2009
Challenging Traditions: Contemporary First Nations Art of the Northwest Coast - The McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, ON, Canada
Continuum: Vision and Creativity on the Northwest Coast - Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art - Vancouver
Beat Nation: Hip Hop as an Indigenous Culture - Grunt Gallery, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Beat Nation: Hip Hop as an Indigenous Culture - SAW Gallery, Ottawa, Canada
Blue Like an Orange - Ottawa Art Gallery, Ottawa, Canada
How Soon Is Now? - Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2008
Winter Group Exhibit - Equinox Gallery, Vancouver, BC, Canada
INFLUENCE - Equinox Gallery, Vancouver, BC, Canada
World Histories - Des Moines Art Center. Des Moines, IA, USA
Comic Relief - National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation, 2- Tucson Museum of Art. Tucson, AZ, USA
2007
SAM at 75 - Seattle Art Museum. Seattle, WA, USA
Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation, 2 - Anchorage Museum of History & Art, Anchorage, AK, USA
Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation, 2 - Weisman Art Museum, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
2006
The Altered Image - Equinox Gallery, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation, 2 - Naples Museum of Art, Naples, FL, USA
Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation, 2 - Eiteljorg Museum, Indianapolis, IN, USA
Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation, 2 - Institute of American Indian Arts Museum, Santa Fe, NM, USA
Past to Present - Equinox Gallery, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Earth: the World Urban Festival - Great Northern Way Campus, Vancouver, Canada
90º (Talking Stick Festival) - Roundhouse Community Centre, Vancouver, BC, Canada
2005
Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation, 2 - Museum of Arts & Design, New York, NY, USA
HIVE: A New Works Group Show - Studio #1 - 901 Main St. Vancouver, BC.
Dem(ouse)graphics - New Perspective Gallery, Passmore, BC.
Evolution (Alumni Exhibition) - Emily Carr University, Vancouver, BC
2003
Thinking Textile - Richmond Art Gallery, Richmond, BC, Canada
2002
Urban Red Wire. (Talking Stick Festival) - Round House Community Centre, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Emily Carr Graduation Exhibit - Emily Carr University, Vancouver, BC
Artist Talks
2010
Current Body of work
- University of Lethbridge Visiting Artist Series
- Vancouver Island University Speaker Series
- Capilano University, North Vancover, BC.
- Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art - Vancouver, Canada
Contemporary Art Society of Vancouver Studio Visit. - Vancouver, BC, Canada
2009
The McMichael Canadian Art Collection - Kleinburg, Ontario, Canada
Art + Identity (Panel discussion) - Hotshots Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
REMIX, Open Education Conference - Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
Pleasure and Doom (Panel discussion) - Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
Current Body of work - Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2008
World Histories - Des Moines Art Center. Des Moines, IA, USA
2007
Contemporary Traditions: The Work of Sonny Assu - Seattle Art Museum Lecture, Seattle, WA, USA
Current Body of work - UBC Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Contemporary Art Society of Vancouver Studio Visit. - Vancouver, BC, Canada
2006
90º (Talking Stick Festival) - Round House Community Centre, Vancouver, BC, Canada
2004
Full Circle (Talking Stick Festival) - Grunt Gallery, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Artist in Residence
2010
Baie St. Paul International Artist Symposium - Baie St. Paul, Quebec, Canada
The Richmond Art Gallery - Richmond, BC, Canada
2009
The McMichael Canadian Art Collection - Kleinburg, Ontario, Canada
2008
Des Moines Art Center - Des Moines Art Center. Des Moines, IA, USA
ArtStarts in Schools - Kitsalano Secondary, Vancouver, BC, Canada
2007
ArtStarts in Schools - North Delta Senior Secondary, North Delta, BC, Canada
2003
NEW MEDIA INNOVATION CENTRE - Vancouver, BC, Canada
Grants and Awards
2010
British Columbia Arts Council - Mid-Career Production grant
2009
British Columbia Arts Council - Mid-Career Production grant
2007
Canada Council for the Arts - Production grant
British Columbia Arts Council - Production grant
Emily Carr University - The Emily Award (Distinguished alumni award)
2005
Canada Council for the Arts - Travel grant
2004
British Columbia Arts Council - Artist production grant
2003
First Peoples' Cultural Foundation - Production/Development grant
Vancouver Foundation (VADA) - Production/Development grant
Peer Assessment Juries
2010 Canada Council for the Arts. - International Residency jury.
2008 British Columbia Arts Council -Level 1 & 2 Awards jury.
2007 Visual Arts Development Awards (VADA) - Awards jury.
2005 Canada Council for the Arts. - Emerging artist grant jury.
2004 Art Underfoot Selection Panel -City of Vancouver
Permanent Collections
The City of Richmond (VANOC), Oylmpic Oval
Seattle Office of Arts and Cultral Affairs
The National Gallery of Canada
Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia
The Seattle Art Museum
Community Services
2009 - Current Grunt Gallery - Vice President, Board of directors
2007-09 Grunt Gallery - Board of directors
Publications + Catalogues
2010
Troubling Tricksters: Revisioning Critical Conversations ISBN# 978-1554581818
2009
Challenging Traditions ISBN# 978-1-5536-414-8
How Soon IS Now? ISBN# 978-895442-74.8
2008
World Histories ISBN# 978-1-879003-53-8
2005
Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation 2 ISBN# 1-890385-11-5
2004
Thinking Textile ISBN# 0 - 9692572 - 8 -7
Futuristic Regalia ISBN# 1 - 895329 - 60 - 4
2002
Grad Catalogue Emily Carr University
Media (print/tv/radio/web)
2010
The Vancouver Review - Fall
SAD Mag - Fall
2009
Pushing the line: Art without reservations Bravo!
beckoningforchange.org Featured artist
The Vancouver Review Fall
The Vancouver Review Summer
Socket CBC Radio One
North by Northwest CBC Radio One
2008
Art Papers Vol. 5, Issue #32
The Vancouver Sun Sept. 10th
2007
Common Ground August
The Olympian May 5th
Seattle Post-Intelligencer May 3rd
2006
Socket CBC Radio One
The Vancouver Sun July 3rd
The Vancouver Sun June 22nd
The Vancouver Sun June 17th
The Georgia Straight March 2th
2005
The Vancouver Courier March 6th
The National Post January 6th
2004
Colour TV CityTV
North by Northwest CBC Radio One
2004
Westender February 26th
Richmond News January 7th
2004
Art Zone (Season two) APTN
2003
The Georgia Straight December 4th
The Richmond Review December 4th
North by Northwest CBC Radio
Red Wire Magazine Vol. 5 Issue # 3
2002
ZeD CBC TV
Art Zone APTN
Westender March 28th.
Red Directions. Vol. 2 Issue #4
2001
North by Northwest CBC Radio One
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