Contact: Julia Sapin, (360) 650-3670, Julia.Sapin@wwu.edu
BELLINGHAM - The Western Washington University Department of Art will present a lecture by Native-American artist Shaun Peterson entitled "Switching Current: Examining Northwest Coast Native Art's Accelerated Evolution in the 20th Century and Onward" from 4:30-5:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 14 in SMATE 150 on Western's campus.
Born in Puyallup, Peterson began his artistic career as a printmaker while pursuing the art of his heritage as a member of Puyallup/Tulalip tribes. In the past few years, he has branched out into many different artistic expressions, including wood, metal and glass sculpture, digital media, and writing.
In his talk at Western, Peterson will focus on his integration of digital media into his work.
"Some meet this with resistance but in so many ways this has always been the case with technology as screen printing was new at one point and before that was the introduction of steel to Native carvers on the Northwest Coast. I am adamant about keeping the true feel of my hand-drawn concepts in my work no matter what refinement tool I use whether it is for sculpture, printmaking or mixed media pieces," he said. "I love exploring and I am seeing what the possibilities are with the tools available today in all of the mediums and disciplines I am working in."
"I believe that the art itself has been most responsible for preserving our stories through intrigue and curiosity. Though I work in a variety of media I keep in mind that it's not the media that drives the works themselves but the story or feeling it is supposed to carry to the observer," Peterson said.
Peterson has created public installations for cities in the Pacific Northwest, participated in international traveling exhibitions, co-curated a major exhibition with Bill Holm, Robin K. Wright and Susan Point, and consults with local Washington tribes, educational organizations and museums on the creative process and cultural relevance.
For more information about the lecture, please call (360) 650-3670. For disability accommodations, please call (360) 650-3660.
printer friendly