Not all that long ago, I had the opportunity to go to Anchorage Alaska to teach a group of people Cinema 4D at a local television station. When the lessons were over, I took the opportunity to visit the area in and around Anchorage.
A few things struck me during my stay in Alaska. I had heard about the beauty of the landscape and therefore I was, naturally, looking forward to experiencing it. It did not disappoint and truly was beautiful and unspoiled in many ways. I was there in late summer but I hear winter, in its way, is also beautiful — if cold. If you ever have a chance to go to Alaska, you should do it.
An Unexpected Encounter
However, there was something else that caught me completely by surprise and that was my encounter with the native art of the Pacific Northwest, which I had not expected. There was quite a lot of it all around, a large collection in the Anchorage museum, some in public spaces and some in shops in town which were used to attract business. Much of this art existed in the form of totem poles and sculptures.
The native art of the Pacific Northwest has its own style and approach which I found fascinating. The sculptural lines are elegant, streamlined and even modern. It has a graphic sense unlike any other and it made a lasting impression on me.
Sure, modern art has been influenced by non-western, native artistic traditions such as African Art in the case of Picasso and Braque, Tahitian art in the case of Gaugin, and Japanese art in the case of Whistler and more. While I had seen plenty examples of those, somehow the art of the Pacific Northwest eluded me until my trip.
The Pacific Northwestern art that I saw in Alaska continued to stay in my consciousness after I returned home to New York City, and I slowly began thinking about creating my own totemic structure as an art piece. A totem that sprang out of the metropolitan culture where I had grown up.
All of Us
I began to think about what kind of figure I would depict in my totem. The native artists of Alaska, besides depicting native people and chieftains, also based their totems on animals such as birds, bears and other creatures.
I wanted my totem to represent the last one hundred years of the metropolitan culture where I grew up and thought about who should be depicted. Scientists, musicians, philosophers, all kinds of people on whom I could base my totem came to mind.
In the end, I decided my totem would be clad in the everyday attire of a common person. One that you would expect to see in a metropolitan city sometime in the last century leading up to the present day. It could be a businessman, educator, writer or stockbroker. It could be anyone.
Who Were We?
I placed the totem in an overgrown field and although the timeframe is somewhat ambiguous, the idea is that the image depicts a time that is hundreds, or perhaps even thousands of years from now when our civilization has either disappeared or has radically changed completely into something else. That is why I created a worn out and aged look for the surface, as if the paint had eroded or got scraped off over the years, as well as vines creeping up the legs.
Picture someone traveling through the woods in the future who knew nothing or next to nothing about our culture and were to stumble across this totem-like structure. They would most likely be intrigued by what they saw and stop to wonder who we were and what our lives were like — not unlike how I encountered the native totems of the Pacific Northwest and wondered about them.
It would be nice to make a female to stand next to the male totem. Note to self: Make another totem.
Society
Totem is a 3D digital artwork created at a resolution of 8000 x 8000 pixels (very high resolution). Aside from the high-res png of the image, the collector and owner of this work will receive a giclée print of the artwork on museum quality paper at any desired size, personally signed by the artist. Custom sizes are available, however exceptionally large sizes need to discussed first.
In addition, all of my collectors will receive a certificate of authenticity and will be entered into my personal art society. While the benefits of being in my society have yet to be determined and nothing is guaranteed, as a token of my gratitude for collecting my art I intend to offer special perks like gifts, lectures, tutorials and more.