Phil Gray Totem Pole
By Alex Dawkins
Posted in News, on October 25, 2017
In the spring of 2017, customers from Oregon inquired about a pole commission for Ts'msyen/Cree artist, Phil Gray. They wanted something that was bold, that read well, that emphasized the grain of the wood, and that represented family and lineage. Besides these requirements, they were open to ideas and were fans of all of Phil's previous work. Phil produced this preliminary sketch for them:
This composition represents the ‘Txa'msem Brings Fire’ story. This is an origin story that tells of how in the beginning, much of mankind lacked fire. Communities would freeze in the winter without it, and it was difficult for families to cook and prepare food. Txa'msem (Ts'msyen for Raven in Human Form, the cultural hero) remembered seeing a village that always had a large fire in their longhouse during his travels. Due to the fact that the fire was so far away, Txa'msem used his shape-shifting abilities to transform into several other animals that would be faster than he in his current form. Through great effort – including the use of Shark’s supernatural canoe and Deer’s speed and agility – Txa'msem brought a firebrand back to the Tsimshian people, lit a Fir tree with it, and stated “This shall burn as long as the years last”. This composition depicts Txa'msyen in his deer disguise (the top figure) with flames surrounding his body (the abstract formline patterns wrapping around him). The clients liked how this story spoke to making sacrifices for future generations, and they gave the go-ahead to Phil:
Phil worked on this piece throughout the summer. Unlike a typical totem, with crest figures stacked on top of one another, this piece essentially portrayed a single figure. It really resembled a massive sculpture rather than a totem pole, and there were many challenges in creating such a monumental piece from a single cedar log. Phil used a variety of finishing textures and differing depths to convey the various elements (the fire, the deer fur, the human elements) present in the pole.
Our clients came to take the pole home in October, 2017. They had a place in mind for it when they got home and were kind enough to send us some pictures of it in situ. Most custom orders for Phil take between 4-6 months. Please inquire with Lattimer Gallery for custom order requests.
