Vintage Susan Point Prints
By Alex Dawkins
Posted in News, on March 04, 2020
Lattimer Gallery recently acquired a collection of over 100 vintage serigraphs by acclaimed Musqueam artist, Susan Point. Primarily from the 1980s and 1990s, the limited edition prints in this diverse collection showcase the range of Susan’s capabilities. From traditional spindle whorl designs to experimental compositions, this collection will provide our customers the opportunity to acquire a unique piece from one of North America’s top Indigenous artists. These prints can be viewed on the Lattimer Gallery site or our website dedicated to vintage First Nations prints, Native Art Prints. They can be purchased directly through either site, or we can arrange for you to see them in-person if you are local to Vancouver.
A few features of the collection include Imagism from 2000 and Different Perspective from 1992. Imagism is based on a modernist movement in poetry that arose around 1912 and was defined by American poet, Ezra Pound. The central figure in Imagism is a magnificent creature transforming, part bird and part human, framed by a cliff which refers to the Fraser Canyon. The spheres in the piece represent celestial bodies and Coast Salish peoples’ progress through time.
In Different Perspective, Point references an influential nineteenth-century Coast Salish carving known as the Peabody Comb, since it is housed in Harvard University’s Peabody Museum. This comb is identified by many as a quintessential example of Salish design, and Point has reframed this design by rendering it in a futuristic, three-dimensional fashion. The seemingly computer-generated comb design floats in space, hovering above an abstracted red Salish weaving pattern. This print can be viewed as a comment upon the timeless quality of Coast Salish form.
Since the early 1990s, Susan has received numerous awards that recognize her great artistic achievements. In March of 2004, she was appointed to the Royal Canadian Academy, and in 2006 she was awarded the Order of Canada. In 2007, she received a BC Creative Achievement Award for Aboriginal Art.