Peter Campbell & Art Holbrook - Killer Whale and Crocodile [film]

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Peter Campbell & Art Holbrook - Killer Whale and Crocodile [film]

Killer Whale and Crocodile [film]
Peter Campbell & Art Holbrook
Northwest Coast
2007

48 mins.

$39.95 CDN*

Synopsis:

In this visually stunning documentary, carvers from two of the world's great carving traditions- the Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada and the Sepik River of Papua New Guinea- come together. The exchange inspires the most magnificent projects each has ever undertaken.

Background info from Alcheringa:

John Marston , a carver from Vancouver Island now at the vanguard of Coast Salish art, has since the beginning of his career exhibited next to Sepik artists here at Alcheringa. John's explorations of his own rich artistic and cultural heritage paralleled a growing fascination with the tools, techniques, styles, materials, knowledge, stories, beliefs, and lifestyles of these carvers on the other side of the world. In 2006, he travelled with us to meet them.

Like John, Teddy Balangu is part of a large family of artists, and is recognized both by his people- the Iatmul of the Sepik River- and by the international community for his knowledge and skills. Teddy is one of the few Iatmul to represent themselves abroad, having been chosen by his clan to participate in the creation of the New Guinea Sculpture Garden at Stanford University in 1995. He facilitated John's introduction to the Sepik. Later that year, he came to Vancouver to carve a pole representing stories of his clan for a new collection of contemporary Sepik art* at the University of British Columbia's Museum of Anthropology.

Killerwhale and Crocodile records the experiences and reflections of these men. It provides unique perspectives on the relevance of traditional artistry in an increasingly globalized world; on the benefits and challenges of cross-cultural dialogue; on what it means to be a contemporary indigenous artist. For further context, Carol Mayer of UBC's Museum of Anthropology and Elaine Monds of Alcheringa Gallery discuss changing attitudes towards aboriginal artists in both the museum field and the art market. The film is also very beautiful, with locations ranging from flooded hardwood jungle to old-growth spruce forest, from a thirty-man carving session in a haus tambaran (spirit house) to a Coast Salish welcome ceremony in a longhouse. Drawing it all together, of course, is a lot of spectacular art.

-Dan Lepsoe, Co-curator, Rhythms of the Garamut

A film produced and developed by Gumboot Productions Inc. and Arthur Holbrook Productions Inc. in association with Bravo!, a division of CTVglobemedia.

*Note: This price is to order a copy for home viewing only. For institutional copies, visit Moving Images Distribution.