LARRY CWIK – ARTIST STATEMENT – TOTEMSERIES
After working for 15+ years in both single image photography and inSuper 8 film, I visited and was profoundly inspired by the beauty and power ofthe Totem Poles of the first peoples of the Pacific Northwest coast. The poles inspired me to begin arranging myphotographic images in a stacked manner to allude to a story or theme. Some usesymbols or archetypes. The arrangement is intuitive, from my subconscious, likethe individual images themselves. Many Totem Poles refer to transformation andall have correspondences between images. I similarly share correspondences in works in the Totem series works andoften hint at transformations in many of the works.
Most of the works shown have a narrative. Totem 28 (Memory) speaks of memory, with thehand of my mother, now 82, with Alzheimer’s, in the center, a “memory machine”in the Alzheimer’s wing of an assisted living facility at the top, and anancient tree in a now-modern suburb at the bottom. Totem 44 (Bellflower) has two images in anethereal fog, one of a house, one of a forest. In between is an image of a beautiful but poisonous flower. In Totem 47 (Page) the top image shows myhand holding pages of text about artist Leonora Carrington (1917-2011), one ofthe last two living original surrealists, who inspired me. I enjoyed talking byphone with her each year from 2001 to 2011. Above the page with the text is a cloud reminiscent of a flame. Thecenter image shows a pastoral scene of grass and high clouds symbolizingpeace/serenity. The lower image showsthe light of the sun breaking through dense artistic clouds. Totem 24 (Glass) has symbols of travel (atthe top), dining (in the center), and nightlife (at the bottom). Totem 27 (Liberty) alludes to privacy in ourcontemporary society. A symbol ofliberty is at the top, a symbol of light and possible surveillance is in thecenter, and a symbol of government is at the bottom. Totem 26 (Empire) is a socio-economiccommentary and shows a parking sign, a jumbo jet in flight, and a homelessperson pushing a grocery cart piled high with bottles and cans. Totem 23 (Balloons) has three images thattogether comment on urban density and life. Totem 49 (Perch) shows a dog looking forward peacefully on a beach, abin of fish destined to be food, and a fisherman on a jetty above a driftwoodpiece with the design of a face, with the three together commenting on life andtranscendence. Totem 41 (Family) shows a man, woman, andsmall child at the sea in the center image, a “family” of driftwood as anupright installation on a beach in the upper image, and what may be a plantfamily in the lower image, raising the question of what is a family, and whatcan be a family. Totem 11 (Helmet), theonly horizontal Totem in the exhibit, has three images united not only by acompositional sphere in each of the three images, but to me through itsrepresentations of land (the helmet), sky (the clouds), and water (a satellitedish atop a boat on a river).
In 2008, I visited Alert Bay, B.C., a major center of Totem Polebuilding, to do research for this series. Totem 45 (Boat) is comprised of three images taken there. The top image, part of a boat, looks like a smilingporpoise or dolphin. The bottom image, alife boat, seems like a large-eyed fish. The center image appears to have a spirit figure hovering near a ladderin the midst of boat rigging. The threeare all nautical images, but can signify different things to different people.
While the works in the series often have a narrative to me, I keep thetitles short so that the works are open to a viewer's own interpretation. Similarly, a Totem Pole's narrative is open tointerpretation even if its creator had a specific narrative in mind when designing/carving/paintingthe Pole. The images comprising theworks in the series are primarily from the Pacific Northwest, particularlyOregon and British Columbia, with a few from New York, Hawai’i, and California.
Larry Cwik
P.O. Box 5912
Portland, Oregon 97228
503 827-7163
Email: photogart@gmail.com
Web: www.larrycwik.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Larry-Cwik-Photographic-Fine-Art/230113190400324
After working for 15+ years in both single image photography and inSuper 8 film, I visited and was profoundly inspired by the beauty and power ofthe Totem Poles of the first peoples of the Pacific Northwest coast. The poles inspired me to begin arranging myphotographic images in a stacked manner to allude to a story or theme. Some usesymbols or archetypes. The arrangement is intuitive, from my subconscious, likethe individual images themselves. Many Totem Poles refer to transformation andall have correspondences between images. I similarly share correspondences in works in the Totem series works andoften hint at transformations in many of the works.
Most of the works shown have a narrative. Totem 28 (Memory) speaks of memory, with thehand of my mother, now 82, with Alzheimer’s, in the center, a “memory machine”in the Alzheimer’s wing of an assisted living facility at the top, and anancient tree in a now-modern suburb at the bottom. Totem 44 (Bellflower) has two images in anethereal fog, one of a house, one of a forest. In between is an image of a beautiful but poisonous flower. In Totem 47 (Page) the top image shows myhand holding pages of text about artist Leonora Carrington (1917-2011), one ofthe last two living original surrealists, who inspired me. I enjoyed talking byphone with her each year from 2001 to 2011. Above the page with the text is a cloud reminiscent of a flame. Thecenter image shows a pastoral scene of grass and high clouds symbolizingpeace/serenity. The lower image showsthe light of the sun breaking through dense artistic clouds. Totem 24 (Glass) has symbols of travel (atthe top), dining (in the center), and nightlife (at the bottom). Totem 27 (Liberty) alludes to privacy in ourcontemporary society. A symbol ofliberty is at the top, a symbol of light and possible surveillance is in thecenter, and a symbol of government is at the bottom. Totem 26 (Empire) is a socio-economiccommentary and shows a parking sign, a jumbo jet in flight, and a homelessperson pushing a grocery cart piled high with bottles and cans. Totem 23 (Balloons) has three images thattogether comment on urban density and life. Totem 49 (Perch) shows a dog looking forward peacefully on a beach, abin of fish destined to be food, and a fisherman on a jetty above a driftwoodpiece with the design of a face, with the three together commenting on life andtranscendence. Totem 41 (Family) shows a man, woman, andsmall child at the sea in the center image, a “family” of driftwood as anupright installation on a beach in the upper image, and what may be a plantfamily in the lower image, raising the question of what is a family, and whatcan be a family. Totem 11 (Helmet), theonly horizontal Totem in the exhibit, has three images united not only by acompositional sphere in each of the three images, but to me through itsrepresentations of land (the helmet), sky (the clouds), and water (a satellitedish atop a boat on a river).
In 2008, I visited Alert Bay, B.C., a major center of Totem Polebuilding, to do research for this series. Totem 45 (Boat) is comprised of three images taken there. The top image, part of a boat, looks like a smilingporpoise or dolphin. The bottom image, alife boat, seems like a large-eyed fish. The center image appears to have a spirit figure hovering near a ladderin the midst of boat rigging. The threeare all nautical images, but can signify different things to different people.
While the works in the series often have a narrative to me, I keep thetitles short so that the works are open to a viewer's own interpretation. Similarly, a Totem Pole's narrative is open tointerpretation even if its creator had a specific narrative in mind when designing/carving/paintingthe Pole. The images comprising theworks in the series are primarily from the Pacific Northwest, particularlyOregon and British Columbia, with a few from New York, Hawai’i, and California.
Larry Cwik
P.O. Box 5912
Portland, Oregon 97228
503 827-7163
Email: photogart@gmail.com
Web: www.larrycwik.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Larry-Cwik-Photographic-Fine-Art/230113190400324
