or knives, the blades of which are represented as the long protruding tongues of animals, but it may be that in this case there is a complex action of a belief in the supernatural power of the tongue and in the suggestions which the decorator received from the shape of the object he desired to decorate.
To sum up, it seems that there are a great number of cases of decoration which cannot be considered totemistic, but which are either symbolic or suggested by the shape of the object to be decorated. It seems likely that totemism was the most powerful incentive in developing the art of the natives of the North Pacific coast; but the desire to decorate in certain conventional forms once established, these forms were applied in cases in which there was no reason and no intention of using the totemistic mark. The thoughts of the artist were influenced by considerations foreign to the idea of totemism. This is one of the numerous ethnological phenomena which, although apparently simple, cannot be explained psychologically from a single cause but are due to several factors.
Reprinted from Science, vol. 4, pp. 101–3, 1896.
4. The Decorative Art of the Indians of the North Pacific Coast
This is a detailed analysis of Northwest Coast art style, based on what Boas hypothesizes is the artist’s need both to depict an identifiable animal and to adjust its shape to the form of the object or surface on which it appears. After presenting the identifying characteristics of the various animals that constitute the subject matter of Northwest Coast art, Boas illustrates how the process of representing these animals on the different types of artworks can result in considerable distortion and abstraction.
It has been shown that the motives of the decorative art of many peoples developed largely from representations of animals. In course of time, forms that were originally realistic became more and more sketchy, and more and more distorted. Details, even large portions, of the subject so represented, were omitted, until finally the design attained a purely geometric character.
The decorative art of the Indians of the North Pacific coast agrees with this oft-observed phenomenon in that its subjects are almost exclusively animals. It differs from other arts in that the process of conventionalizing has not led to the development of geometric designs, but that the parts of the animal body may still be recognized as such. The body of the animal, however, undergoes very fundamental changes in the arrangement and size of its parts. In the following paper I shall describe the characteristics of these changes, and discuss the mental attitude of the artist which led to their development.
In treating this subject, we must bear in mind that almost all the plastic art of the Indians of the North Pacific coast is decorative art. While some primitive people—for instance, the Eskimo—produce carvings which serve no practical ends, but are purely works of art, all the works of the Indian artists of the region which we are considering serve at the same time a useful end; that is to say, the form of the object is given, and the subject to be represented is more or less subordinate to the object on which it is shown. Only in the cases of single totemic figures is the artist free to mold his subject without regard to such considerations; but, owing to the large size of such figures, he is limited by the cylindrical form of the trunk of the tree from which he carves his figures. We may therefore say that the native artist is in almost all his works limited by the shape of the object on which he represents his subject.
The plastic arts of the Indians are carving and painting, in which latter we may include tattooing and weaving. Carving is done mostly in wood, but also in stone and horn. It is either in the round, in bas-relief, or, although more rarely, in high relief. There is no art of pottery.
The artists have acquired a high technique, which proves that realistic representations of animals are not beyond their powers. The following are a few exquisite examples of realistic carvings. The helmet (Fig. 1) is decorated with the head of an old man affected with partial paralysis. Undoubtedly this specimen must be considered a portrait head. Nose, eyes, mouth, and the general expression, are highly characteristic. The mask (Fig. 2) represents a dying warrior. The artist has represented faithfully the wide lower jaw, the pentagonal face, and the strong nose of the Indian. The relaxing muscles of the mouth and tongue, the drooping eyelids, and the motionless eyeballs, mark the agonies of death. The conception is so realistic that the mask creates a ghastly impression. Fig. 3 represents a dancing hat decorated with the design of a seal. Fig. 4 is a small float representing a swimming puffin. Fig. 5 is a rattle in the form of a swimming goose. The characteristic bend of its neck and the characteristic color of head and neck are very true to nature.
In these cases the artist has rendered the form of his model faithfully. The object on which the representation of his model was placed allowed him the use of the figure without any alteration. This is not often the case. Generally the object to be decorated has a certain given form to which the decoration must be subordinated, and the artist is confronted with the problem of how to adjust his subject to the form of the object to be decorated.
Before attempting an explanation of the method adopted by the artist in the solution of this problem, we must treat another aspect of our subject. We must premise that in consequence of the adaptation of the form to the decorative field, the native artist cannot attempt a realistic representation of his subject, but is often compelled to indicate only its main characteristics. In consequence of the distortion of the animal body, due to its adaptation to various surfaces, it would be all but impossible to recognize what animal is meant, if the artist did not emphasize what he considers the characteristic features of animals. These are so essential to his mind that he considers no representation adequate in which they are missing. In many cases they become the symbols of the animal. We find, therefore, that each animal is characterized by certain symbols, and great latitude is allowed in the treatment of all features other than symbols.
I will illustrate this feature of the art of the Indians of the North Pacific coast by means of a number of characteristic examples.
FIG. 1 (E/3453). Helmet with carving representing a paralytic man. Tribe, Tlingit. Height, 21.5 cm; width, 28 cm; depth, 28 cm.
FIG. 2 (E/2501). Mask representing a dying warrior. Tribe, Tlingit. Height, 24 cm; width, 19 cm; depth, 11 cm.
FIG. 3 (E/434). Dancing hat representing a seal. Tribe, Tlingit. Height, 21 cm; width, 24 cm; depth, 23 cm.
FIG. 4 (E/1001). Small float representing a swimming puffin. Tribe, Tlingit. Length, 6 cm.
FIG. 5 (16/300). Rattle representing a goose. Tribe, Haida. Length, 30 cm.
