The Williams Legacy in VancouverUniversity of Victoria
Alumni Reception About Exhibit Artists / Works About Michael C. Williams
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Image

Image

Art Thompson (Tsan-Quass-Upp)

Northern Style Shaman mask
Animal hide; human hair; alder; paint
1994

Dididaht Legend of Swans and Wolves
Red cedar, copper, alabone, aperculum, cedar bark, paint

Art Thompson was born in 1948 in Whyac, an isolated reserve of the Ditidaht on Vancouver Island. Thompson was largely a self-taught artist who began drawing at an early age. As well, he benefited from the experience of having a father and grandfather who were carvers. Significant, too, were studies with Ron Hamilton and Joe David, two of the artists most responsible for the resurgence of Nuu-chah-nulth art. Thompson was widely regarded as a master carver and artist of great import.

Thompson was initiated into the Tloo-Kwalla or Wolf Society, a tribal initiation ceremony that had been passed down through the generations and besides his renown as a visual artist he attained recognition for his knowledge and practice of the traditional songs and dances of the Nuu-chah-nulth. Finally, Thompson was a tireless fighter for all those who suffered the abuses of the residential school system.

Tragically, Thompson died of cancer in 2003.