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ART IN FRIDAY HARBOR |
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Volunteers dig into post project at port
Pete Kilpatrick starts digging the post holes Wednesday, May 12 in Fairweather Park in at the Port of Friday Harbor. posted 05/15/04
Guard is the grandson of Marge Workman, a big supporter of the project. Workman, who passed away in January, was of local Native Coast Salish stock and felt strongly that there should be public acknowledgement of the Native presence on the island. Kilpatrick has taken on the literally monumental responsibility for donating labor and materials for erecting the 17-foot tall house posts which will be unveiled at 3 p.m. May 22 at Jack Fairweather Waterfront Park, as part of the Orca Festival. Along with Ravenhill; Browne Lumber, Island Concrete, Paul Herbert's EDC Cranes, San Juan Colors, contractors Gary Roberts and Chris Wisniewski have donated time, materials or both. Coast Salish artist Susan Point and her husband will be in attendance. The public is invited and invitations have gone out to local Coast Salish tribes. The Portals of Welcome group has raised $59,000 over the last two years and needs another $6,000 to complete the project which will include the installation of history and interpretive plaques. Donations may be sent to:
All of the money has come from private foundations and individuals except for $12,000 donated by the Town of Friday Harbor's Lodging Tax fund. The piece which is entitled "Interaction" has become an interaction between, Town and Port, Past and Present, Native and non-native. Project organizers say, "At one time all of the Salish peoples in the area were connected by their culture and by water - known by anthropologists as the "Salish Sea." Now, with the unveiling of "Interaction," we are once again connected with surrounding communities such as Victoria and Vancouver; cities that acknowledge their indigenous cultures with public art." Posts purchased, site selected
posted 01/30/04
Portals of Welcome Committee member Lee Brooks said the decision was made to take out a loan in order to purchase the posts before the exchange rate between the Canadian and U.S. dollar dropped. The committee will continue its fundraising efforts in order to repay the loan. Among the funds already raised is $12,000 of lodging tax funds from the Town of Friday Harbor. Donations can be sent to:
The next step is obtaining a Shoreline Use Permit from the Town of Friday Harbor. The process takes six weeks and costs $2,000 according to Brooks. Port Commissioner Mike Ahrenius noted the Port of Olympia was having problems with people objecting to house posts there because they considered them religious symbols. Port Commissioner Brian Calvert said, "There is a backlash. These are as much a religious symbol as the Christmas tree or the Noel sign. It is something we really have to think about." Simpson said the symbols aren't religious. "Early settlers misinterpreted the symbols on totem poles and burned them." Port Commisioner Greg Hertel said, "Don't underestimate the ability to misinterpret again." Council commits $12K to posts
posted 06/20/03
The Port of Friday Harbor is providing a waterfront location for the posts. The committee has been working for the past 18 months on the project. Donations can be sent to:
Town Council considers $12K allocation for house posts
posted 06/18/03
During the May 1, 2003 council meeting, committee member Barbara Marrett asked the council to consider giving $12,000 towards the $50,000 project. The project came about after Marrett and a group of friends saw the 17-foot-tall posts in artist Susan Point's studio in Vancouver. The group thought the posts would look good in Friday Harbor and believed they would promote tourism. In the spring of 2002, the committee presented the idea to the Port of Friday Harbor. The Port commission agreed to provide a place for the posts but did not donate any money. Marrett presented the committee's idea to the Town of Friday Harbor Lodging Tax Advisory Committee in spring 2003. The LTAC recommended against funding the project. During the May 1 presentation to the Town Council, Mayor Gary Boothman said he had spoken to Russel Barsh of the Samish Indian Nation. Barsh said the tribal members were generally favorable, according to Boothman. "He did wonder if the posts would be done in the Northwest Strait Salish style which is indigineous to the San Juan Islands and not in the Northwest Coast style which is the art of the tribe that used to carry out slave raids." Marrett said, "Susan Point is Coast Salish. She is from the Musqueam band, which are northern neighbors. The posts are carved in the Coast Salish style." Marrett said, "The Musqueam were not in the San Juan Islands, which I think is good. There is a tremendous amount of rivalry over who was in the San Juan Islands." She said the committee has been asked why not use work from local tribes. "The answer is if you do that, you will have hard feelings from other tribes. If someone gives you a gift of house posts you don’t have any say over the art work. The thing that got us excited about these posts is they are fantastic art work and happen to be native at the same time. If you have something done as a gift it may not be a good piece of art." Boothman said, "If part of the goal is to honor native heritage, don't they look at the Coast people as the enemy?" Marrett responded, "Susan is Coast Salish so she is not an enemy." Boothman invited Barsh to speak to the Town Council on June 5, 2003. Barsh shared some of the history of the islands during a 40-minute presentation. "The Northern Straits Salish people speak one language and lived around and in the San Juan Islands," he said. "San Juan Island was the market place of the Northern Strait Salish world." Gatherings took place during the sockeye salmon fishing season. "People went home with canoes full of neat stuff," he said. "That is still what this place can be." Barsh explained the Coast Salish tribes have lived in the San Juans for more than 8,000 years. He said the Coast Salish art is round, while the Northwest Coast art is square. The Northwest Coast tribes were more "aristocratic" he said. "They came in here to do slave raids." The Town Council discussed the project during their June 5, 2003 meeting and a motion was made to give $12,000 towards the project. Boothman suggested the council double check with Barsh before voting. Barsh met with Marrett during the day to look at photos and specifications of the artwork. The council agreed to postpone the discussion and vote on the motion until June 19, 2003 when they expect to have a written response from Barsh. In a phone interview Wednesday, June 18 Boothman said he was still awaiting the written memo from Barsh but in an email he had indicated support for the project.
Portal posts pitched for portposted 03/18/02
During a March 13, 2002 meeting, the Portals of Welcome Committee proposed the Port include Point's houseposts in landscaping plans for the Friday Harbor waterfront. "The posts represent the close relationship between humans and nature in the Northwest," according to letter from the committee to the Port. "A playfully sculpted orca, ravens and salmon, adorn the posts making the work appropriate for San Juan Island. The work is designed to be placed outdoors and invites passers-by to relate with it."
"These are the right poles for this area," said Lee Brooks, a Portals of Welcome Committee member and owner of Arctic Raven Gallery. The committee can purchase the houseposts for an estimated $50,000. Port commissioners said the Port can't afford to pay for the art. Committee members said they could raise donations for the posts. Port commissioners informed the committee they were working on their Waterfront Development Plan and landscaping schemes for a new turn-around on Front Street. The posts also should fit with other potential artwork, Port Chair Greg Hertel. "We want to consider this but don't want to jump right in yet," Hertel told committee members. The committee also plans to tell the Board of County Commissioners about the houseposts during a meeting tomorrow, March 19, 2002. Susan Point is Northwest Coast Salish, the nation that once inhabited local waters known as the Salish Sea. She began her career as an artist more than 20 years ago and now is considered one of the premiere artists in the Northwest. Her public installations are major works for the Vancouver International Airport, the University of British Columbia Museum of Anthropology and the Victoria Convention Centre. Point also has been selected to design art for the new Seahawks stadium in Seattle. |
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