Phillip John Charette, "Aarnaquq" Public Talk

Phillip John Charette, "Aarnaquq" will be doing a public lecture of his work on April 23rd at 3:45pm in Room 301 Music, fine arts complex.

Phillip John Charette, "Aarnaquq" will be at the Native Arts Center from the 20th-24th

Phillip will be working in the classroom sharing his knowledge with the students.

Here is a statement by the artist from his web site.

http://www.yupikmask.com

Phillip John Charette, "Aarnaquq"

Alaskan Native Artist Statement

I am an Alaska Native Yup'ik artist specializing in sculpture, Yup'ik spirit masks, and Native musical instruments. While involved in art throughout my life, I began work as a full-time artist in 2001. Through a hands-on investigative and exploratory approach, my art expresses elements of traditional Yup'ik spirituality, cosmology, and power. My art is rooted in historic and traditional Yup’ik “ways of being” learned throughout my life. But, I utilize my own contemporary style, form, and perspectives in creating artwork. Spirits, Yup'ik cosmology, and spiritual beings are my primary subject matter.

As a mixed media artist I work with numerous materials which include clay, wood, driftwood, glass, metal, stone, glass beads, rawhide, porcelain, feathers, quills, shells, bones, paint, and found objects. A rare Yup’ik art form, pottery is a foundation for my work. Clay sculptures are low fired or raku fired in home made kilns. All teeth, bones, and spirits are hand made of high-fired porcelain. A flame worker, I make my own glass beads. Driftwood masks and sculptures are hand carved in a contemporary style. Traditional wood bending techniques are used in making spirit mask frames and Yup'ik drums. Native American style flutes are concert quality and made of hardwoods and low fired clays (including smoke fired, horse hair fired, and raku) .

My artistic goals are achieved though constant exploration and discovery of new methodologies, utilizing new materials, and in exploring new art forms. Future artistic goals include monumental work, working directly with bronze, large fused glass, metal sculpture, prints, and precious metal work. Finally, I hope to push the boundaries of traditional art bringing attention to new possibilities in the mixed media art world. And, I hope to expose and educate people about the spiritual world of Yup’ik art.

And here's a great interview with the Artist.

http://www.opb.org/programs/artbeat/videos/view/61-Phillip-Charette

Mike Croskrey mask making workshop

Mike Croskrey will be conducting a mask making workshop April 17th and 18th, from 9:00am-4:30 pm at the Native Art Center. Croskrey received a MFA from the Native Arts Center in 2002 and is back to share his skills with the community.

Tanya Aguiñiga public lecture

Please join us for a public lecture from our visiting artist Tanya Aguiñiga, on Tuesday April 7th at 3:40 pm in room 301 Music, Fine Arts Complex at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Tanya Aguiñiga (b.1978) is a furniture designer whose work is informed by the complex interactions between Tijuana and San Diego, the cities in which she has spent most of her life. While studying design at San Diego State University, she began working as an educator at the San Diego Museum of Art and created collaborative installations with the Border Arts Workshop, an artists’ group that engages the languages of activism and community- based public art. After earning an MFA in furniture design from Rhode Island School of Design in 2005, Aguiñiga settled in Los Angeles where she designs and hand makes all of her work.

Her sensitivity to materials and interest in creating furniture that responds to the user’s spatial needs have resulted in a playful and organic modernist approach to form. She hopes to deepen her commitment to ethical design by working with traditional artisans, connecting local craft traditions with a global economy. Her work has been exhibited from Mexico City to Milan and she was recently named a United States Artists Target Fellow in the field of Crafts and Traditional Arts. She is currently an artist in residence at the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts and created “Toddler Texture Forest” an installation at the New Children’s Museum in San Diego.