Looking at Indian Art of the Northwest Coast

Rating:
Summary: What I needed
Review: Great pictures, explainations, and examples, Put in wonderful catagories and easy to understand!! Fully recommend!! I wish there was more of it as it is so well thought out!!

Rating:
Summary: One of the two best books available on the topic
Review: I wanted to dabble in this form of artwork, so starting in the mid-1990's I bought EVERY book I could find on the topic (I currently have in excess of 40). This book was one of the first I bought and it remains one of my favorites. This book is absolutely outstanding, especially for someone new to the artform.

It overviews the native cultures and tribes, provides info about style difference among tribes, covers the components of the art style, and gives lots of great visual examples, including some good basic info about the symbolism of the elements. It is very successful in giving enough detail to be useful without giving so much that it gets complicated or boring.

Regardless of your interest in this artform, whether you just want one book to learn a little or a "first book" to help you get deeply into it, in my opinion this remains the best one to buy.

If you want to do this sort of artwork, buy this book to get a good basic understanding, then buy "Nothwest Coast Indian Art: an Analysis of Form" by Bill Holm for a deeper understanding of the elements, and "Learning by Designing" Volumes 1 and 2 by Gilbert and Clark for more help with how to actual do it.

Rating:
Summary: An analysis of the structure of Northwest Tribal art.
Review: On vacation in the Olympic Peninsula, I purchased a copy of this book (sorry Mr. Bezos!) because interpreting Haida, Tlingit, and other artists' work has been such a challenge. This book provides amazing descriptions of how to decipher the parts of the artwork to figure out which animal it is, and what the image depicts. The closest comparison is the Renaissance art appreciation class I took in college... and this was much more accessible, and cheaper besides. My mom is craving a copy of this book!

Rating:
Summary: An analysis of the structure of Northwest Tribal art.
Review: The book does a very good job of going through the basic form and function of the lines, shapes and colors used in Northwest art and the similarities between the various tribes along the Pacific Coast. It also teaches one how to recognize an extremely abstract form and identify it based upon the few similar characteristics found for any animal or figure, no matter what shape or tribe it came from. All in all a very good reference book for a beginner trying to figure out the way of the coastal natives' art.

Rating:
Summary: Educational...
Review: The book does a very good job of going through the basic form and function of the lines, shapes and colors used in Northwest art and the similarities between the various tribes along the Pacific Coast. It also teaches one how to recognize an extremely abstract form and identify it based upon the few similar characteristics found for any animal or figure, no matter what shape or tribe it came from. All in all a very good reference book for a beginner trying to figure out the way of the coastal natives' art.

Rating:
Summary: Great details and good reading...
Review: Through well-detailed photographs and drawings, this book provides a nice introduction to Northwest tribal art. It uses examples of two- and three-dimensional works of art to explain the meanings and symbolism behind the animal motifs. You will quickly learn to recognize the ovoid, and S and U shapes that are characteristic to the art form. It also explains stylistic differences between the different cultural groups. I used this book on a trip through the Northwest and it really enriched my experience.