Alik's Transformation Mask

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Recommended: Northwest Coast Cherokee art work

This piece called Transformation Mask (Sea Bear), as in the title it is a transformation mask from the Northwest Coast Cherokee/Kwakwaka'wakw tribe created by Don Svanvik in 2000. Masks such as this were used to reflect art and culture of specific tribes as well as used for cultural performances. This mask is currently hanging on the wall in The Montclair Art Museum (MaM). This mask was a gift donated by Alan and Audrey Bleviss. This Transformation Mask in particular was made with the mediums of red cedar, cedar bark, copper, pigment, and string. This masks dimensions are about 3 feet by 2 feet. The MaM displays this mask in its open form. The inside of this mask shows a man sitting his legs crouched up and his arms out wide as if he had …show more content…

His parents dying when he was young left him to live with his very jealous uncles who wanted to plot to kill him. One day, they did just that and beat Alikwamae to death. Waking up at an edge of a pool, he befriended a mouse that he had caught. This mouse took Alikwamae to an Undersea Kingdom where he met the chief. The chief granted Alikwame the power to help his people. These powers allowed Alikwame to transform into any creature he found in the Undersea Kingdom. The sea bear being one of these mystical animals. Once he returned to his tribe, he had the gift to transform himself and also the ability to heal the sick and injured. He also had psychic powers to see into the future as well as to interpret dreams. Also in Native American art as a whole, the bear is a symbol of many things such as, family and strength. also, when looking at the symbolism of a whale/killer whale, it represents kindness, intelligence and compassion. Also, the whale is known to help people in need whether the person is helpless or wounded. In the example of this mask put both the symbol of the bear and the whale to get Sea Bear which is actually part bear and part killer whale. So together, you get a creature who is strong but also has a lot of compassion and is

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