Kwakiutl (statue) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kwakiutl(statue) |
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| Artist | Simon Charlie |
| Year | 1972 |
| Type | cedar wood |
| Dimensions | 270 cm (108 in) |
| Location | Chinguacousy Park greenhouse, Brampton, Ontario, Canada |
| 43°43′22.19″N 79°43′16.25″W / 43.7228306°N 79.7211806°W | |
| Owner | City of Brampton |
Kwakiutl (or variously KwaKiutl) is a 9-foot-tall cedar wood totem sculpture by Aboriginal Canadian artist Simon Charlie. Charlie, also known as Hwunumetse', later received the Order of Canada.
Creation
Named after a native Canadian, Chinguacousy Township was rapidly growing due to the Bramalea development, initiated in the late 1950s and early 1960s. A statue was commissioned for a new township hall, with Simon Charlie as artist. Charlie was a sculptor of the Cowichan Tribes of the Coast Salish peoples. The Indians of Canada pavilion at Expo 67 included a totem pole and "welcome figure" carved by Charlie and two Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwakiutl) artists. For the 1971 centennial of British Columbia, Charlie and thirteen other carvers were commissioned to carve totems presented to each of the other nine provinces, two territories, and the federal government. Internationally collected and displayed, he had already been awarded the Canadian Centennial Medal.
The figure depicted by the statue is that of an Aboriginal man, and the name of the sculpture refers to a Pacific Northwest coast tribe. He wears a wide-brimmed Kwakwaka'wakw hat, and a cape. The statue is made of cedar wood, and is 9-foot tall.
