Monday, December 21, 2009

Maidu Indian Lore in the Work of Whollem


Concow Maidu Cultural Elements in
the Earth Paintings of Eric Whollem

The earth painting entitled "Anima and Animals" shows the
personification of Imagination, my muse, holding a lizard and
a coyote in her hands. The face of Imagination is black, having
been painted with the soil of Black Earth Village, or Chi Chi Te,
the traditional name of the old Mooretown Rancheria, where I
lived.



Anima and Animals
1976
earth, clay, ash & charcoal in casein on panel
3'x4'
by Eric Whollem
Collection of the artist
Copyright by the artist.


USBUKI THE GREAT WHITE LIZARD

The lizard is Usbuki, the Great White Lizard. Adrian Smith,
former head of the Butte County Tribal Council, told me that
Usbuki is the warrior power. Each warrior at his initiation takes
on his own Usbuki. Legendarily Usbuki combats Henokano,
the trickster, otherwise known as Coyote.

The Great White Lizard is said to dwell in the Middlefork
Canyon of the Feather River behind the cascading waters of
Feather Falls. These falls are second only to Yosemite Falls
in height.

In many Native American traditions, the Great White Lizard
is Dream Maker. Anything you dream  (or daydream)  about
will come to you with the help of the Great White Lizard.
The Lizard will also help you with troubles in your dreams.



Man and Bird
1981
earth paints in casein on panel
4"x6"
by Eric Whollem
Collection of the artist.
Copyright by the artist.



LIVING IN CHI CHI TE, BLACK EARTH VILLAGE

Bob Jack, the Maidu grandfather, was born in the old village
site near the falls. I was caretaker of the house he built on
the rancheria after his passing.

I also lived in the small house of Herb Young, a traditional
singer and "doctor" (or shaman). The foundation stones of
this structure were old Indian acorn mortar stones protectively
shoved in place under the house, which was built in the style
of the logger families' shacks from Mooretown,  the local
company logging town.

Herb was directly related to Lily Baker, the master basket-
maker of Taylorsville.

Herb's dog, Fido, outlived him and. although blind, continued
to walk the road in Feather Falls, visiting people up and
down the ridge. I painted numerous images of Fido. Fido
came to socialize when Lily visited Chi Chi Te one day.


The Old One
earth and charcoal in polymer emulsion on plywood
10"x12'
by Eric Whollem
Collection of the artist
Copyright by the artist.

In the old houses on the rancheria there used to be large
collections of swing and classic jazz on 78's--plus old
handcranked victrolas. Bruce Lee's collection of old Model
T's down in the buckeye patch added a unique ambience
to Black Earth Village. Often in the evenings you could
hear hillbilly singing coming up from Frank Jones' place.

I often painted outside under the old walnut tree. Once when
I was rather young and foolish I was working on a wooden
sculpture, so I took up a saw and cut what I thought was a
scrap. Bob Jack, holding up his damaged tool for me to see,
came out and laughed at me. I had cut his T-brace, for
cutting firewood.

I used to drive up to Camp Eighteen to gather soapstone
for carvings. Soapstone was used for medicine bowls by the
Maidu.

It was my highschool friend, Robert Steidl, grandson of Bob
Jack, first invited me up to Feather Falls. He is an excellent
bead craftsman with a talent for soapstone carving and painting.
His mother, a storyteller, was the one who asked me to help
caretake the old homestead. I used to go mushroom hunting
with her and her sister.

At family dinners we all sat at an antique table in the Big House.
Later I painted an earth painting of The Last Supper, which hung
near the old table. Musicians, basketmakers, painters, and some
very good cooks were among common visitors to Chi Chi Te.

MAIDU FOLKLORE FIGURES

have painted Kuksu and Morningstar, the Adam   
and Eve of the Maidu. I painted legendary Maidu
characters like Oankoitupeh and Piuchinnuh. I
drew and painted Pano, the Bear. I painted Sumi,
the Deer. Sumi is the friend. The Turtle is Ultrama.
Koi is the sacred goose, whose magical song is the
wuh-wuh song.

I painted also Wonomi, the Earth Initiate, or World
Maker, as well as the realm in which he lived, called
Histayami. I painted the flowerlands of the Maidu
heavenworlds: Yongkodom, Hipiningkodom, and
Kakinimkodom. A herd of white deer are said to
dwell in the valleys of Histayami.

The Kakinim are the spirits. This word relates to the
better known Hopi word, Kachina.

I frequently have depicted insect Kakinim as insects
are very special spirit messengers, not just to the
Maidu, but many California Native Americans.


Song of the Turtle
earth pigments, iron pyrites, and charcoal in polymer emulsion on panel
4'x3'
by Eric Whollem
Collection of the artist
Copyright by the artist.



I painted a number of long poles at Chi Chi Te. I used
my earth colors. Painted sticks are an old tradition, now
lost.

The earth of Chi Chi Te is quite dark, it being an ancient
Indian midden, as the village had  been  occupied for 3000
years. The pigment near the old sweat lodge site is as
black as coal, it being darkened by centuries of campfires.

The insides of people's homes, or kum, used to be painted
with designs drawn in acorn meal paint.

                   
The Roundhouse
1981
earth paints in acrylic emulsion on paper
by Eric Whollem
Collection of the artist
Copyright by the artist.

THE ROUNDHOUSE

Ralph Martin, who I met originally at a grass game in Bald
Rock, built a roundhouse in the Feather Falls area. This
roundhouse is called a a Hemeni.

Ralph's Hemeni was built using hand hewn cedar beams and
cedar bark shakes, all natural materials. A large smokehole
is in the center of the roof. Cousin Lorraine told me that when
one enters the Hemeni one must first honor the center post,
then walk in a circle around the inner perimeter, in respect
for those who might be present.

The Hemeni is used for sacred dances, song, and sacred
ceremonies.

In the old days people used to paint their bodies with
earth  paints for the sacred dances.

Ralph Martin lived for a time just down the road from me
at Frank Jones's place. He and Vergil were the last two
native speakers on the ridge.

THE DREAM LODGE

I have included the Roundhouse as an important theme of
my art, especially as it relates to the Dream Lodge of
the Kuksu. The Maidu religion is based on the Dream
Society. Dreams are a source of wisdom and knowledge.

Oroville, California, is the place where a the Dream Society
first began for California Indians. Siltamona is name of the
Maidu village that was the Oroville of Indian times.

The Kuksu Dream religion travelled from the Maidu of Butte
County to the Pomo, Cato, Miwok and Wintun Indians,
native groups spread as far apart as Yosemite Valley and Mt.
Shasta.


Shamanic Figure
earth paints  in casein on panel
10"x15"
by Eric Whollem
Collection of the artist.
Copyright by the artist.


Adrian Smith told me that Mt. Shasta is called Kom, or Snow.
The mountain figures in important traditional legends concern-
ing how the people were brought back from captivity, and of

Abstract Rock Art Styles: Petroglyphs and Pictographs/ Maidu and Other California Indian Influences/ Earth Paintings Made From Natural Pigments


The painting below utilizes net or basket-like shapes common
in the rock art of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.




     Tableau of the Basket Weavers
     1998
     by Eric Whollem
     India ink and casein on paper
     Collection of the artist.
           Copyright by the artist.


INSPIRATION FROM INDIGENOUS SOURCES

Modern European artists like Paul Klee and Joan Miro
are famous for translating the preshistoric cave arts of the
continent into modern terms.

Not all such cave painting is representational of animal
life; some art was symbolic and geometric much like the
Native American rock art found in North America, for
example. In California almost all rock art was abstract.
Only in isolated instances are animals or humans
depicted.

Some of my works may include more representational
elements than a typical pictographic work by a California
Native American.

But I have taken it upon myself to do for California rock
art what the above artists did for European prehistory.

                                            *   
The painting below is loosely based on the rock art of the
Chumash of the Santa Barbara area:


The Sunboat
1981
by Eric Whollem
earth paints on panel
4'x3'
Collection of the artist
Copyright by the artist.


EARTH PAINTING WITH REAL EARTH

Some may be familiar with the work of Heizer, an archaeologist
who attempted to catalogue California's rock art tradition, which is
much less well-known than that of Utah and the Southwest.

The Chumash Indians of the Santa Barbara area left a legacy of earth
paintings in various caves, now under protective care.

The work of the Chumash stands out in California's art history as a major
accomplishment in the field of painting.

In my work, entitled, The Sunboat, I have incorporated an image of
a ribbed boat with a large circular cross in the center. Images nearly
identical to this have been found in areas as far apart as Italy and
Siberia. Jungians would say that this image is from the mental storehouse
of the collective unconscious, while diffusionists would say that the image
spread through human migration.

The roundish, ovoid forms in The Sunboat are very Chumash. The paints
utlized to create this work are natural earth pigments that I gathered and
made into artist's materials.

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The work below takes a visionary approach to pictographic abstraction:


Birds at the Crux of Night
1986
by Eric Whollem
gouache, oil stick, & wax medium on paper
9"x6"
Collection of the artist
Copyright by the artist.


RESPECT FOR TRADITIONS

Some writers interpret rock art symbolism as a sort of
sign language, that may have been intertribal.

Others see maps or other mnemomic patterns.

I have done hundreds of drawings in pictographic style,
reminiscent of California rock art. Based on these works
many  paintings have been created.

Birds at the Crux of Night derives it's stylization from a
study of California prehistory.

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The odd curvilinear lines in the work below are not
totally gratuitous, but based on rock art styles common
in the Sierra Nevada Mountains:


Constellation of the Geranium
1981
by Eric Whollem
watercolor varnished with wax on paper 
Collection of the artist.
8" x 10 1/8"
Copyright by the artist.


MAIDU INDIAN INFLUENCES ON MY ART

In the 1970's I painted many small stones with my earth
paints in pictographic style.

The King of the Wood: Earth Painting/ FIGURATIVE ABSTRACTION by Eric Whollem


The King of the Wood
1974-5
earth pigments and charcoal in casein with gold tempera on panel
3'x4'
by Eric Whollem
Collection of the artist.
COPYRIGHT BY THE ARTIST


Earth Paintings With
Cross Cultural Themes

The King of the Wood is a painting that
draws upon folklore from Lake Nemi in
ancient Italy, the lore of the sacred kings
of Europe. They were ritual guardians of the
mistletoe branches that hung from the oaks
in the sacred groves.

Sir Douglas Frasier, the father of modern
anthropology, wrote of these sacred kings
in his famous book, The Golden Bough.

In this painting I have blended African,
Oriental, and Romanesque art into a
creation in my own style.

The background is gold tempera; other-
wise the pigments are ones that I made
myself from scratch.

The soil in the painting's landscape is
from Mt. Shasta, California, lending
a blessing energy to the work. I used
milk glue, or casein, as a binder for the
earth pigments--blending the earth with
milk in a holistic manner.


                               View this video about my earth paints.

Details of 'The King of the Wood' were painted
with a stick brush, much in the manner of
Aboriginal art. Oak leaf spirit guardians
are incorporated in the border design.

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Readers interested in my posts on ANTHROPOLOGY might view this link:
http://artblogericwhollem/blogspot.com/search/label/anthropology


A POSTER STAMP FOR ART BLOG/ERIC WHOLLEM
Alaya
1976
by Eric Whollem
COPYRIGHT BY THE ARTIST

This is a link to my posts on the use of EARTH PAINTSin painting and sculpture:

For more information on Douglas Frasier see this WIKIPEDIA link:

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