Art Blog/Eric Whollem

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

HAIKUTWOTOPEH: OLD MAN OF THE NORTH/ A Concow Maidu Legend/ FIGURATIVE ABSTRACTION/ The Story of How Gaming is Sacred Among the Maidu/ THE GRASS GAME/ A figurative pictographic abstraction by Eric Whollem/ A mixed media resist that interprets prehistoric Native American rock art in light of contemporary art

Haikutwotopeh: Old Man of the North

1984

by Eric Whollem

mixed media on paper

Collection of the artist

9" x 6"

copyright by the artist

How the People Were Held Captive by Haikutwotopeh

According to Concow Maidu legend the People were gambled away

to the Old Man of the North who lived near Mt. Shasta. This happened

long, long ago. In traditional gambling among Native Americans any sort of

material goods are placed up in betting. The gambling away of one's own

relatives is another matter. . . The story of how the People were reclaimed

is related below. . .

Gambling among the Maidu is referred to as the Grass Game. It is played by

two teams who oppose each other, each first putting forth bets. Two bones

are held in a peron's hands. One bone has a black stripe down the middle to

differentiate it from the other bone. The singers on the opposite team sing

their gambling songs, meanwhile trying to guess which bone is in which hand

of the person concealing them.

A culture hero, Oankoitupeh, gambled with Haikutwotopeh, the Old Man

of the North, and won the People back. After this betting on one's relatives

was forbidden among the Maidu. It had caused extreme grief to the People

to have lost relatives in gaming.

Today the People live in Butte County, California, hundreds of miles to the

south of Shasta. But many of their old legends concern places like Weludih

near the Trinity River. The Cato Indians of the Coast Range are cousins of

the Maidu and share common cultural elements, such as the story of Woctolly,

the salmon merman. The Cato use the same phrase of greeting as the Concow:

'hey-ta-nanni.'

The triangular forms in the above drawing represent the Mt. Shasta area, or

the Trinity Alps. My painting is done in a pictographic style, based on my

studies of the Rock Art of early California. The Maidu are known to have

left a number of engravings in stone, but they never seem to have practiced

the art of painting on stone as done by Indians like the Modoc and the

Chumash.

Gambling is considered sacred today, largely because Oankoitupeh won the

People back in his contest with Haikutwotopeh. The Grass Game brings the

People together. It is 'just a game' according to Martin of Berry Creek,

California. But it is a symbol of unity.

_______________

See my gallery of Abstract Art on this link:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/abstract%20paintings

Readers interested in my posts on the Maidu should view:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/maidu%20indians

Those interesest in my posts of Maidu Faux Postage Stamps can find them here:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/maidem%20kollem

MYTHOGRAPHIC ART

Abstract art.

Maidu Indians.

MYTHOLOGY.

Mixed media painting.

Pictographs and petroglyphs.

FIGURATIVE ABSTRACTION

Abstract figure painting

Contemporary painting

Monday, September 20, 2010

NETDIMKODOM: THE LAND OF DREAMS/ Concow Maidu Indian Culture/ Hiki the Snake/ Nem Yani/ The Yeponi/ Mt. Konocti/ MYTHOGRAPHIC ART by Eric Whollem/ EARTH PIGMENTS AND AQUEOUS MEDIA on paper/ A PICTOGRAPHIC ABSTRACTION that interprets the rock art of prehistoric California in light of modern art

Netdimkodom: The Land of Dreams

1992

by Eric Whollem

earth pigments, India ink, acrylic emulsion,

& plastic emulsion on paper

9" x 6"

copyright by the artist

A Shaman in the World of Dreams

NETDIMKODOM: THE LAND OF DREAMS

I lived off and on for thirty-five years on Maidu Indian family land in

Feather Falls, California. I was privileged to have known Bob Jackson,

the Maidu patriarch. He was born in a rustic Indian village on what is

now the hiking trail in to Feather Falls. Bob Jack, as he was called by

family and friends, believed that the world is flat to his dying day,

having been raised in the old ways, & having heard all the old stories as

a child.

My friend Robert and I would drive Bob Jack to town once a week to get

supplies. Bob Jack was a jolly fellow with a large collection of old Jazz,

Western Swing and Blues 78's. He kept an old Victrola to play them. He

would sit for hours out under the old walnut tree to commune with friends

and neighbors who would come to visit.

A STORY OF THE SNAKE CAVES

I have met a number of shamans of the Concow Maidu. The head

shaman of the Maidu is called 'Yeponi.' One day I picked up an old

white-bearded drunk along the road going up to the Feather Falls

general store. He was hitchhiking.

He was dressed in a plaid shirt and overhauls. He told me: "I am a

doctor; respect that." As the store was closed I offered to give him

a beer down at the house. He related to me much about the world of

dreams. He told me also about the sacred hot springs of Nem Yani,

which connect by a cave system that crosses the Sacramento Valley

and comes up at Clear Lake. He said this cave is guarded by snakes.

Nem Yani is the local name for Stringtown Mountain, so named

because in the old days there was a Maidu settlement there which was

composed of a long line of Indian houses in a row. 'Nem Yani' means

'Big Mountain.'

Interestingly enough, a few weeks later I happened to travel to Clear

Lake, and walking on the shore of the lake, I met a man with a metal

detector. He pulled up a heavy Spanish gold image of Christ right at

my feet. It must have weighed three pounds. He said he was there

with a group of adventurers who were going over to explore the caves

at Mt. Konocti the next day; he said I could come with him. I asked

him if the cave was filled with snakes. He said, "Yes."

Konocti is an old volcano, actually not that old, as it was created about

10,000 years ago; and is legendary in the tribal history of the Pomo

Indians, as it is said to be made of the bodies of two lovers. The Pomo

story of today contains reminiscences of geological events thousands

of years ago.

As a man in a camp on the shore of the lake had just killed a huge
rattlesnake that had come into camp; and then gotten into a terrible
fight with his wife, I remembered what the shaman had told me about
the guardian snakes. I felt this cave was guarded by snakes wanted
curious humans to keep at a distance. So I never went with the adventurers
to see the cave on Konocti. But the gold image of Christ found in the sand
seemed to be a symbol of the truth in all that was happening and told to
me.

The Maidu believe the Sacramento Valley was created by a great snake
named Hiki, a creator spirit. Are the tunnels that cross the valley still
protected by Hiki? Cowboys that live in the Willows area, not far from
the Sutter Buttes have stories, I hear, about caves that connect the
Buttes with the Clear Lake area. Some things are better left to the
realm of mystery.

I used to have powerful dreams living in Feather Falls. Often I would
go to Indian dances in my dreams. There used to be a big ceremonial
lodge on the grounds where I lived.

KUKSU DREAM RELIGION

The religion of the Maidu is called Kuksu. It is based on dream

wisdom. See my links below to read more about the Kuksu Dream

Society.

Kuksu is the name of the first man, created by Wonomi, the Earth

Maker. He was born on Table Mountain near Oroville, California.

EXHIBITS

My painting seen here incorporates images based on the Rock Art

of early California. Some of the paint used in this work is earth

paint that I prepared from rough natural earth pigments.

'Netdim' means dreams in Concow Maidu dialect. 'Kodom' means

'country.' Hence the title of the painting on this post, 'Netdimkodom.'

Some of my pictographic abstractions have been exhibited at

the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, California. And also

I have shown my works at the Society for California Archaeology.

The Lowie Anthropology Museum in Berkeley, California, houses

a collection of my earth paintings, many of which relate to

the lore of the Native Americans of California.

I have also been a frequent exhibitor at the Mendocino Art Center

on the Northern California coast--from the early 1990's up til 2007.

_______________

Readers interested in my posts on Shamanism should see this link:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/shamanism

My gallery of Abstract Art can be found here:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/abstract%20paintings

See my posts about the Kuksu DREAM RELIGION here:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/kuksu

MYTHOGRAPHIC ART

Earth paints.

Mixed media.

Pictographic abstraction.

Maidu Indians.

Shamanism.

FIGURATIVE ABSTRACTION

POW WOW/ A Pictographic Abstraction Based on Studies of Native American Rock Art/ A mixed media painting on paper by Eric Whollem

Pow Wow

1984

by Eric Whollem

mixed media on paper

copyright by the artist

The Big Time

Among the Concow Maidu Indians of Northern California, the

Pow Wow is generally referred to as a 'Big Time.' I lived off and

on for quite a few years in the Feather Falls area of the north

state. My neighbors were mostly Maidu. Often Ralph Martin, one

of the last native speakers on the ridge, would stay at Frank Jones'

place next door down the road.

I have exhibited my work at a few Pow Wows over the years. Pacific

Western Traders in Folsom, California, invited me to one of their

Native American pow wows back in the 1980's. I remember especially

having some good talks with Stan Padilla, a Yaqui Indian artist who

now lives in the Auburn area. He enjoyed seeing my use of earth

pigments made into paints. Later I saw him exhibiting in the book

room at the Society for California Archaeology. Marija Gimbutas,

the well known feminist anthropologist, was there with us.

I had a workshop at a Pow Wow in the Municipal Auditorium in

Oroville, California, some time ago. I had a workshop on making

paints from earth. There I met Granny Lou Salzarulo, who was

a good friend of Bryan Beavers, now well known as a historian

of the Maidu.

______________

Readers interested in my art that is based NATIVE AMERICAN Pictographs should see:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/pictographs%20and%20petroglyphs

View my gallery of Abstract Art on this link:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/abstract%20paintings

ABSTRACT ART.

Pictographs.

KAKINIM/ Art based on California Indian Rock Art/ Concow Maidu language/ A GEOMETRIC PICTOGRAPHIC ABSTRACTION

Kakinim

1985

by Eric Whollem

mixed media on paper

9" x 6"

copyright by the artist

Pictographic Abstractions Based on Native American Rock Art

This mixed media work is entitled using a word from the Concow

Maidu language. 'Kakini' means 'spirit.' 'Kakinim' is the plural form.

______________

See my works that are based on studies of preshistoric Rock Art on this link:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/pictographs%20and%20petroglyphs

BELOW IS A VIDEO

THAT FEATURES

PICTOGRAPHIC PAINTINGS

ERIC WHOLLEM

My gallery of Abstractions both figurative and geometric can be found here:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/abstract%20art

FIGURATIVE EXPRESSIONISM

Those interested in my interactions with the Maidu may want to see:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/maidu%20indians

CONCOW MAIDU LORE IN THE PAINTINGS OF

ERIC WHOLLEM

ABSTRACT ART

Mixed media painting.

Maidu Indians.

Pictographs.

NEM OOST KOLLEM/ Goddess concepts in the lore of the Concow and Mountain Maidu Indians of Butte and Plumas, Counties, California/ Art by Eric Whollem/ PICTOGRAPHIC ABSTRACTION/ Mythographic Art

Nem Oost Kollem

1984

by Eric Whollem

mixed media on paper

detail from 'Birth of the Eyes of Space'

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

A Goddess With Child

CONCOW MAIDU CONCEPTS IN THE ART OF ERIC WHOLLEM

This image is a detail from a larger work, entitled 'Birth of the Eyes

of Space,' a mixed media work on paper.

The title is derived from the Concow Maidu language. 'Nem' means

'big.' 'Oost' means 'belly.' And 'kollem' is 'woman.'

There is a large granite dome in Butte County, California, named by

the Concow Maidu: 'Oost Ho,' or 'Belly Rock.' It is a symbol of a

great Goddess in pregnancy. Traditionally the rock symbolizes both

birth and death, as the Maidu used to roll the bodies of the deceased

in baskets off this high granite dome that overlooks the Middle Fork

of the Feather River. This river is called Supi Poboku in the local

dialect.

The Concow Maidu have legends of the Great Women Spirits who

were creatrixes in the beginnings. Up on Indian Creek that flows

from Indian Valley in Plumas County there is a rock outcrop that

represents the menses of one of these Goddesses. This site is sacred

especially to the Mountain Maidu.

Some tribal leaders of the Maidu are women. Although the Kuksu

Secret Society was originally for men only, very frequently we find

women in the role of tribal leaders today.

_______________

Readers interested in my posts on the Maidu may want to view:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/maidu%20indians

Much of my Goddess imagery is found in my Ceramic Sculpture. 'Nem Oost Kollem' is a work that was created shortly before I began my serious clay work in 1988. Through much of the 1990's my art was increasingly three dimensional. See my Goddess Art on this link:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/goddess

MYTHOGRAPHIC ART

Mixed media painting.

Abstract art.

Goddess.

Pictographic abstraction.

Mythology.

Maidu Indians.

SUMI MAIDEM/ A pictographic image of Deer Man/ Concow Maidu Language/ MYTHOGRAPHIC ART/ Mixed media art by Eric Whollem/ EARTH PIGMENTS & gouache on paper

Sumi Maidem

1977

by Eric Whollem

gouache and earth pigments in casein on paper

7" x 9.75"

Collection of the artist

Copyright by the artist

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

Deer Man

This painting incorporates earth pigments gathered in nature with

gouache paint. The title, 'Sumi Maidem,' translates into 'Deer Man.'

I utilized expressions from the Concow Maidu Indian language.

Sumi means friend in Maidu. This image is of a benign shaman.

_____________

Readers interested in my posts of Abstract Art should view this link:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/abstract%20paintings

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

EARTH MOTHER

earth pigments on panel

by Eric Whollem

Those interested in my approaches to Pictographs and Petroglyphs should see:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/pictographs%20and%20petroglyphs

BELOW IS A VIDEO

DEALING WITH

PICTOGRAPHIC ART

ERIC WHOLLEM

My posts on Shamanism can be found here:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/shamanism

Those interested in the Concow Maidu should view my posts:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/maidu%20indians

BELOW IS A VIDEO

THAT TALKS ABOUT

CONCOW MAIDU INDIAN RELIGION

ERIC WHOLLEM

MYTHOGRAPHIC ART

Mixed media painting.

Maidu Indians.

Abstract art.

Pictographs and petroglyphs.

FIGURATIVE ABSTRACTION

Sunday, September 19, 2010

PE-UCH-ANO/ A Concow Maidu Legend/ Notes on the Maidu Cultural Heritage/ A mixed media painting by Eric Whollem/ MYTHOGRAPHIC ART/ Native American Folklore from Butte County, California

Pe-uch-ano

1994

by Eric Whollem

mixed media on paper

Private collection

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

The Story of Pe-uch-ano

The Konkow Valley Band of Maidu website has an old Maidu legend

which I once read in another version in Stephen Power's book, 'The Tribes

of California.' I refer to the story of Pe-uch-ano (also spelled Puchano or

Piuchinnuh). See the Maidu.com link below for the complete story. This

apparently is a story that was transcribed at the Round Valley Reservation

in the 19th century.

Concow is varyingly spelled 'Konkow.' Concow literally translates as

'Beautiful Parklands.' The Concow Maidu Indians are the Native American

inhabitants of Butte County, California.

CERAMIC GODDESS SCULPTURE/ Clay Art by Eric Whollem/ MYTHOGRAPHIC ART/ Natural earth pigments and oxides on white earthenware clay & flax cord with ceramic beads by the artist

Red Figure With Beaded Headdress

2007

by Eric Whollem

Red earth pigment, oxides, & flax cord;

white earthenware clay

Photo copyright by the artist

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

To view my posts on Ceramic Sculpture view this link:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/ceramic%20sculpture

Readers interested in my approaches to Natural Earth Pigments should see these posts:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/earth%20paints

My posts on the topic of Goddess Art can be found here:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/goddess

MYTHOGRAPHIC ART

Goddess Art.

FIGURATIVE CERAMIC SCULPTURE/ Clay Art by Eric Whollem/ 'Devotional Figure in a Shrine'/ Copper carbonate, oxides and found earth on white earthenware clay

Devotional Figure in a Shrine

2007

by Eric Whollem

copper caronate, oxides and found earth

on white earthenware clay

Photo copyright by the artist

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

See my complete list of posts on Ceramic Sculpture on this link:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/ceramic%20sculpture

MYTHOGRAPHIC ART

Metaphysical art, spirituality.

CERAMIC GODDESS SCULPTURE/ Clay Art by Eric Whollem/ 'Seated Goddess in a Triangular Shrine'/ MYTHOGRAPHIC SCULPTURE/ Oxides on white earthenware clay

Seated Goddess in a Triangular Shrine

2007

by Eric Whollem

oxides on white earthenware clay

Photo copyright by the artist

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

See my posts of Ceramic Sculpture on this link:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/ceramic%20sculpture

Ceramic Sculpture Video.

Readers interested in my art that deals with the Goddess concept should view:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/goddess

MYTHOGRAPHIC ART

Metaphysical art, spirituality, the Goddess.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Concow Maidu Culture/ OOTI the acorn/ 'EARLY SPANISH CONTACTS WITH THE MAIDU' and 'A BRIEF HISTORY OF OROVILLE'/ Faux postage stamps/ ARTIST STAMPS by Eric Whollem/ Mooretown Provisional Postage from MAIDEM KODOM

Ooti

Maidem Kodom

2010

by Eric Whollem

copyright by the artist

Ooti the Acorn

Ooti is the name given to the staple food of the Maidu, the acorn.

Acorns were made into soup or bread. Sometimes meat or other

seasonings were added.

Manzanita berries also were used to make a sweet bread.

When food supplies got low, the toxic seeds of the buckeye

were carefully leeched to make food.

The Maidu used bedrock mortars and large smooth grinding

stones to grind the acorns, which were then leeched with water

in special baskets.

CONCOW MAIDU LORE IN THE ART OF ERIC WHOLLEM

EARLY SPANISH CONTACTS WITH THE MAIDU

Today at Powwows or Big Times fry bread has been added to the

Maidu cuisine. This may or may not be an influence that arose

from early Spanish contacts in California. A number of words in

the Concow dialect are Spanish in origin--such as 'pane' for

bread, 'caballo' for horse, and 'pantalon' for pants.

A friend of mine once found a rusted out old Spanish sword on

the shores of Lake Oroville. There are few physical remains of

Spanish colonization in Butte County, as the Spanish usually

preferred lands on the coast.

Ooti

Maidem Kodom

2010

by Eric Whollem

Native American Tribal Stamps and the Faux Postage of Maidem Kodom

There is a genre of stamps called variously 'Indian Reservation Stamps'

or 'Native American Tribal Stamps.' The stamps that I have created for

Maidem Kodom, my own fanciful 'Maidu Nation' are not of these

categories, as they are 'faux postage stamps,' or 'phantom cinderellas'

as they might be called by collectors. They are my own artistic creations

and not authorized by any Native American group.

The first Native American group to issue stamps of their own was the

Rosebud Reservation of the Sioux in the 1950's. The Crow Creek

Sioux issued the first pictorial reservation Hunting Stamp in 1989.

See the link below to view these authentic Indian stamps.

Thus far most Native American stamps have either been Hunting

Permit Stamps or Tobacco Tax stamps.

Michael Jaffe wrote an article in which he gives a historical account

of Indian Reservation Stamps. In 1992, Jaffe writes, the Pine Ridge

Reservation of the Oglala Sioux issued some wildlife stamps that

were intended mostly for sale to collectors. This was followed by a

similar issue by the Sisseton Wapeton Sioux Tribe, who similarly

decided to create stamps for philatelic purposes. Most Native

American tribal stamps have been very limited editions of stamps

printed just for hunting and fishing permits.

CONCOW MAIDU FAUX POSTAGE STAMPS

Fantasy stamps have been created by artists for hundreds of years.

The first such stamp was created as a parody of the British Colonial

Tax stamps which aggravated the American Colonists. Subsequently in

1862 George Hussey designed a fantasy local courier post called

the Winan City Post, which caused a sensation among inventive stamp

designers in the 19th century. Copies and varieties of this stamp were

created until the year 1878.

Since then thousands of faux postage stamps have been designed

by artists. Names for this kind of stamp include: phantoms, artist stamps,

artistamps, cinderella stamps, fantasy stamps, postoids,

and micronational stamps.

'Maidem Kodom' means 'Land of the People.' It is the name of my

own postal micronation and is not authorized by any tribal

authority.

Ooti

Maidem Kodom

2010

by Eric Whollem

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

The 'Mooretown Post Office' and the 'Mooretown Provisional Post' are

artistic liberties I have taken with the creation of these stamps which

are designed with the intention of celebrating Maidu cultural ideas

as they relate to the art that I have created over the years, having

lived, off and on, at Black Earth Village in Feather Falls, California

for about thirty-five years.

The old name for Feather Falls is Mooretown.

The art on this stamp is made from earth colors that I gathered myself;

it is a detail of my painting entitled, 'King of the Wood.'

___________

Those interested in depictions of Native American Reservation Stamps should view this link:

http://brookmanstamps.com/IndianReservation.htm

Readers interested in Michael Jaffe's article on RESERVATION STAMPS should check this out:

http://www.brookmanstamps.com/IndianStampIntro.html

For my own blog post about Native American Tribal Stamps see:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/2010/09/short-history-of-native-american-tribal.html#more

For an account of Faux Postage Stamps see Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artistamps

For a look at my own Artist Stamp creations see:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/artistamps

For those interested in Duck Stamps and other Hunting Permit Stamps see this list of links, which is put online by the National Duck Stamp Collectors Society:

http://www.ndscs.org/related.html

Readers interested in Micronation Stamps might want to read:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micronations

For my complete gallery of Maidu Indian Faux Postage Stamps see:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/maidem%20kodom

ARTIST STAMPS

Artistamps, faux postage,

cyberstamps, mail art, micronation stamps,

cinderella stamps,

digital art,

fantasy stamps.