FEBRUARY 1, 2002
Smoke Signals 7
Grant Brings Bartow Exhibit to Hallie Ford
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Continued from front page
in Bartow's work, it occurred to me that every
painting and sculpture, every carving, every
print possessed a persona.
My eyes bore into Othello, (one of Bartow's
more prominent pieces) while his, conversely,
bore back. I waited for him to say something.
"Oh yes, that's one of my favorites," said the
lady working behind the desk at the entrance.
"Isn't that one just great?"
They're all great, if you must know the truth,
some obviously greater than others, depending
upon what you're looking for.
I can almost feel the hot, moist breath of Crazy
Mad Coyote's fang-laden mouth. 'And Siel An
gry actually threatens, telling that to stand be
fore an enraged bear must be one of the most
frightening experiences around. You can hear
the low guttural growl.
But strangely, "vivid," and not "morbid" as some
might think, describes Bartow's work. There is
never a whiff of absolute violence or death in
his work (in my opinion, this is art remember?),
though occasional pieces may have a somber tone
about them. All his work, however, has the hall
mark of great, and truly profound art like it or
not, just try taking your eyes off of it.
Bartow chuckled when I mentioned how nice
it was to see an artist dabble in various medi
ums. "Oh, I don't dabble brother," he said. "I live
it."
The exhibition catalogue bears the same name
Rick Bartow: My Eye and supplied a good deal
of biographical information, some of which must
have been difficult to provide given its outright
frankness. Of Yurok heritage, Rick was born
December 1946 in Newport, the son of Mabel
and Richard Bartow. He lives in Newport to this
day, living in an ancestral home that spans five
generations. Richard died while Bartow was just
a boy, and he was later sent to Seattle to live
with his aunt Amy, who studied art at the Uni
versity of Washington. Amy encouraged him to
pursue art, and with the support of his mother,
stepfather and aunt, Rick had achieved some
prominence by the time he graduated from high
school.
The Chairperson of Western Oregon State
College's art department saw Bartow's work at
the Lincoln County Fair, awarding him first prize
and giving a valuable contact. Not surprisingly,
Bartow selected Western as his college of choice.
Married and graduated in 1969, Bartow was
drafted for Vietnam, ending up a teletype op
erator while a sergeant in 72 Bravo Company.
An accomplished musician, Bartow also joined
a band that played officers' clubs and more
importantly, hospitals. Two years in Viet
nam and first-hand experience with death
and dying didn't exactly inspire him to new
heights. And following his return in 1971,
Bartow entered into a decade of darkness,
highlighted by post-traumatic stress dis
order, alcoholism, and divorce.
Art then became a form of therapy to
Bartow in the late 1970's and the
1980's, and who knows; maybe that's
why he began to churn out some of
his most prolific work. He made loads
of friends in the artistic community,
and routinely began to draw upon
Native roots and animistic themes.
By the mid 1990's Bartow had
gone international, not only traveling
around the world to places like Japan and Ger
many, but also incorporating cross-cultural
themes into his work. Like always, he preferred
to stick with the indigenous vein, enjoying in
fluences from Japan and the Maori of New
Zealand. Asian elements would continue to find
their way into his work, even now, as evidenced
by Gathering and Shoki the Demon Queller.
The catalogue that was produced through the
Tribe's endowment runs a list of Bartow's
achievements awards, fellowships, and exhib
its around the world. The lists run a few pages
long, demonstrating just how accomplished the
man has become at this point in his career.
Traveling naturally is indigenous to the artis
tic profession, but Bartow said he will stay put
for a while, sharing times between his five "third
world" studios but consistently not stray
ing too far from Newport.
This particular exhibit features 56 works,
which I understand is but a sliver of a frac
tion of a percent of what the artist has done
in his career. But all the more, its worth
checking out, especially knowing that the
exhibit was funded almost entirely by a
grant from the Spirit Mountain Community
Fund. My Eye will move throughout the
country for two more years following its run
at Hallie Ford.
Rebecca Dobkins, who serves as curator
of the exhibit, was thrilled.
"I'm really excited about this exhibit," she
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said before the
opening. "And we are
so grateful to the Community Fund, because we
would not have been able to do it without them."
She also oversaw the exhibit's opening, which
spanned two days, and on January 19 boasted
a daylong symposium bringing in other notable
Native artists like Hyacinth David (Nuu-cha-nulth),
Joe Fedderson (Colville), Harry Fonseca
(Maidu), Lillian Pitt (Warm Springs), Gail
Tremblay (Onondoga and Micmac), and Eliza
beth Woody (Warm Springs). The symposium
itself was facilitated by Dr. Gerald McMaster
(Cree), Deputy Director for Cultural Resources
at the National Museum of the American Indian
in Washington, DC. B
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A No Name This 1993 woodcarving by
Rick Bartow is untitled. Bartow lives on the Or
egon Coast in Newport. His grandfather was a
member of the Mad River Band of the Yurok Tribe.
Bartow honors his ancestry by incorporating
Native themes into his artwork.
4 Strange, But True... This mixed me
dia woodcarving entitled Busy Walker was com
pleted in 1995. Because of an endowment by
the Tribe's Spirit Mountain Community Fund,
Bartow's art will be on display in Salem at the
Hallie Ford Museum until March 16.