Tlingit

Norman G. Jackson is of the Tongass Tlingit of southeast Alaska and was born in Ketchikan, Alaska. His lineage is from his mother who is of the Tongass Tlingit Kaats Hit Bear House of southeast Alaska. His father is Kaagwaantaan Tlingit of Klukwan, Alaska.
Norman studied at the Kitanmax School of Northwest Coast Indian Art in Hazelton, B.C. and received advance training in design and carving. He also received training in metal engraving from the Totem Heritage Center in Ketchikan.

He is a recognized Master Artist in metal engraving by the Alaska State Council on the Arts Master Apprentice Grant and has received numerous honors for his excellence in wood carving. He apprenticed with Master Artists, Dempsey Bob and Phil Janze, and has been invited numerous symposiums on Northwest Coast Native carving. Norman's work is held in major collections, and his work has appeared in exhibits in the US and abroad.

Culture cannot be contained as it unfolds. My art enters this stream at many different points, looking backwards, looking forwards, generating its own sound and motion. I am inspired by generations of Tlingit creativity and contribute to this wealthy conversation through active curiosity. There is no room in this exploration for the tired prescriptions of the "Indian Art World" and its institutions. Through creating I assert my freedom.

Concepts drive my medium. I draw upon a wide range of indigenous technologies and global materials when exploring an idea. Adaptation and resistance, lies and exaggeration, dreams, memories and poetic views of daily life--these themes recur in my work, taking form through sound, texture, and image. Inert objects spring back to life; kitsch is reclaimed as cultural renewal; dancers merge ritual and rap. I am most comfortable not knowing what form my next idea will take, a boundless creative path of concept-based motion.

Robert James "Jim" Schoppert (May 28, 1947-September 2, 1992), was a Tlingit Alaska Native born in Juneau, Alaska. His father was of German descent and his mother Tlingit. During his life, Schoppert became one of the most prodigious and influential Alaska Native artists of the twentieth century. His work includes carving, painting, poetry and essays. He has been described as an innovator, that made traditional and contemporary Alaska Native works often pushing the boundaries of what was considered "traditional" Northwest Coast art. Throughout his career he was a spokesman for Alaska Native artists and artists in general. Having taught at the University of Alaska Fairbanks as a guest professor and giving talks and lectures at elementary schools throughout the states of Alaska and Washington, his positive influence was spread through his work and words over the course of his career.