Artists of the Yukon

While on my trip to the Yukon, I visited many galleries to see what kind of art is created there. The Yukon has a very thriving artist community which also includes many first nations artists whose art reflects their heritage and culture. It is no surprise that art is thriving in the Yukon due to the area's unique beauty. In winter the sun always hangs low in the sky, if you see it at all. This contributes to the beautiful and coloured light that illuminates everything. In the summer the sun doesn't set and so there is that much more daylight to produce art. The scenery and landscape is so inspiring with mountains that spread across every view and the arrow straight tamarack trees so dark green in winter against the snow. In the fall, I understand there is so much colour from the yellows of the aspens and the rust red of the small bushes and grasses in the valleys along the blue rivers among the blue and purple mountains. I would love to see the landscape at that time of year.

There are a few artists that stood out for me and that I admire.

The first is a man by the name of Ted Harrison who was born in Britain and came to the Yukon as a teacher. He had travelled and taught in several different places in the world. When he came to the Yukon he taught in the village of Carcross just outside Whitehorse. What he found was a land of abundance and beauty, the Source for the Aboriginal people who'd inhabited it for many years. Ted Harrison paints with oil on canvas and his subjects are very simple in style, painted with flat colours but very colourful. He became a very popular artist in Canada due to his style, however, the hierarchy of art in Canada did not consider him an artist at all. They considered him an illustrator. His work depicts the landscape of the Yukon as well as the first nations culture and life. He has published many children's books that serve as a means to teach children about the Yukon. He is still living but now at 86 years of age is residing in British Columbia.



Ted Harrison

Another artist that caught my eye was Emma Barr. Emma lives and works in Whitehorse and her art is similar to Ted Harrison's in that it is very colourful and simplistic. Her art is brightly coloured, soft and geometric; meant to please the eye and the emotions. I've been told that Emma also works as a cancan dancer in one of the local establishments.

An artist that also stood out was Jim Robb. He has called the Yukon his home for over 45 years. He specializes in documenting the "Colourful Five Per Cent", a phrase he coined to describe the colourful and unusual characters and historical buildings of the north. He does this using his camera, ink and watercolour. Robb has a passion for collecting and promoting the Yukon's past and present.

A final artist that I admire is Nancy Dawson who is an accomplished jewellery designer/producer and wood carver. She was born in Alert Bay on Vancouver Island. Her mother was a first nations woman from the Mamaleleqala-qwe-qwa-sot-enox nation and her father was of German descent. She learned her wood carving from her father who was a talented wood and metal worker. Dawson's mother gave her a sound understanding of her native culture. Nancy has been carving poles and masks since 1980 and has now expanded her portfolio to include designing and producing gold and silver jewellry. I was able to purchase one of her bracelets which is carved with designs signifying the Wolf symbolic of "family".