Terry Starr
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Terry Starr is a Tsimshian Nation artist from the
Gispaxlo'ots The Gispaxlo'ots are one of the 14 tribes of the Tsimshian nation in British Columbia, Canada, and one of the nine of those tribes making up the "Nine Tribes" of the lower Skeena River resident at Lax Kw'alaams (a.k.a. Port Simpson), B.C. The name ...
tribe of
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, Canada.


Early years

Starr's mother was from
Kitsumkalum Kitsumkalum is an original tribe/ galts'ap (community) of the Tsimshian Nation. Kitsumkalum is one of the 14 tribes of the Tsimshian nation in British Columbia, Canada. Kitsumkalum and is also the name of one of their Indian Reserve just west of th ...
of the Eagle Clan, and his father was from
Lax Kw'alaams Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...
, or the town of Port Simpson of the Killerwhale clan. His predominant family crest is the Eagle on his mother's side, while his sub crest is the Killerwhale on his father's. Alu'-Alums or 'Crying for or longing after something or someone' Starr was given this childhood name when he was six years old by the Chief of the Tribe when his grandfather died. Thla-enak or 'It's been a long time' - his adult name was given to him by the acting Chief when Starr returned to the village after a long absence.


Career

Subsequent to completing a college business course in 1982, Starr purchased two adzes and three knives, his first carving tools. Tim Paul of the Nuu-chah-nulth Nation and Richard Hunt of the Kwakwaka’wakw people were among the first to influence Starr on the basic techniques of carving wood. Their ancestral styles greatly influence the artwork that he creates today. In 1984, he sat and learned carving techniques from Richard Hunt, master Kwagiulth artist at Thunderbird Park and the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria, British Columbia. Starr is best known for his masks reflecting the traditional pigments and form lines of his ancestry. He usually paints only a portion of his masks to deliberately reveal the fluid grain of the wood. His pieces can be found in many local and international collections. For example, the Paul and Joan Gluck Collection of Native Arts contains more than 200 art pieces collected for more than 20 years and is considered one of the largest in the world. Starr was featured in an exhibit at one of the largest historical museums in the United States, the Historical Museum of Southern Florida.Historical Museum of Southern Florida website
On two separate occasions Starr has been contracted to construct a full-scale replicas of a traditional
Tsimshian The Tsimshian (; tsi, Ts’msyan or Tsm'syen) are an Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Their communities are mostly in coastal British Columbia in Terrace, British Columbia, Terr ...
bighouse. For both of these projects, he was responsible for hiring and training a crew of carvers. One was for the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec, and the other was onsite at the Port Simpson village where he grew up.


Selected exhibitions

*1987 Hands of Creation, Inuit Gallery, Vancouver, BC *1989 Masks: An Exhibition of Northwest Coast Masks, Inuit Gallery, Vancouver, BC *1990 Painted Drums of the Northwest Coast, Inuit Gallery, Vancouver, BC *1993 Changing Faces,
Stonington Gallery Stonington may refer to: Places ;Antarctica *Stonington Island, Marguerite Bay ;United States *Stonington, Connecticut (town) **Stonington (borough), Connecticut (incorporated borough) *Stonington, Illinois *Stonington, Indiana *Stonington, Maine ...
, Seattle, WA *1994 Life of the Copper: A Commonwealth of Tribal Nations, Alcheringa Gallery, Victoria, BC


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Starr, Terry 1951 births Living people 20th-century First Nations people Artists from British Columbia First Nations painters People from the North Coast Regional District Tsimshian woodcarvers Camosun College alumni