Traditional Skin Preparation Methods

Abstract

I am an Alaskan Native artist who is trying to learn more about my culture and to pass the information on to others before it is lost. Alaska Native cultures have been working with animal skins for thousands of years. Very few people today possess the knowledge to work these materials. I am interested in the use of the material for home dwellings and clothing. I am researching different ways that animal skins are turned into leather, specifically moose and salmon skins. I conducted interviews with local elders. I investigated the contrasting chemical material process that modern industry uses to produce tanned skins. The research has culminated in an installation made out of moose hide and wood in the Regents Great Hall April 23-27, 2012. The space will provide the viewer with a life sized environment simulating a traditional skin dwelling. I took a traditional preparation method used for salmon skins and transformed them into pieces of contemporary native art.