Blue Jay Spirit Carving, 2001
by John Hoover (1919-2011), Aleut
red cedar, pigment
41” high x 17” wide x 11.5“ deep
Aleut sculptor John Hoover was born in Cordova, Alaska in 1919. His carvings of long curvilinear mythological forms find their roots in the traditions of the Aleut culture. Hoover’s work expresses the interrelationship between humans, animals and nature. His weave of serious intensity and lyrical humor create distinct forms that demand the attention of the viewer. Carving in the texture of each piece and rubbing in the pigments allow the viewer to see how the hand of the artist relates to the material.
As a young man, Hoover committed a great deal of his time to the pursuit of painting. It wasn’t until sometime later, while building a 58-foot fishing boat, that Hoover’s interest in sculpture came to life. Not having enough power tools, he shaped the timbers by hand, inspiring him to carve beautiful shapes. By 1960, Hoover put all creative efforts into sculpting in the native cedar wood. Gentle, peaceful forms began to saturate all his carvings.
“Shamans were the first psychologists who influenced through art the workings of Good and Evil Spirits. The idea of Spirit Helpers, the close relationship between man, animal, nature is real and meaningful to me, and like the Shaman’s of old, I try to make Healing images for the Soul.”
-John Hoover
Hoover’s graceful cedar sculptures are earthy and ethereal. They look delicate, almost fragile, but their content is robustly sensual. In his work he finds a place of calm. A place of clarity. A place where he connects to the past in order to live in the present.
John Hoover passed away at his home in Grapeview, Washington on September 3, 2011.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS & COLLECTIONS
Night of the First Americans, Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C.
Edinburgh Arts Festival, Edinburgh, Scotland
International Olympics, Mexico City, Mexico
Shared Visions, World Traveling Native American Artists Show, Heard Museum
Twentieth Century American Sculpture at The White House: Honoring Native America, Washington, D.C.
Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C.
Alaska State Museum, Juneau, Alaska
Anchorage Museum of History and Art, Anchorage, Alaska
Heard Museum, Phoenix, Arizona
Institute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, Los Angeles, California
Museo de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Seattle Art Museum, Washington
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Ames, Kenneth and Herbert Mascher. People of the Northwest Coast Their Archaeology and Prehistory. London: Thames & Hudson, 1999.
Archuleta, Margaret. Twentieth Century American Sculpture at The White House: Honoring Native America. Phoenix, Arizona: The Heard Museum of Anthropology and Primitive Art, 1997.
Black, Lydia. Aleut Art. Anchorage: Aang Angain Press, Aleutian/ Pribilof Islands Association, 1982.
Decker, Julie. John Hoover: Art and Life. Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 2002.
Fitzhugh, William and Aaron Crowell. Crossroads of Continents: Cultures of Siberia and Alaska. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1988.
Highwater, Jamake. The Sweetgrass Lives On. New York: Lippincott & Crowell, 1980.
Hoffman, Gerhard and Christian Feest, Indianische Kunst im 20. Jahrhundert. Munich: Prestel Verlag, 1985.
Ray, Dorothy Jeon. Aleut and Eskimo Art. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1980.
Shearar, Cheryl. Understanding Northwest Coast Art: A Guide to Crests, Beings and Symbols. Seattle: U. of Washington Press, 2000.
