Coast Spirit
Coast Spirit
---Pieces of art are such amazing creations for the simple fact that they are truly a manifestation and pure embodiment of so many different aspects of one’s life. An art piece is like a web, it begins with the telling of a story, and as time goes on, that story grows, evolves, and cumulates. It is for this reason that public art has become such an integral part of many communities, including that of the University of Victoria. All across the campus there lives a wide array of outdoor public art pieces. Not only does an art piece visually enhance the space in which it resides, but it also acts as a representation and embodiment of the thoughts and values of a previous people, place, and time. These pieces are a significant feature of the landscape in which we live, and we believe it is important for people to acquaint themselves with this art in order to better understand their own cultural landscape. We feel that by acquiring knowledge of the art pieces across campus, people will better engage with the past, present, and future of the University of Victoria, and thus increase their own sense of place on campus.---
Coast Spirit
Artist: Elza Mayhew
Date: 1967
Photo by Claire Daniels
Elza Mayhew was a female artist in a time when the art world was dominated by men (5). In her lifetime, she managed to break down boundaries and redefine norms, becoming an internationally renown Canadian artist. Mayhew was an innovative and groundbreaking artist of contemporary sculpture, and the University of Victoria has played an important role in honouring this local woman, in many ways, for her achievements. The city of Victoria is Elza Mayhew’s hometown; she was born and raised here, and although she did a great deal of world traveling, the West Coast has always been prevalent in her works.
Mayhew was born in 1916. She attended Oak Bay High School, went to Victoria College, and later received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of British Columbia (5). She then studied drawing and sculpture, from 1955-1958, with Jan Zach, a sculptor and professor at the University of Oregon (4). In 1963, she completed a Masters of Fine Arts in sculpture at the University of Oregon (3).
Photo from the UVic Historical Photograph Collection online
Title: "Coast Spirit Sculpture in McPherson Library Quadrangle"
Coast Spirit, like many of Mayhew’s sculptures, speaks of the human creature and their needs. This piece, which takes the shape of a totem pole, is a “totemistic presentation of human history”, and a statement concerning “man’s need to worship”. (6). It stands in the University of Victoria’s quadrangle along with Coast Salish totem poles. Although Coast Spirit is a bronze cast, and thus differs in material and appearance from the wooden totem poles, it is essentially an exploration of the same themes of the Salish poles- that of human origin and history. This piece was a gift to the University of Victoria on November 15th, 1968, from Walter Koerner, the chair of the UBC board of governors, and interestingly, also an extensive collector of Northwest Coast Native art (1). The location chosen for Coast Spirit could not be greater, as it, and the sculpture itself, speak greatly of the surrounding cultural landscape.
Although Mayhew is an internationally recognized artist, it is in Victoria where she discovered and defined her artistic self. Her sculpture’s have been described as embodying “the great monumental art forms of the world... in a unique and very personal artistic vision” (5). She has had many public commissions, including the University of Victoria, the Bank of Canada, and the International Trade Fair in Tokyo (3). A great deal of her work resides in permanent collections, including the University of Victoria, the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, and the Simon Fraser University. She was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in 1989 from the University of Victoria as a recognition for her leadership in the art world (3). Mayhew passed away on January 11, 2004.
Links:
UVic Torch, Spring 2004, pg.36
Maltwood Art Museum & Gallery Online Inventory
Content contributed by Ashlene Nairn and Claire Daniels