Kakaso'las (Ellen Neel): Ellen Neel, the First Woman Carver

1991Purchased for the Camosun College Art Collection by the Camosun College Cultural Enhancement Committee directly from artist.This piece was featured in the "David Neel: Living Traditions" exhibition at the Kamloops Art Gallery, Kamloops, British Columbia. The exhibition was held November 14, 1998 through to January 24, 1999, and curated by Andrew Hunter. "Kakaso'las (Ellen Neel)" has also been featured in the University of Victoria Legacy Galleries exhibition, "Ellen Neel: The First Woman Totem Pole Carver," January 14 to April 1, 2017, and curated by Carolyn Butler Palmer with advising curators David A. Neel and Lou-ann Neel. A photograph of the Kakaso'las (Ellen Neel) mask is featured on the cover of David Neel's "The Way Home" (Vancouver: On Point Press, a UBC Press imprint, 2019).David Neel, born in 1960, is a professional photographer as well as a hereditary Kwakwaka'wakw artist. He works in a number of mediums including wood sculpture, photography, printmaking, and painting. He specializes in traditional mask about contemporary history, and photography of people for commercial, editorial, documentary, and fine art use. He is also a writer and a lecturer. Neel draws on his Kwagiutl heritage for his artistic direction. He inherits his name, Tlat’lala’wis’, and a rich artistic legacy from his father, David (Dave) Neel Senior. Neel Sr. was taught to carve by his mother, Kakaso’las/Ellen Neel, who was taught by her maternal grandfather, Yakuglas/Charlie James and her uncle, Nakapankam/Mungo Martin. Neel uses the work of his ancestors as the starting point for his own interpretation of carving and design. Born in Vancouver, BC, Neel studied photography in both Calgary and Kansas, and later moved to Dallas, Texas, where he had the opportunity to work with some of the country’s top photographers. Influenced by the “concerned photographer” such as W. Eugene Smith and Henri Cartier-Bresson, Neel uses his photography, sculpture, serigraphs, and writing to comment on today’s issues. Neel returned to Vancouver in 1986, apprenticing as a carver with artists Beau Dick (Kwakwaka'wakw), Wayne Alfred (Kwakwaka'wakw), and Lyle Wilson (Haisla). Neel’s work has been featured at events, museums and galleries internationally, including the Venice Biennale, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography, and National Library of Canada. ARTIST INFO: http://www.davidneel.com/biography.php (Accessed January 3, 2017)Robbyn Lannin