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Title
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Mark Tobey's Eskimo Mask
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Creator
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Helmi Juvonen
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Artist ID
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97
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Date of Work
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1954
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Description
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Black ink linocut print of abstract lines and shapes throughout with face in center/upper left.
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Category of Media
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Print
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Media
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linocut on paper
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Accession Number
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1983.003
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Location
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storage, Building: Floor: Room: Bin:
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Date Acquired
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1983
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Acquisition Method
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donation, unrestricted
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Dimensions of Work
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14.25"x11"
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Frame Dimensions
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20.25"x16.25"
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Frame Type
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Steel
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Donor or Seller
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Wehr
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Donor ID
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2
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Condition Statement
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5/3/2022: Seems either paper has shifted or matting not cut correctly - upper edge of piece is not under the matting. Does not affect viewing of piece.
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Artist Bio
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Helmi Dagmar Juvonen, known in her day simply as Helmi, was a prolific artist whose creativity embraced many media - paintings, drawings, prints, ceramics, and ceramics. She was particularly drawn to the ceremonies and arts of Northwest native culture - masks, dances, costumes, and totemic animals. The artist developed a rapport with particular tribes, including the Lummi, Swinomish, Muckleshoot, Makah, and Yakama, who invited her to participate in their rituals. During the most sacred ceremonies, she relinquished her sketchbook and relied on memory for documentation. Helmi also devoted years to studying and drawing Northwest Coast Indian and South Pacific objects from the Washington State Museum, which became the Burke Museum, University of Washington. In later life, the artist was inspired by the book Primitive Art (1927) by anthropologist Franz Boas.
Source: https://www.whatcommuseum.org/virtual_exhibit/universal_exhibit/vex22/index.htm
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Abstract
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Juvonen received a scholarship to the Cornish School of the Arts in 1929, which is where she may have met artist Mark Tobey. A year later, Juvonen was diagnosed as a manic depressive. In "Helmi Dagmar Juvonen: Her Life and Work: A Chronicle," Ulrich Fritzsche documents her fixation on Tobey between 1952 and 1956. According to Deloris Tarzan Ament, "At one point she made a life-size doll of him, dressed it in pajamas, and kept it on her bed. As her obsession with Tobey grew, the once-crisp lines of her art became tangled in an imitation of Tobey's 'white writing' style. Although it may have reflected her state of mind, it did not compromise the quality of her art."
Sources: https://missoulaartmuseum.pastperfectonline.com/webobject/3950057D-3EAD-4511-9EBD-402525337182
https://www.historylink.org/File/3831
