Description

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A dive into the political, cultural, and aesthetic significance of Indigenous miniatures.
 
A hallmark of Indigenous art in the Pacific Northwest, miniature figurines depicting canoes, houses, and people have often puzzled scholars of material culture. Drawing on firsthand research and conversations with contemporary artists, So Much More Than Art clarifies the aesthetic and political meanings of this misunderstood practice. Jack Davy reveals how miniatures function as objects of political satire, cultural resilience, and even objects of political and cultural negotiation. This nuanced study highlights the significance of miniaturization to the history of Indigenous peoples in the Pacific Northwest.
 

About the Author

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Jack Davy is head curator at the Morley Gallery, London. He is a coeditor of Worlds in Miniature: Contemplating Miniaturisation in Global Material Culture.
 

Praise For…

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“So Much More Than Art goes beyond other studies by demonstrating how Northwest Coast Indigenous artists use and have used miniaturization not only as an artistic practice but in provoking interventions in social relations and as a strategy of communication and resistance in the face of colonialism.”
— Karen Duffek, Museum of Anthropology at University of British Columbia

"Drawing heavily on the knowledge and opinions of Indigenous experts from communities all along the coast, Jack Davy invites us to think more critically about Northwest Coast miniatures, and leaves us with a framework with which to do so."
— Kaitlin McCormick, Canadian Museum of History