Birch Bark Basket #2001-2

Object Details

Artist

Dona Look, born Port Washington, WI 1948

Luce Center Label

Dona Look travels throughout the northern woodlands of Wisconsin to collect bark from white birch trees that are slated to be harvested. She then sews the pieces of bark together with silk thread, creating a contrast between the methodical silk stitches and the natural grain of the white birch. Look used two different layers of bark in Birch Bark Basket #2001-2: the light part at the top was harvested from the exterior of a tree, and the darker bark of the body came from an interior layer of bark. The entire piece resembles a form that one could find in nature, like a pumpkin or gourd.

Luce Object Quote

". . . my ideas are influenced by environment and come from memory and imagination . . . An idea may begin on the beach or in my garden, seeing the profile and volume of a pod or pumpkin. Using bark from the forest as fabric, the image is then altered to suit the materials." The artist, quoted in Du Bois, Baskets Now: USA, 2002

Credit Line

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Renwick Acquisitions Fund

2001

Object number

2002.67

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

Decorative Arts

Crafts

Medium

sewn and wrapped white birch bark and waxed silk thread

Dimensions

11 1/2 x 13 1/2 x 13 1/2 in. (29.2 x 34.3 x 34.3 cm)

See more items in

Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection

Department

Renwick Gallery

On View

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 4th Floor, 54B

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 4th Floor

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Record ID

saam_2002.67

Metadata Usage (text)

Not determined

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk77bf31663-e67f-4bdb-bf64-281eeb9678cc