Marie Watt
Encyclopedia
Marie Watt is a contemporary artist living and working in Portland, Oregon
. Part Seneca, Watt has created work centered on contemporary Native American
themes.
. She holds a BA degree in art from Willamette University
and a Master's Degree from Yale University
. She has also studied at the Institute of American Indian Arts
.
and sculpture
. For her sculpture, she uses a variety of materials, including everyday objects, as well as textile
s, alabaster
, slate
, and corn
husks. In 2002, her stone sculpture Pedestrian was installed along the east bank of the Willamette River
in Portland. Her work has appeared in several exhibitions in the Pacific Northwest
.
and the George Gustav Heye Center
of the National Museum of the American Indian
. The exhibit includes Blanket Stories, a sculpture made of two towers of wool
blankets, with each stack sewn together with a central thread. The blankets are ones Watt collected over several years, including many Hudson's Bay point blanket
s that were given to Native Americans in trade by the Hudson's Bay Company
during the 19th century.
She is currently a professor at Portland Community College
and the gallery coordinator of its Northview Gallery.
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. Part Seneca, Watt has created work centered on contemporary Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
themes.
Background
Marie Watt was born in 1967 in Seattle, WashingtonSeattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
. She holds a BA degree in art from Willamette University
Willamette University
Willamette University is an American private institution of higher learning located in Salem, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest university in the Western United States. Willamette is a member of the Annapolis Group of colleges, and is made up of an undergraduate College of Liberal Arts and...
and a Master's Degree from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. She has also studied at the Institute of American Indian Arts
Institute of American Indian Arts
The Institute of American Indian Arts is a college focused on Native American art. It is situated in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is congressionally chartered, and was created by an executive order of former American President John F. Kennedy in 1962...
.
Artwork
Watt's art is primarily lithographyLithography
Lithography is a method for printing using a stone or a metal plate with a completely smooth surface...
and sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
. For her sculpture, she uses a variety of materials, including everyday objects, as well as textile
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
s, alabaster
Alabaster
Alabaster is a name applied to varieties of two distinct minerals, when used as a material: gypsum and calcite . The former is the alabaster of the present day; generally, the latter is the alabaster of the ancients...
, slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
, and corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
husks. In 2002, her stone sculpture Pedestrian was installed along the east bank of the Willamette River
Willamette River
The Willamette River is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States...
in Portland. Her work has appeared in several exhibitions in the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
.
Career
In September 2004, as part of the Continuum 12 artists series, an exhibit of her work opened in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and the George Gustav Heye Center
The George Gustav Heye Center
The George Gustav Heye Center is a branch of the National Museum of the American Indian in New York City, USA. The museum is part of the Smithsonian Institution...
of the National Museum of the American Indian
National Museum of the American Indian
The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum operated under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution that is dedicated to the life, languages, literature, history, and arts of the native Americans of the Western Hemisphere...
. The exhibit includes Blanket Stories, a sculpture made of two towers of wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
blankets, with each stack sewn together with a central thread. The blankets are ones Watt collected over several years, including many Hudson's Bay point blanket
Hudson's Bay point blanket
A Hudson's Bay point blanket is a type of wool blanket traded by the Hudson's Bay Company in western British North America and the United States during the 18th century and 19th century. The blankets were typically traded to First Nations and Native Americans in exchange for beaver pelts...
s that were given to Native Americans in trade by the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
during the 19th century.
She is currently a professor at Portland Community College
Portland Community College
Portland Community College is Oregon's largest community college, located in Portland, United States. It serves over one million residents in the five county area of Multnomah, Washington, Yamhill, Clackamas, and Columbia...
and the gallery coordinator of its Northview Gallery.