False Faced God
© Joshua Adams
Intended for display rather than ceremony, this intricately carved mask by Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians artist Adams is an imaginative rendering of the divine creator in Cherokee lore. Adams depicts the figure with a third eye and seven faces—a sacred number for the Cherokee—to signify enlightenment and awakening. By carving faces within faces, the artist expresses the interconnectedness of all living things, a central belief in Cherokee culture. He incorporates elements of traditional maskmaking, such as the use of cedar, considered a holy wood, while also expressing his unique voice by creating fresh imagery and innovative forms.
Exhibition Title: Asheville Art Museum: An Introduction to the Collection
Label Date: 2021
Type: Catalogue Entry
Written by: Carolyn Grosch
Cherokee carvings of wood or stone bend and mold tradition into imaginative representations of a nonlineal world. Joshua Adams’s (born 1982) masks contort wood into both terrifying and hilarious ceremonial modern artifacts. Carving permits the Cherokee artist to meld tradition, imagination, and philosophy in order to entertain, teach, and honor. Making use of the earth’s elemental properties, carvers interpret the story from their source material and translate it for their audience with grace and originality.
Exhibition Title: Asheville Art Museum: An Introduction to the Collection
Label Date: 2021
Type: Catalogue Entry
Written by: Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle
Remarks:21:17
- Intersections in American Art , 9/11/2019 - 00/00/00
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