Rattlesnake Mask
© Virgil Crowe
Crowe, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, studied woodcarving under famed Cherokee artist Amanda Crowe and created small animals such as bears under her tutelage. He now primarily crafts traditional ceremonial masks and is renowned for his inclusion of animals. Speaking on this focus within his work, Crowe stated in the catalogue for the 2009 exhibition Cherokee Carvers: Tradition Renewed: “I am trying to use local animals as models when I carve my masks rather than more generalized images of bears, snakes…,” linking them to a sense of place tied to the Eastern Bands’ ancestral lands. In this mask the rattlesnake coiled atop stares out with the same wizened expression as the face below it.
Exhibition Title: Asheville Art Museum: An Intoduction to the Collection
Label Date: 2021
Type: Catalogue Entry
Written by: Hilary Schroeder
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