These exquisitly carved cedar doors give you entry into the world of the northwest native american culture and history. This gem, the UBC museum of anthropology is hidden away on a bluff overlooking Vancouver British Columbia on the UBC campus. Beth and I made one of our many visits to this place of historical reflection between Husky Girls water polo matches at the UBC Aquatic Center. You can find more information at the museum web site:http://www.moa.ubc.ca/ .Highlights of the building include the massive doors at the main entrance, carved in 1976 by four master Gitxsan artists, Walter Harris, Earl Muldoe, Art Sterritt, and Vernon Stephens.
The Museum of Anthropology building was designed by renowned Canadian architect Arthur Erickson, who based his award-winning design on traditional northern Northwest Coast post and beam structures.This bluff overlooking the middle arm of the Frazier River, a major entry point into Vancouver. In order to protect the water way the site housed gun implacements during WWII. In his design Erickson incorported these structures into the design of the building in a seamless way. This further lends itself to create a historical sense of place and brings ancient history into the modern day.
The Museum grounds, designed by landscape architect Cornelia Oberlander, feature indigenous plants and grasses amongst two outdoor Haida Houses and ten full-scale totem poles (one inside the larger of the two Haida Houses), two carved house-posts, and two contemporary Welcome Figures, one by Nuu-chah-nulth artist Joe David, and the other by Musqueam artist Susan Point.
