One for the arty types on my flist...

[ash48]

Can someone tell me if this is an art "style". If this mural is perhaps homaging an artist or style of art?

There's just something about the way these totem poles are painted, the wing in the top right corner, the foliage snaking its way up the wall, the colour of the background etc. that makes me feel this isn't some random choice. I feel like I love it because it reminds me of something.





Sorry it's not a better capture. We don't get a better shot of that wall - though it features in the background in many of the shots (just not very clearly).


And if you think I've become obsessed......then... darn tootin'! I figure if I'm going to do something then I may as well be thorough about it. (I promise I'll shut up when I'm done... )

Comments

[feather-touch.livejournal.com]

Ugly comes to mind.

Just sayin'

Or maybe the illusion of a dream or open spaces?

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Hee.

I like the open space idea. Maybe it's just to give the room a feeling of openness. *nods* I like I'll go with that. :)

[counteragent.livejournal.com]

LOL. I have no idea. but that cap is funny.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

No idea eh? I'm thinking it mustn't be the set designers copying something then. (boo..)

Aww, Sammy's face. I think this is when Dean's being sick after he ate his wish...

[el1ie.livejournal.com]

I have no idea, but it kind of looks like an eagle in the desert - so a pun on Desert Eagle?

[ash48.livejournal.com]

So um...(I had to look Desert Eagle up *g*)... as in the weapon? Hee... that would be cool. I wish there was a shot showing the whole wall so we could see more of that bird. we never see the wall clearly so I assume it can't be that significant. Just my wishful thinking...(which is rather ironic considering the name of the ep...)
xx

[amnisias.livejournal.com]

I'm drawing a blank. It doesn't really remind me of anything other beyond Native American Art in general. I've checked out Rousseau and Gauguin, they were the only artists I could think of that painted similar subject matters, even though in a different part of the world.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Thank you. The room definitely has Native American theme going on. I did wonder if there was an artist who painted this subject matter and they might be homaging it. But, it seems not.

Thanks for checking hun.
xx

[devon99.livejournal.com]

It reminds me of the type of 'themed' rooms that Disney do.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Yeah... the room definitely is theme - Native American I'm thinking. I'm assuming the mural is there just to enhance that ... (I was hoping it might have been by someone well known - but it seems not).

<33

[no-ones-sleep.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry to not be able to help, but I surely find your obsession awesome.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Hee! I'm glad someone does! :DD

[galwithglasses.livejournal.com]

I don't know about art style but I think Sam's expression is a pretty good comment on its artistic merit.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Hee... yeah, it's a good match. :DD

[riotgrrlhotel.livejournal.com]

Naieve, or folksy?

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Hmmm... yeah. I think it could well be a cross between those. I think the set designers were just having a bit of (strange) fun when painting those walls. Who knows what they were thinking...;)


Thanks
xx

[tiggeratl1.livejournal.com]

Just saw this and my first thoughts were that it was possibly an homage to the Pacific Northwestern Native American's around Concrete, Washington. I did a quick view through of that epi. and noticed that Dean passes another hotel right before his 'wish decides to show up again' :P and that hotel is named 'The Chieftain Hotel' and the hotel the boy's are staying in is 'The Tall Totem Lodge' so there's a Native American theme going on me thinks. While we don't get a better view of the mural on the wall, I'm thinking that the thunderbird totem in the background could be a clue. Some tribes view the Thunderbird as an omen of war. When quaking peals of thunder rattle the heavens, it's a sign the spirits are warring in the skies. So it could be a subtle reminder of the battle between Heaven and Hell that was going on in season 4... or not. :) /geekfest.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

This is brilliant. Thank you!

I thought that said "Tall Totem Lounge"? So it says lodge? That changes things a bit. I have the hotel name as The Chieftain Hotel.

There's definitely a Native American theme going on. I've looked up all sorts of theme paintings and styles. I did come across something close from a Canadian artist. But she's not credited with painting it so I figure it's not hers (I'm sure they would have to credit her...?)

I love your explanation of the totem. That's awesome!! I might even include that in my post if that's ok with you. :))

<33

[tiggeratl1.livejournal.com]

I just got home so I double checked WT real quick and...

Here's Dean passing 'The Hotel Chieftain'




Sam entering their room at the Tall Totem Lodge



and the Tall Totem Lodge placecard on top of the fridge in the boys room



(I'm sure they would have to credit her...?)
I'm surprised the artist (whomever they were) wasn't clearly named. If the article was about the Canadian artist maybe the writer assumed that the art being on the article was enough to designate that the artist had made it? IDK *shrug*

I love your explanation of the totem. That's awesome!! I might even include that in my post if that's ok with you. :))
:D Thank you! That's just my geek showing ;P and of course you can use it if you'd like hun. I found it here if you'd like to check it out. /geekfest pt.II :)

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Ah yes.. I have those screen caps. (They will be featured in the up coming picspam *g*). I have to say I just assumed it said lounge (as in the bar area) and not lodge. It's weird that they stay in a hotel called The Chieftain and then in an area in the hotel called a lodge. I will make the correction on the picspam. Thanks for the catch. :DDD

I'm only making an assumption about the artist. I can't for the life of my find the painting now but when I do I'll show you and you can see what you think. :)

Hee... /fellowgeek. :)

[tiggeratl1.livejournal.com]

I think Hotel Chieftain is just another hotel in Concrete and Dean is walking past it. If you watch Sam entering their room in the epi. you can see that the sign on the wall behind him is the name of the hotel (Tall Totem Lodge) with an arrow pointing the way to the lobby of the hotel and a drawing of the wing of a thunderbird totem in view over Sam's right shoulder. The placecard on the fridge with the hotel's name maybe corroborates that. I'm not 100% on that though, just a thought.



Oh and I forgot to geek about this in my other post but, the blogger (Avia Venefica) also had another intriguing Native American view of the Thunderbird that could have been the inspiration for it's use on SPN. The Eagle is often a Native American symbol that represents the Thunderbird. Stories are told that the Thunderbird (in the form of the Eagle) wages constant battle with a massive water Serpent. This horned Serpent is said to be quite nefarious and bodes ill-will against humankind.

The Thunderbird dives into the waters, seeking out the serpent to vanquish it from the Great Lakes in order to protect humans. The battles between the Eagle (Thunderbird) and the Serpent results in raging waters and brewing storms.

This interpretation could mean the use of the Thunderbird totem on the show was a major hint of where the story arch was headed. Of the expected battle that was coming between Michael and Lucifer and maybe even Sam and Dean's roles in the battle.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Ah yes! Absolutely. I'll take another close look, but I think you are right re the hotel. :)

And how awesome is all that info on the Thunderbird. I am really curious about all this now. rhymephile also has info (comment below) - so there's some interesting stuff here. :DD

This is the painting I found. (http://www.patriciabanks.ca/images/pictures/island%20memories.jpg) I wouldn't say it's exactly the same, but there is a similarity I think - not enough to say it was by the same artists or that it homages her.

Thanks honey.
xx

[tiggeratl1.livejournal.com]

That does look really similar.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Hey look! I found the actual hotel (http://www.chieftainhotel.com/index.html)

:DD

[tiggeratl1.livejournal.com]

Hee! That's awesome and looks a heck of a lot more swank that the boys hotel!!

Oh yeah, just wondering if you know about supernaturallocations.com? It's an interesting site for spn geeks well informed fans. :)

[rhymephile.livejournal.com]

Are you referring specifically to the style of the art seen in the caps?

Since SPN films in British Columbia, the art represented here is actually First Nations in Canada. You can find a list of common tribes in British Columbia at the Wiki here. The style of art the Pacific Northwest tribes used is very specific and recognizable, since it was represented in totem poles, as seen behind Sam and in the painted mural. You will only ever see this style of art in the Pacific Northwest. No other First Nations or Native American tribes used this artistic style. Each of the carved figures represents an animal (or human figure) which in turn represents a family's clan -- Bear Clan, Eagle Clan, etc. They generally show a family's lineage, but sometimes they can tell stories or tribe histories.

If you want to look further into the very specific style of Pacific Northwest art, research the Haida, the Tlingit, the Kwakiutl, the Coast Tsimshian, and the Kwakwaka'wakw tribes and their representative art styles. And for one of the most famous Pacific Northwest First Nations artists, look into Bill Reid, a member of the Haida.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Are you referring specifically to the style of the art seen in the caps?

Yes. I am primarily interested in the mural on the wall. It seems familiar for some reason and I'm not sure why. Though the actual totem is interesting also.

And I love this information. So... (excuse my ignorance) are you saying this is specifically art from the area they are filming in and is not representative of Native Americans? That is quite fascinating and something I'd like to mention in the post - once I do some more investigating. It makes me curious if they got a local artist to paint the wall.

Thank you SO much for this. <33

[rhymephile.livejournal.com]

To be more clear, the Native peoples in the US are called "Native Americans" while the Native peoples of Canada are called "First Nations."

The tribes of the Pacific Northwest part of the US and into Canada (so Washington state in the US, and into British Columbia in Canada) practice a very specific type of art, represented with totems and stylistic forms of animals. You won't see any other tribes in the US or Canada using this art. So, in other words, if I were to see this:


I would automatically know it is art that came from one of the tribes of the Pacific Northwest. And that image is a bear, btw.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Ah... I understand. Thank you. :)

A commenter above has suggested that maybe the totem here is of the Thunderbird (in the form of an eagle).

Thanks again for this. I did some reading on it and it has all been very interesting (and enlightening).
xx