Photo By Gail

Canadian artist Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas (b. 1954) named his ongoing series Coppers from the Hood — to which Yelthadaas (2010) belongs — for the shield-like totems, or coppers, that Haida chiefs traditionally exchanged during potlaches. These are communal feasts that formed the basis of the pre-colonial economy on the Northwest Pacific Coast, and they’re still held today.

Many of the artist’s versions are painted on the hoods of Toyota Tercels, which is appreciates both for their aerodynamic shape and for their brand name: a Tercel is a male hawk – a raptor related to the artists kinship group (the Raven moiety) and this work’s title (Yelthadaas means ‘White Raven’). Just as traditional coppers conveyed the wealth and importance of their bearers, automobiles are often the markers of economic status in the contemporary world.

Photographed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.