Spindle Black Circle
2016
Serigraph on paper + Glass, record player
On loan from the artist

Salish artists have drawn much inspiration from the designs and artistic legacy of spindle whorls used in the production of wool for weaving. This print created for Out of the Frame takes up this visual history in its formal presentation of the circle shape, and here the abstract design contributes to the illusion of a spinning motion of the object as it was traditionally used. To explore the relationship between form and motion, I sandblasted the print design onto a record album sized glass disk that spins on a modern turntable. This installation specifically references the song “Spin the Black Circle” by the band Pearl Jam from their 1994 album Vitology. The official video for the song depicts graphic black and white images of a record player and close up shots of a record spinning while the needle on the machine travels in between the grooves of the tracks on the disk.

Maynard Johnny Jr.

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(Left) Mayn Lea
2015
Acrylic on canvas
On loan from the collection of Leah Fontaine

(Right) Raven’s True Love
2015
Serigraph on paper
On loan from the collection of Leah Fontaine

Prominence in the Night Sky
2016
Serigraph on Mylar and silk
On loan from the artist

The Moon owns the night sky and is the controller of the tides which help us as Salish people to dig for clams and know when it is a good time for fishing the ocean. The Moon also helps tell times of the season and when it is time to hunt. The phases of the Moon are like a calendar of days from full Moon to full Moon, roughly one month.

Maynard Johnny Jr.