Southwind Mask - Mary Stachelrodt
Artist: Mary Stachelrodt (1943-2016)
Yup'ik Carver
Medium: Alaskan Hardwood (Birch and Cottonwood), Domestic Goose Feathers, Glass Beads, Ivory
Measurements: 18" x 13"
Mary Stachelrodt (1943-2016) was a Yup’ik artist who was known for her work with alcohol treatment for native Alaskans and for a time was the curator of the Yup’ik museum shop in Bethel. The Yup'ik masks from up north look very different from the Southeast masks of the Tlingit, Tsimshian and Haida. In this particular mask,The long thin sticks represent rain, and the wind is represented by the tubular mouth. miniature plant masks on the sides, wooden hanging pieces with stylized raven, half-ring universe, symbol of the world and the raven rep[resents creation. The Yup’ik danced to appease animal spirits. In the dance they summoned the south wind because when the wind moved from north to south it meant the coming of spring, when the ice broke and the whales and plantsreturned.