The Irving K. Barber Learning Centre and MOA’s Audrey & Harry Hawthorn Library & Archives are co-presenting Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas and his book RED: A Haida Manga (Douglas & McIntyre, 2009) for the next Robson Reading Series event. The reading will take place on the Point Grey UBC campus at the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre (Room 301) on Thursday, September 30th, 1:00-2:00 p.m. We hope you can join us for what promises to be an engaging presentation. Please RSVP to ensure a seat: 604-827-4366 or ikblc-events@interchange.ubc.ca. If you aren’t able to attend in person, the talk is scheduled to be presented via live webcast at: http://tiny.cc/ikblc2010
Through illustrative storytelling, Yahgulanaas turns stereotypes of First Nations’ cultures literally upside down. In RED: A Haida Manga, he tells the epic tale of a Haida hero named Red, a leader so blinded by revenge that he leads his community to the brink of war and destruction. The story is told through 108 pages of hand-painted illustrations. When arranged in a specific order, the panels of the narrative create a Haida formline image four metres long. The sequence for this complex design is displayed on the inside jacket.
Drawing from classic Haida narratives, and in the “tradition of innovation,” Yahgulanaas has created a new genre called Haida Manga — part Haida, part Japanese-style comic. He has dropped the traditional rectangular boxes and gutters associated with North American graphic literature. Instead, he has invented a flowing style that uses a bold line stretched almost to the breaking point — a motif associated strongly with Haida formlines — to link the images in the narrative in a layout that confounds expectation.
Yahgulanaas was introduced to Haida iconography by his elder cousin, the painter, carver and printmaker Robert Davidson. He also studied with Cantonese artist Cai Ben Kwon. He has exhibited his art throughout Canada, including at the Museum of Anthropology. His other books include Flight of the Hummingbird, A Tale of Two Shamans, The Last Voyage of the Black Ship and Hachidori.
He appears at the Robson Reading Series thanks to the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.
The Robson Reading Series partners with the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre on the Point Grey campus to present a series of afternoon readings throughout the academic year. All events are free and open to the public.