John Livingston was known as “the Swiss Army Knife” of Northwest Coast artists. He was the assistant on many major commissions by master artists and he was considered an expert with a small long blade chainsaw that would remove the excess wood from totem poles and allow the artists to concentrate on the fine details, bringing the design to life. He oversaw a company that supplied all the materials known to Northwest Coast art; shells such dentalium, abalone and operculum, horse hair, feathers, and blank panels and paddles for carving. He was instrumental in the founding and operating the Arts of the Raven studio and gallery in Victoria. A space that offered instruction for new artists and a retail space where the work was properly showcased. Livingston was also a trusted restorer for wood and stone pieces and he travelled internationally to work on totem poles.

Moon masks were particularly powerful masks that held the supernatural connections between the natural and human worlds; gifts from the sky and the yearly cycles of weather, the arrival of salmon and berries and stories of historical events that shaped the world. Moon masks were associated with chiefs and shamans. The central face is a human emerging from an animal, possibly a bear and surrounded by two wolves, two creatures associated with transformation and yearly cycles. A small guardian spirit emerges from the chin.

Gary Wyatt