Skip to content

Seahawks Madness: Mask to be Displayed at Burke Museum

The Northwest Coast mask that inspired the team logo comes home to roost

By Seattle Mag November 3, 2014

1114seahawksmask

This article originally appeared in the November 2014 issue of Seattle magazine.

In the days leading up to the Super Bowl last year, a class of University of Washington art history students took their own slant on the citywide fan frenzy—by seeking out the origins of the Seahawks logo. They soon learned that the distinctive bird face, created for the team in the mid-1970s, was very likely based on an indigenous eagle mask made by the Kwakwaka’wakw tribe in the Vancouver Island area. A blog post about the research somehow reached the University of Maine’s Hudson Museum—which had the mask in its collection. Thanks to a Kickstarter campaign, the mask has been shipped to Seattle and will be displayed this month at UW’s Burke Museum as part of Here and Now: Native Artists Inspired. The Burke is also providing travel for Kwakwaka’wakw community members to participate and share historical knowledge. As for how the mask ended up across the country, exhibit curator Kathryn Bunn-Marcuse is still researching its path. (She has learned that at some point, it was in the collection of surrealist artist Max Ernst, who was inspired by Native American art.) And while the Seahawks connection is exciting, Bunn-Marcuse says what’s more important is how this new opportunity can increase our understanding of the cultural origins behind the mask, and underline the lasting impact of indigenous art all around us. 11/22–7/27/2015. $7.50–$10. Burke Museum, UW campus; 206.543.5590; burkemuseum.org

 

Follow Us

Studio Sessions: Jo Cosme

Studio Sessions: Jo Cosme

The Seattle-based multimedia artist and 2026 Neddy Award winner challenges the postcard version of Puerto Rico and centers the persistence of its people.

Jo Cosme knows how seductive a postcard can be. The Seattle-based Boricua (Puerto Rican) multimedia artist works across photography, installation, video, sound, and interactive elements to examine and pull apart how Puerto Rico is seen, sold, and misunderstood from the outside. Trained in photojournalism, with a BFA in photography from Puerto Rico School of Fine…

Seattle's Drag Brunch Has History

Seattle’s Drag Brunch Has History

The city’s Sunday shows started long before the mimosas got bottomless.

There was a time not too long ago, when drag performances—now a mainstay of Seattle’s queer scene—were kept under wraps. And when brunches, complete with singing and dancing queens dressed in dazzling drag as you sipped mimosas, weren’t a Sunday staple.  During the 1940s and ‘50s, an era largely shaped by restrictive laws and bias…

Studio Sessions: Sangram Majumdar

Studio Sessions: Sangram Majumdar

Working at the confluence of history, culture, and various painting traditions, UW associate professor Sangram Majumdar is one of this year’s Neddy Artist Award winners.

Discover the art of UW professor Sangram Majumdar, a 2026 Neddy Artist Award winner. Learn about his inspiration and upcoming Seattle exhibition at Cornish.

Rearview Mirror: A Georgian Dinner, Sidewalk Sips, and One-of-a-Kind Clothing

Rearview Mirror: A Georgian Dinner, Sidewalk Sips, and One-of-a-Kind Clothing

Things I did, saw, ate, learned, or read in the past week (or so).

A new life for old clothes To celebrate one year in its current studio, the FXRY—a clothing repair service available via in-person appointments, home pickup, or mail-in drop off—is dropping its first collection. A small batch of reworked pieces, Second Mark will feature 13 vintage barn jackets, cropped, chain-stitched, and renewed into a completely unique, one-of-one…