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Sea Weed People - Woman in Love - John Hoover

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Sea Weed People

Sea Weed People, c. 1994

John Hoover (1919 - )

John Hoover (Aleut) b. 1919
"Sea Weed People," c. 1994
Bronze, 9' x 4' diameter
The Heard Museum, Phoenix, Arizona


John Hoover is a contemporary of Allan Houser's. He credits Houser for encouraging his work. It was Houser that recommended Hoover for a teaching position at the newly established Institute of American Indian Art (IAIA) in the early 1960s. Hoover and Houser also shared the same gallery and dealer. Their careers grew together.

However, each artist worked with the subject they knew best, their own cultural heritages. Hoover was born and raised in Alaska. Like many Aleut young men of his generation, he became a commercial fisherman. He continues to fish the cold waters of Alaska during the season. The images he incorporates into his sculptures are from the stories and histories of the peoples of Alaska. His themes are connected to the relationship between man and the spirit world. His work has often been referred to as shamanistic. Many of his pieces are representations of this state of transformation.

"Sea Weed People," is an example of his visual representation of the spirithelpers that assist the Aleut people. It gracefully represents four humanistic sea weed forms that float upwards and out to capture their grace and movement.

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Honoring Native America - Exhibit VI

Sea Weed People - Woman in Love - John Hoover

Earth Song - Allan Houser

Flag Song - Doug Hyde

Bird Effigy - Truman Lowe

Red Totem - George Morrison

Khwee-seng (Woman-man) - Nora Naranjo-Morse

The Cedar Mill Pole - R.E. Bartow

Lady of Spring - Willard Stone

Guardians and Sentinels - Susie Bevins Ericsen/Qimmiqsak

The Emergence of the Clowns - Roxanne Swentzell

Earth Messenger Totem - Doug Coffin

Woman in Love - Bob Haozous