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Stepping into history: From the airport to museums, Alaska shows off unique past

By STEVE EDWARDS
Anchorage Daily News

Published: April 21st, 2005
Last Modified: November 8th, 2005 at 07:54 AM

When menacing bears, colorful kuspuks and a huge carved bald eagle greet you at the airport, you know you're in a different place.

Welcome to Alaska.

History, culture and art are an integral part of the fiber of the Great Land. Alaska's rich cultural heritage is on display for all to see at many venues around the city; museums, galleries and public art are easy to spot.

For many visitors, the first glimpse of that culture is the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.

The airport recently opened its new C Concourse, which was designed to give passengers views of the immense Alaska landscape through huge windows. Inside the airport is about $1 million worth of newly commissioned artwork.

"The intent of the entire terminal was to create a very positive first or last impression for visitors that come to the state," said Kent Crandall, the airport's project manager for the new concourse. "The terminal -- both its architecture and its art -- does that."

The airport's displays always gave visitors a quick baptism into Alaska with traditional artwork and huge stuffed bears. Those displays are still around but have been joined by new creations.

Warren Carther's glass sculpture is the airport's signature piece. The 13 glass panels are carved, etched and colored. They tower 26 feet high and are in the central meeting area of the airport, outside of security.

"It's big and impressive," Crandall said. "As you go up and down the escalators, you can see through and around the artwork.

"The glass was intended to evoke images of airports, Alaska, glaciers and elements of airplane wheels. It's an abstract piece, but I think it fits with what we wanted for the airport."

Most people speed through the airport on their way home or on their way to great Alaska adventures. Once in the community, there are several places to stop for a more in-depth cultural experience. Consider these:

• Heritage Library Museum, 301 W. Northern Lights Blvd.

• Anchorage Museum of History and Art, 121 W. Seventh Ave.

• Alaska Native Heritage Center, 8800 Heritage Center Drive.

• Alaska Native Medical Center, 4315 Diplomacy Drive.

• Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum, 4721 Aircraft Drive.

The Heritage Library Museum has one of the largest collections of Native Alaska artifacts on display in the city. The displays cover all the state's indigenous people and include hunting weapons, household utensils and clothing. There is a large basket collection. It's interesting to compare weaving techniques and materials. The items are displayed in glass cases, so it's easy to look at them for just a few minutes or for hours.

Artwork from some of Alaska's masters -- Sydney Laurence, Fred Machetanz, Eustace Ziegler and Rusty Heurlin -- cover the walls.

"What people tend to comment on the most is how ingenious the indigenous peoples are, how they made do and made a vibrant culture with what we consider to be not very much," curator Artemis BonaDea said. "They didn't have many raw materials, and they used everything they had.

"People sometimes bring preconceived notions of Alaska with them to the state. Here, they can get a taste of what the people created and how they survived. It shows a very rich cultural life."

The 2,000-square-foot museum also displays a huge woolly mammoth tusk, carved ivory and a large collection of guns. The museum is inside a Wells Fargo bank building in Midtown Anchorage. It is located on the first floor, but more items are displayed in the elevator lobbies throughout the bank. There also is a browsing library, which was started before the city's library system was up to speed. Visitors can look through hundreds of books.

Because the museum doesn't charge admission, people can come and go at their leisure.

"Some people come in for 10 minutes while waiting for a bus or they come in for two hours and read every label," BonaDea said. "Since we don't charge admission, people don't feel they have to see everything. They can have their own experience."

The Anchorage Museum of History and Art is a must-stop for visitors looking for a good understanding of Alaska's history.

"The museum makes history a little more alive," said Janet Asaro, the museum's director of marketing and public relations. "We like to think it's the best place to start a vacation. You can get an overview of how Alaska formed itself.

"Once you get that background, now you can go and see some of those things and understand them better."

Visitors should head upstairs to the museum's Alaska Gallery to begin their historical trip.

The gallery's timeline begins in 1648 and travels through the Europeans' discovery of Alaska, the history of the Russians, the history of whaling, the Gold Rush era, World War II, the 1964 Good Friday earthquake and the oil pipeline.

And there's a piece of the oil pipeline on display. The gallery includes full-scale and miniature dioramas. Life-size dioramas depict living arrangements for Aleuts, Tlingits, Athabascans, Yup'ik Eskimos, a gold miners' cabin, a Quonset hut from World War II and a 1920s-era Anchorage home.

The museum also has an extensive collection of art, from traditional painters like Laurence to contemporary Native artists.

"People are used to seeing art and artifacts done by Native artists," Asaro said. "But we also have contemporary artists. Visitors can see what they're doing, maybe using traditional materials in new ways.

"It may be a carver using ivory but making a social statement on today's life or society."

The museum's summer exhibits include "The Shamans: Spirit Guides of Siberia" and "Light Motifs: American Impressionist Paintings From the Metropolitan Museum of Art."

"The Shamans" will help visitors explore the spiritual and cultural history of the shaman, particularly from northern Siberian tribes. "Light Motifs" opens July 1 and features a selection of 27 American Impressionist paintings, including works by Mary Cassatt, John Singer Sargent, Childe Hassam and William Merritt Chase. The Children's Gallery will look at man's best friend with its "Dogs" exhibit.

The museum is open daily, and admission is $6.50 for adults. For the second year, the museum and the Alaska Native Heritage Center will offer a combined admission of $20.75 for adults, a savings of 24 percent. There is a free shuttle between the two.

The Heritage Center's summer exhibit is "Living From the Land and Sea," which highlights traditional hunting and gathering methods used by Alaska Natives. There are interactive displays, videos, interviews and photographs of elders.

The center is a 26-acre complex that includes five Native village exhibits. There are dance performances throughout the day, storytelling, string games, a demonstration on Native games and Native artists selling their creations.

"It is very interactive. You can talk to a lot of people," said Kay Ashton, director of public relations for the Heritage Center. "You will be talking with people who live this lifestyle. We have people come in to work who live in the villages.

"Maybe you'll get to talk with someone who just came back from fish camp. Last year, we had a whaling captain here; he got up and talked about what it's like to go out and look for whales. It isn't stagnant. There's no script."

The Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum tracks the key role aircraft and bush pilots played in the state's history. There are more than 20 airplanes on display at the museum, including a 1944 Grumman Widgeon amphibian and a Stinson L-1. There are photo displays, information on the early bush pilots and the Alaska Aviation Hall of Fame. Admission to the museum is $5; it's open daily, except Tuesdays.

Special sections editor Steve Edwards can be reached at sedwards@adn.com.