A pervasive theme in Lillian Pitt’s offerings in all media are symbols from
ancient sacred petroglyphs found along the Columbia River Gorge-—drawings that were
chipped or ground into rock to depict tribal legends, hunting scenes and mysticism.
In 1957, rising waters behind The Dalles Dam submerged hundreds of petroglyphs.
A few were pried away and stored at
the dam, perched against a wall of the fish ladder beneath roosting birds. (Two examples
are shown at the right and below, with more here and
more history here.)
At last in 2004, 43 petroglyph-covered rocks were moved to Washington's Columbia Hills
State Park, a home that matches the awe and wonderment felt for
their original site by their creators. The park is indisputably the best
place to see petroglyphs in the Northwest.
Because of past vandalism, viewing is limited to an escorted
tour twice a week. Five alcoves along the 300-foot fence allow viewers to
come within 20 feet of the petroglyphs. They depict deer, mountain sheep
and the humans who hunt them. They show thunderbirds, owls, fish and
a mysterious creature with long flowing tentacles.
THE HILLSBORO CIVIC CENTER PROJECT:
"THE RIVERBED"
One of Lillian Pitt's enduring concerns has been to educate the public about the necessity to
preserve the Columbia River Gorge's fragile environment and especially to safeguard the ancient petroglyphs found there,
considered the premier site
of prehistoric art in the Pacific Northwest. Though public access to the sacred sites in the Gorge is restricted, she wanted everyone to have the opportunity to experience
these ancient symbols and their power to heal and teach. She was given a priceless opportunity
to attain that goal when she and her team were commissioned by the Civic Center of Hillsboro, OR,
to recreate a stretch of the
Columbia River and surrounding cliffs in a public art project that officially opened in June, 2005.
The project, called "Riverbed," consists of 300 basalt pillars representing the cliffs
along the Gorge plus hundreds of shiny, translucent pieces of quartzite representing water currents along the riverbed.
Lillian's part of the project, already in place, consists of 20 carvings on
basalt boulders, each based on one of the original petroglyphs from the ancient sites.
They are hand-carved to remain as true to the spirit and design of the originals as possible.
These carvings are scattered among the 300 pillars, so that visitors can search for
them and delight in discovering them. Below are a few examples, along with pieces of Lillian's
art using the same petroglyph-derived images in a variety of media.
"She Who Watches"
(Tsagaglal)
Lillian says, "Seen here as part of the Hillsboro project and as a bronze mask,
She Who Watches is a petroglyph overlooking the Columbia River where my
great-grandparents lived. She is an important figure of the Columbia River legends. Originally, a
woman chief, she taught her people how to live well. She wanted to watch over her people forever,
so Coyote changed her into a rock. Under her watchful gaze, we remember her as the last woman
chief of the Columbia River People. To me, she is also a perpetual witness to the fragile ecology
of the river." (See more of the story of She Who Watches here, along with Lillian 's renderings of
this legendary figure in a variety of media.
"Crow Takes Leave of the Family"
Based on a mysterious petroglyph whose exact meaning is unknown, Crow Takes
Leave of the Family
has been Lillian's subject in the rock carving and tapestry shown above, as well as
in silver and gold jewelry.
Lillian adds about the petroglyphs, "We don't know who made the drawings, or why.
Some are thousands of years old, perhaps made by the First People (tribes).
Some images, like the deer, are obvious, but we don't know what the others mean."
Left: Spirit Being Right: Unknown, possibly an insect.
Left: Fish Woman with her catch of salmon, also available in jewelry.
Right: A sacred bird, the Thunderbird told Eagle where to find the salmon.
Left: From the petroglyphs recently moved, this four-cornered star may represent the Four Directions,
Four Winds, or Four Seasons.
Right: A dancing couple, from an old drawing based on a petroglyph that may no longer exist.
Lillian and Crew at Work on the Carvings
Lillian, who did the drawings, is shown here at work on the carvings, along with her apprentice, Joshua Bruno, a high school
student from her own tribe. The other collaborator is Seneca tribe member, Tom Rudd, who is the
stone carver in charge of the renderings.
Return to Lillian's Public Art Portfolio.
CONTACT INFORMATION: Lillian Pitt can be reached
by email
and through the galleries that feature her work, including:
The Bonnie Kahn Gallery,
Portland, OR
Sunbird Art Gallery, Bend, OR
Jeffrey Moose Gallery, Seattle, WA
Images of the North, San Francisco, CA
Northwest by Northwest, Cannon Beach, OR
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