James Schoppert

Robert James "Jim" Schoppert (May 28, 1947 – September 2, 1992) was an Tlingit Alaska Native artist and educator. His work includes woodcarving, painting, poetry, and essays. He has been described as an innovator, whose works pushed the boundaries of what was expected from Northwest Coast art.

Throughout his career he spoke on behalf of Alaska Native artists and visual artists in general. He taught at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) as a guest professor and gave presentations and lectures at elementary schools throughout the states of Alaska and Washington.

Early life Schoppert was born in Juneau, Alaska to a Tlingit ( or ) mother and a father of German descent.

Career

In 1973, Schoppert came to Anchorage for a construction job which, it turned out, was no longer available. On February 26 of that year, using the last of his money, he bought a piece of soapstone and carved an owl. He put it up for sale at the urging of his sister and was able to sell it quickly, which marked the formal beginning of his career as an artist.

Although Schoppert is best known for his panels, he also produced several pieces that followed conventional methods and formline design. This is most evident in his mask making, an example of Jim using this style can be found in his mask Forehead Mask (1977) and Mussel Shell Rattle (1992). In addition he had several paintings and drawings that incorporate Indigenous subject matter but do not use of formline.

Exhibitions 1984: "The New Native American Aesthetic", Marilyn Butler Gallery, Santa Fe 1984: C.N. Gorman Museum at University of California, Davis 1985: "New Ideas from Old Traditions", Yellowstone Arts Center 1985: North Central Washington Museum, Wenatchee, WA 1985: "Visage Transcended: Contemporary Native American Masks", American Indian Contemporary Arts Gallery, San Francisco 1985: Second Biennial Invitational, Heard Museum, Phoenix 1986: "What is Native American Art?'" 1989: "Native American Expressions of Surrealism", Sacred Circle Gallery, Seattle 1990: "Northern Lights", SunRunner, Ojai, CA 1990: "Eleven Stories", Sacred Circle Gallery, Seattle 1991: "Eleventh Anniversary Show", Stonington Gallery, Seattle 1991: "Raw Materials", Sacred Circle Gallery, Seattle 1991: "A Northern Perspectives", The Legacy Ltd., Seattle 1992: "Salmon:Ritual and Resource," Stonington Gallery, Seattle 1992: "Visions of Alaska", Denise Wallace Gallery, Santa Fe 1992: "Instrument of Change: Retrospective Exhibition", Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, George Gustav Heye Center New York City

Posthumous Schoppert's final exhibition was hosted by the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center seven years after he died, putting together a traveling exhibit that contained 50 pieces of art, and selected essays and poems as a tribute to a great Alaska Native artist and recognized him as transformational "whose unique artistic expression contributed to the evolution of contemporary native art". Sponsored by the National Museum of the American Indian, this exhibit was displayed in the Smithsonian Institution from October 3, 1999, to February 6, 2000, at the museum's George Gustav Heye Center.