Schoppert, (Robert) James 1947-1992

views updated

SCHOPPERT, (Robert) James 1947-1992

(Jim Schoppert)

PERSONAL: Born May 28, 1947, in Juneau, AK; died September 2, 1992. Education: Anchorage Community College, A.A., 1975; attended Instituto de Allende, 1975; University of Alaska, B.F.A., 1978; University of Washington, Seattle, M.F.A., 1981.

CAREER: Carver and poet. Alaska State Council on the Arts, chair of traditional Native Arts advisory panel, 1979-82; State of Alaska, member of Native cultural steering committee, 1981-82; Alaska State Council on the Arts, member of art selection committee, 1982; Institute of Alaska Native Arts, trustee, 1985-88; Washington State Arts Commission, member, 1986-89; Atlatl, member of board of directors, 1987-88. University of Alaska, assistant professor of visual arts, 1981, visiting professor, 1987; Sitka Fine Arts Camp, artist-in-residence, 1987. Also worked as a carpenter. Exhibitions: Numerous solo and group shows throughout the United States, including exhibitions at Anchorage Museum of History and Art, American Indian Contemporary Arts, San Francisco, CA, Alaska Native Arts and Crafts Gallery, Sacred Circle Gallery, Yellowstone Arts Center, and Marilyn Butler Fine Art Gallery, Santa Fe, NM; work represented in permanent collections, including those of Alaska State Museum, City of Seattle, WA, Heard Museum, Washington State Portable Art Collection, and Yukon Baha'i Institute.

AWARDS, HONORS: Festival of Alaska Native Arts, first prize for ivory and juror's choice award, both 1976, both for carving "Earth Fibre Fire VIII," and juror's award for contemporary mask-making, 1980, for "Alaskameut '80"; named outstanding Native American poet, Native American Center for the Living Arts, 1985.

WRITINGS:

New Traditions: An Exhibition of Alaska Native Sculpture, Institute of Alaska Native Arts, 1984.

Sam Fox: The Life and Art of a Yup'ik Eskimo, 1986.

Native Arts Network: A Special Report, Atlatl (Phoenix, AZ), 1986.

Contributor to exhibition catalogs, including Wood, Bone, and Ivory, Alaska State Council on the Arts, 1981; and Setting It Free: An Exhibition of Modern Eskimo Carving, University of Alaska—Fairbanks (Fairbanks, AK), 1982. Contributor of poetry to periodicals, including Journal of Alaska Native Art, Turtle Quarterly, and Greenfield Review. Some work appeared under the name Jim Schoppert.