DESIGN PLACEMENT more -->
Very simple designs (as seen above) are often placed on the ends of chests. Often these would be a simple ovoid. These designs are discussed here.
The classic box painting is usually found on the fronts and backs of boxes, but can occasionally be found on the ends of chests. The magnificent carved and painted chest (seen in the above images) has similar designs on the front and back, and similar designs on the two ends. The end designs are in the style usually found on storage boxes.
Classic box paintings usually have one design filling each side of the box. Where this is the case, the designs on the front and back of the box may be very similar. Usually there are small differences that are a conscious part of the design. The artist deliberately makes them different. On the real box, you can only see one side at a time. You have to hold the image in your mind to compare one side to the other. With photography, we can see these designs in a way the artists did not.
To the left are three boxes - front and back. Compare the designs on the fronts and backs. The overall primary formlines are very similar. The differences may seem subtle at first.
Some boxes have designs that cover two sides of a box, joined with the box corner at the center line of the design. This box (seen in images to the left and right) has such a design. Compare the two corner faces.
Examine these four sides of a box (below). The designs are quite different. Can you tell what kind of animal is depicted?
The designs on this box (seen below) are also placed on the corner, but they are much more abstract.
One characteristic of Northwest Coast 2D design is its plasticity - the design elements can be stretched, curved or contorted to fit different spaces and forms, all without loosing the integrity of the design. A good example of this is canoe prow paintings, where the design is manipulated to fit the odd shape (seen below).
Some designs are repeated to fill the space, as on this painted skin screen (see below, left).
Another characteristic of Northwest Coast art is the convention of split representation (see below, right). The whale is shown in split representation, joined at the tail. This design does not fill the available space, but allows unfilled background.
