Northwest artist and art researcher, Barry Herem, will present "Arts of the Raven Coast," a slide lecture on masterworks of Pacific Northwest Coast Native and Native-style art, at 7 p.m. Wednesday, September 29 at the Yelm Timberland Library. Raven is the primary figure of Native myth and legend. This Humanities Washington "Inquiring Mind" series presentation is free of charge and open to the public.

Herem will explore the form, meaning, and esthetic achievement of both traditional and modern arts of the Haida, Tlingit, Tsimshian and Kwakiutl peoples. The presentation will feature slides of old and new pieces from museums and private collections throughout the world. The legacy of dramatic art forms includes the famous totem poles, huge tribal houses, carved house posts and 70-foot canoes, as well as masks, feast dishes, carved chests and boxes, and woven Chilkat dancing robes. By including a look at contemporary works in cedar, bronze, cast paper and other media, Herem will show how traditional themes, styles, and figures continue to inspire today’s artists.

Barry Herem is a writer, photographer, teacher and poet, as well as an artist in the Northwest Coast style whose work is widely commissioned. For 30 years he has examined and photographed tribal art of the Northwest Coast. Each summer he canoes to British Columbia and Alaska, researching historic sites.

For more information, call the Yelm Timberland Library at (360) 985-2148. The library is located at 210 Prairie Park Street, Yelm.