Anchorage Daily News

Two largely unheralded and strikingly contrasting art openings caught my attention during the First Friday festivities May 2.

Da-ka-xeen Mehner's "Weapons of Mass Defense" at the Alaska Native Arts Foundation Gallery, 500 W. Sixth Ave., was not what I'd expected from his previous mixed-media/photo work. The artist has created four supersized replicas of traditional Tlingit knives out of steel. There's a Claes Oldenburg aspect to the things, but the spacing and simple elegance of the pieces also reminded me of the late James Schoppert's wide-ranging work.

A series of masks -- with Mehner as the model -- complemented the setup.

With its balance of fine art and superb traditional Native craft items, I cannot recommend this gallery too highly.

Over at Aurora Fine Arts, 737 W. Fifth Ave., Homer's Atz Kilcher was singing and playing guitar. The troubadour, potter and jeweler's "Song of Root" show contains baskets he makes from roots. He gathers the material from a site to which he's emotionally connected and, after weaving the basket, writes a little tile explaining where it came from.

Mehner -- whom his auntie calls "Bubba" -- must have spent as much money on his heavy steel as he'll get back from selling the big daggers. I advised him to raise his prices. Kilcher, on the other hand, is spending little or nothing on his roots. I complimented him on finding a really cheap medium, but the end product seems practical as well as attractive.

One especially fun piece is a bird's nest that Kilcher found and removed, intact, along with the forked branch on which it sat. On the other end of the branch, he has assembled his own basket, mimicking the bird's work. A sign on the finished piece has arrows indicating which item is Kilcher's and which is the bird's. A truly unique collaboration.

Find Mike Dunham online at adn.com/contact/mdunham or call 257-4332.

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