As Helen advanced in years, female figures in her pictures aged, too. Not surprising, really, that she should have seen elder women as worthy subjects. Her pictures of old aboriginal women are striking. I think she identified with them.
More curious though, is a recurring image of the mythical Kwakiutl figure, Tsonoqua, Wild Woman of the Woods. What was Helen’s relationship with this strange character? Tsonoqua is an old woman monster figure who steals children and eats them. Not the sort of character you’d expect someone to identify with.
Here, Tsonoqua is a flying figure, draped in a Northwest Coast button blanket (see video below).Painting on canvas by Helen Andersen. Present location unknown.
What’s more, old Tsonoqua was slow, rather stupid and nearly blind. She also possessed great wealth. Not like Helen in any way and not much to admire.
Yet, Tsonoqua appears repeatedly. Something about her appealed to Helen, as it had to Emily Carr before her. (Thank you, John Robert Colombo, for the reference.) Was it simply power … supernatural, female spirit power … that attracted both women?
I think it had more to do with the idea of creative risk taking. Tsonoqua was a frightening monster but she had the power to bestow great gifts. It’s an age old theme in many cultures. Face your fears, your dragons, overcome them, and win your prize. Play it safe, get nothing. Helen described herself, accurately, as a risk taker.
As one of Helen’s children, I have to wonder further about Tsonoqua’s child-eating trait. That’s probably incidental … a convenience for parents to scare disobedient kids. Helen never used the story on any of her children, as far as I can recall. She was a good and diligent mom who might have felt a little guilty, from time to time, about the time her creative pursuits ate up, but that’s stretching it.
Vistas: Button BlanketbyZoe L. Hopkins, National Film Board of Canada