NORVAL MORRISSEAU BLOG: March 2008

Norval Morrisseau Quotes:

"I transmit astral plane harmonies through my brushes into the physical plane. These otherworld colours are reflected in the alphabet of nature, a grammar in which the symbols are plants, animals, birds, fishes, earth and sky. I am merely a channel for the spirit to utilize, and it is needed by a spirit starved society."

"My art speaks and will continue to speak, transcending barriers of nationality, language and other forces that may be divisive, fortifying the greatness of the spirit that has always been the foundation of the Ojibwa people."
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"I started to do some painting. I guess I saw some art literature from Arizona or the Southwest somewhere, but I was hungry to learn more. I wanted to paint my house and paint the walls in traditional pictographs like the ones I saw from the rock paintings and birch bark scrolls our people used to make."
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"I was told by some relatives not to do this - that I should not be tampering with these forms, 'because the Indians will ostracize you'. Or the elders would not care for it, just like the Jesuits.
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Nevertheless I was determined to do it, for it is my destiny..."
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"The Shaman Artist
Wishes to express to us
Through
The art form
That we are all
Like children
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Our childlike simplicity
With dignity and sweet humility
We view
One environment
and
Remind us of the Pure Spirit
Expressing itself upon ourselves."

"I don't wish my work to be exploited, but to be properly used as an art form in its proper place where for the generations of the great Ojibway people it can be seen in the future, as well as be appreciated by all our white brothers."

"I’ve been looking for books all my life – books about American Indians. Anything that I could find that was civil and worthwhile besides what my Grandfather was telling me about the Iroquois and others. There isn’t very much written about Natives in the art and history books we read today. The only thing that was written was about the Iroquois slaughtering the Jesuits somewhere and Sitting Bull and his followers being chased out of Canada."

"I want my work to be cornerstone for Indian art, to provide something that will last."
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"I have always been attracted to religious paintings, but only the ones that had that mystical or supernatural quality in them, especially Saint Teresa by Bernini. Just looking at Saint Teresa I get some kind of vibrations from it. I can close my eyes and feel them. That's great art, and it brings on that tingling sexual feeling. Other saints, like Saint Sebastian, do that as well. But the Christ figure was always the one that was dominant for me.That's why I say that Christ to me is still the greatest shaman, and that is why some religious visions are so complex, and so very hard to explain to people."
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"Love for life is a gift"
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“I would like to say that I am an artist so that I can beautify the world and battle conditioned consciousness with the same tools used to condition it."

My culture is my world.”

“My paintings are icons, that is to say, they are images which help focus on spiritual powers, generated by traditional belief and wisdom.”

"It is our Ojibwa tradition to recall our history or obtain our history in an oral manner. It is important for our children and others to benefit through the process of continuing to recall and make history."
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"I guess I was increasingly seeking the art form and culture I was being taught, but there was none out there."
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"The Grand Shaman is like the Pope of Rome. The Pope is on one side of coin, the Shaman on the other side of the coin."

"My Grandfather told me once that nobody, no matter how hard they tried, could he remember all of the legends, otherwise, the whole of Northwestern Ontario would be covered in Pictographs."

"My idea is, why I draw them, see, there's lots of stories that are told in Ojibway but that wasn't enough for me. I wanted to draw them - that's from my own self - my own idea what they look like."
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"Just be"
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"Today we wonder and are distracted by the white man's ways that we cannot cope with. Those of us who are lucky have made it. But a lot of us are still behind, by trying to live like our white brothers and their religion, ignoring our great ancestors' culture. If one has an intelligent mind we could live side by side with our ancient ways and same time get us where we should be."

"Armed with an arsenal of heavenly designs and sculptures, the priests were prepared and fearless. With their unlimited resources and soldiers they were sent to conquer the New World and bring their culture and religion to every corner."

"People had to be stripped of their culture before they could be taught to be civilized. The Natives of the Americas were not the dogs people were misled to believe, but rather a sophisticated network of different cultures, religions and so on."

"When the Jesuits came, the Indian was already around. The Indian did not understand them. He tried to understand them, what they were up to. He knew that they were going to be there for awhile. He knew how sad it was, seeing his people, how low they were put, how they had previously enjoyed living and needed to live freely again. How do we go about doing that now? We need images. We’re going to use images ourselves."

"I've always wanted to be a role model. I've always wanted to stay an Indian. I wanted the little kids to know that."

"To accomplish what I have started and to die in it feeling I have fulfilled what I started - to reach a level where I and Manitou and the Indian will always keep the Indian faith alive - to be a great Artist and Preserver of Indian culture. I accept it fully as a duty in life which was set forth for, to set an example."

"I may not have a Ferrari, but I'm the first Indian to break into the Canadian art scene and I have forever enriched the Canadian way of life. I want to make paintings full of colour, laughter, compassion and love. I want to make paintings that will make people happy, that will change the course of people's lives. If I can do that, I can paint for 100 years."

"These paintings only remind you that you're an Indian. Inside somewhere, we're all Indians. So now when I befriend you, I'm trying to get the best Indian, bring out the Indianness in you to make you think everything is sacred."
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"The fish, sacred trout, was the most respected of all fish. The trout gave the Indian life in abundance and according to Ojibwa Indian mythology it represented his soul carrier. The trout carried the Indian soul through transmigration into an other existence in the supernatural or reincarnation. All this belief worked for the betterment of the Indian food in reality - faith in the supernatural."
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“Among the Indians, as among other nations, some people are born artists, but most are not. I am a born artist. I have as much interest in my people as any anthropologist, and I have studied our culture and lore. My aim is to reassemble the pieces of a once proud culture, and to show the dignity and bravery of my people.”
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"Now, when I paint a picture I just alow myself to be used. I pick up the pencil and the canvas. I allow the interaction with soul to reflect in the mind, to put down these images of people, men or women or children especially. I may draw a hundred children, but there is never the same colour."

"Many times people tell me that I’ve cured them of something, whatever’s ailing them. But I didn’t do anything. It was the colour of the painting that did it. But now it’s even much stronger. The healing is much stronger than it ever was. What I finally find is this: We could live with turmoil and the anguish in everything and still we could feel contented and happy and compassionate. What we got rid of is the stress with colour.”

"As for the colours, one was for the heart, one was for the bum, one was for the arms, one was for all the different kinds of sicknesses."

"A long time ago, maybe two or three hundred years ago, before white men were around, some people were worried about what was going to happen.... so they went to talk to a shaman. They asked him if he could find out. The shaman went to a sacred place and started singing and drumming. He beat on his drum harder and harder until he jumped right out of his body and began to rise up in his consciousness. He went up to the third astral plane where he could fly through time. He flew through time until he reached the year 2000 and then came down to look around. Below him he could see hundreds, thousands... more than he could count... millions of ants travelling down well traveled trails... and mountains sticking out of the plains like giant ice crystals, reflecting the sun back into his face. When he returned to his own time he told the people about what he had seen. He told them that what ever these creatures were, there was lots of them and they were coming."
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"All is well"
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"We natives believe in the following saying: "Our God is Native. The Great Deity of the Five Planes is so. We are neither for nor against, We speak not of Christ nor of God. We say, 'Let them be. 'We follow the Spirit on its Inward Journey of Soul through attitudes and attentions. Remember we are all in a big School and the Inner Master teaches us Experience over many Lifetimes."

"I have always been attracted to religious paintings, but only the ones that had that mystical or supernatural quality in them, especially Saint Teresa by Bernini. Just looking at Saint Teresa I get some kind of vibrations from it. I can close my eyes and feel them. That's great art, and it brings on that tingling sexual feeling. Other saints, like Saint Sebastian, do that as well. But the Christ figure was always the one that was dominant for me.That's why I say that Christ to me is still the greatest shaman, and that is why some religious visions are so complex, and so very hard to explain to people."

"Years ago I was walking down the street in Winnipeg feeling sorry for myself. A man was walking towards me, He had long hair and a leather jacket, and as we meet he said,"Things are not as bad as we think". I looked away for a second and when I looked back he was gone. I never saw that man again."

"Just as a fish swims in any clear northern lake (in a medium that is virtually invisible to the eye) so we, if we are to live all right, should realize we live in a dimension on which our very existence, as people and artists, depends. The dimension is that of connectivity in life shared together in mutual respect… Fish, in spawning runs, seem to urge each other on, to reach safe and secluded lakes, with plentiful food supplies. Once there, they can live more non-competitively."

"Why am I alive? To heal you guys who are more screwed up than I am. How can I heal you? With colour. These are the colours you dreamt about one night."

"I can live anywhere. I can paint anywhere. I have painted six panels of the Man Who Changed Into a Thunderbird. All these paintings came from within. I don't need to isolate myself to do them. I can paint them here, there or anywhere. A pipe band could be going by, or cars."

"I paint with these colours to heal, my paintings honour the Anishnaabe ancestors who have roamed the Great Lakes for centuries upon centuries."

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"We are all one"
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"My people believe the earth to be their mother and that we are children of the earth. In spirit we are one with our environment."

"Personally I am not thinking about myself truthfully in this present year but years ahead when I am death for the children of mine and the generations of my people to feel proud of the art heritage of the Ojibway and every nationality is proud of its culture."

"We Are All One in Spirit"

Others about Norval Morrisseau:

"How was it possible for this youth to reach back to the old feelings, to conceive the images that would bear the unmistakable stamp of his people? How could this firm pride originate in a community relegated to the status of third class citizens, constantly reminded of this status and defeated by it? What was there about this lad that earned for him in a medicine woman's dream the combined names of a powerful spirit and the metal traditionally sacred to the Lake Superior Ojibway- Copper Thunderbird?"
Selwyn Dewdney
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"...Norval, with his incredible ability with the formal problems of art (colour-design-space) and his commitment to the world of his people, the great Ojibway, give one the sense of power that only genius provides... It is sufficient to say that in the history of Canadian Painting, few have, and will remain giants. Norval shall."-
Jack Pollock

"Morrisseau's genius for unifying or braking space in his designs is astonishing, as sureness of line. It cannot be classed as primitive art, because both the ideas and the expression evince cultivated thought. As this mysticism has never been recorded he is breaking new ground."-
Pearl McCarthy

"Norval Morrisseau stands alone in his formal innovation and largeness of personal vision. He was the first Indian to study seriously and to update his own cultural beliefs and translate them visually for contemporary Indian and non-Indian audiences. In doing so he became the first Indian to break through the Canadian professional white-art barrier. His brilliance lies in his ability to break away from his own conventions, to constantly renew his vision." -
Elizabeth McLuhan

"He is one of the greatest painters Canada has ever produced. One day we were looking at the Group of Seven and he commented 'They paint trees, I paint loons and they connect to the sky'". -
Tom Hill

"Norval, like all innovators, had made a trajectory to contemporary cultural theory, an idea I was not to understand until quite recently. It situated Norval at the centre of a cultural transformation, contemporary Ojibwa art. This legendary artist had created a visual language whose lineage included the ancient shaman artists of the Midiwewin scrolls, the Agawa Bay rock paintings and the Peterborough petroglyphs. As a master narrator, he had a voice that thundered like the sentinel of a people still listening to the stories told since creation.” -
Robert Houle

"I believe that when Canada 'disappears', Morrisseau will remain. I believe history will note that Norval Morrisseau will be better known than Pablo Picasso. He's more original."-
Robert McMichael

''He was a role model, visionary and seminal force throughout Native America and Canada. We were especially fortunate to have the great man himself present at the opening of his major retrospective, 'Norval Morrisseau: Shaman Artist,' at our New York City museum. Through his groundbreaking and vibrant works, he positioned his rich indigenous heritage squarely within modern art; a revolutionary and uplifting achievement that influences contemporary culture through today.'"-
Kevin Gover
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"Norval Morrisseau's most significant and enduring achievement will be measured over generations as the lasting impact of his greatest ambition - to instill pride - makes itself felt in the art of new artists compelled to create by his masterful paintings."

Greg A. Hill

"Their great appeal partly derives from Mr. Morrisseau's marrying of an understanding of Indian spirituality with his own formal ambitions as a painter... New York has many museums with countless exhibitions, but it's been a long time since I saw a show of such potent spirituality, warmth and feeling."

Benjamin Genocchio

"Norval Morrisseau's courageous and often controversial approach to his work was instrumental in encouraging First Nations people to know their spirituality, history and culture in order to better understand themselves. He taught us to be proud of who we are. He inspired countless other First Nations people to pursue a career in the arts. His legacy will remain with us and continue to inspire all Canadians for many generations to come."

Phil Fontaine

"Morrisseau was committed, from the very start, to preserving the stories and myths of his people. He never wavered. As troubled as his life was, he also went through it with this incredible sense of mission."

Paul Carvalho

"He was a courageous Aboriginal painter who, through perseverance and faith in his gift, was able to break through enormous cultural and racial barriers to bring his art not just to Canada, but to the world."

Chuck Strahl

"He has been described as perhaps the greatest native artist who ever lived - a primal visionary who gave form to the Ojibway legends and myths told to him by his maternal grandfather Moses "Potan" Nanakonagos."

Lloyd Dolha

Monday, March 31, 2008

Norval Morrisseau Announcement of Arts Bursary and selection of artists' work

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@ National Gallery of Canada
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New education bursary honours Canadian icon

OTTAWA, MEDIA ADVISORY (Marketwire - March 31, 2008)

What: Norval Morrisseau Announcement of Arts Bursary and selection of artists' work
Where: National Gallery of Canada - Great Hall
When: 1 pm, Monday March 31
Who: National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation CEO Roberta Jamieson and National Gallery Curator Greg Hill

To honour the memory of iconic visual artist Norval Morrisseau, the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation is pleased to announce a new arts bursary.

The Norval Morrisseau Arts Bursary in the amount of $5,000 will be awarded on the basis of artistic merit to an emerging visual artist pursuing the development of his/her career.
The official announcement will be made at the National Gallery of Canada on March 31st in Ottawa at 1 pm in the Great Hall. In recognition of Norval Morrisseau's great contributions to art in Canada, a selection of works from the National Gallery of Canada's collection will be installed in the contemporary galleries until 8 June 2008.

Norval Morrisseau was awarded the 2008 National Aboriginal Lifetime Achievement Award this year.

"We are honoured to know Mr. Morrisseau before his passing," said NAAF President and CEO Roberta Jamieson. "We are happy that Mr. Morrisseau was able to be with the other Achievement Award recipients in the gallery of the House of Commons when this recognition was announced in November 2007 and to witness a standing ovation from all members of the House of Commons in honour of the 2008 recipients. He also was able to be present at the reception afterwards hosted by the Speaker of the House."

A member of The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts since 1970, Norval Morrisseau is the celebrated founder of the Woodland Indian School of Art which revitalized Anishnaabe iconography, traditionally incised on rocks and Midewiwin birch bark scrolls. A self-taught painter, Norval Morrisseau created an innovative visual vocabulary which was initially criticized in the Native community for its disclosure of traditional spiritual knowledge, previously passed down orally. He acquired his knowledge from his grandfather, who taught him about Midewiwin scrolls which provided him with a source of powerful images and meanings.

The National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation (NAAF) is a nationally registered non-profit organization dedicated to raising funds to deliver programs that provide the tools necessary for Aboriginal youth to achieve brighter futures. Since 1985 the Foundation has awarded more than $27.3-million in scholarships and bursaries to First Nations, Inuit and Métis students across the country in all disciplines, including law, medicine, education, psychology, fine arts, business and computer sciences. Over $3-million was distributed in the last year.

For further information:

Claire Schofield
Manager, Communications and Media Relations
National Gallery of Canada
613-990-7081

Josée-Britanie Mallet
Senior Media and Public Relations Officer
National Gallery of Canada
613-990-6835
bmallet@gallery.ca

Jamie Monastyrski
Communications Director
National Aboriginal Achievemnt Foundation
416-903-4331
jmonastyrski@naaf.ca
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Source: Marketwire

* Detailed information about the painting in this posting unknown: © c. 1990s Norval Morrisseau /Private Collection/

"In Memoriam: Norval Morrisseau"...

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... by Newspaper Cartoon Artist
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Posted in "The Calgary Sun" on December 6th, 2007
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Sunday, March 30, 2008

Robert McMichael about Norval Morrisseau

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"I believe that when Canada 'disappears', Morrisseau will remain.
I believe history will note that Norval Morrisseau will be better known than Pablo Picasso. He's more original."
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Robert McMichael (1921 - 2003)
/Canadian art collector and philanthropist/
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Note: In 1955, Robert McMichael and his wife Signe (died July 4, 2007) began collecting Canadian paintings by the Group of Seven and other Canadian artists. The couple established the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, Ontario which now contains some 6,000 Canadian works.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

2000 Unique Visitors of NORVAL MORRISSEAU BLOG since March 3, 2008

I would like to thank you all for your comments posted on this "NORVAL MORRISSEAU BLOG". It is proving to be an exciting success as I have always anticipated it would be. The subject is dynamic and evolving to say the least. Allow me again to introduce myself with a name that I have chosen - Spirit Walker.

The subject of my passion is Norval Morrisseau's art. He is one of the very few living artists who started a completely new art movement: the Woodland or Medicine School of Art, now called the Anishnaabe School of Art, and has been dubbed the Father of Canadian Aboriginal Art. I believe as well as many others do that we are witnessing the rise of a Star in the World of Art with Universal proportions. My extensive knowledge and research along with my personal collection which I have amassed over the years are what I draw my knowledge base from. It seems like almost every day I find a new and fantastical correlation within this man's work. It is never ending. The scope and depth of Morrisseau's visions throughout his lifetime have left an impact on my soul that I cannot describe in words. "Perhaps I should paint as Morrisseau did to express feelings otherwise would not be explicable within my vocabulary?" His Art Work is my passion.

Challenge keeps all of us going and is the spice of life. Norval Morrisseau has given us plenty to flavour our appetites. He uses tenderness and harsh realities associated with purifying our souls painted as images on canvas. In the end it is our choice to fall or RISE! Norval Morrisseau's works of Art have been challenged on many levels by different people. The issue of authenticity of his works can only be drawn out of secrecy by revealing the necessary knowledge for the seasoned collector and the novice wishing to swim in this Golden Ocean which is before us by exposing that which has been kept secret. The novice needs to know the precious tidbits of information at his or her disposal to make a sound and wise decision on purchasing Woodland Art created by the Master...Norval Morrisseau. I will desiminate whatever knowledge I have in this regard and keep a sensitive eye on any new developments as they will arise. Should I stray, please feel free to comment so as to put me on the right path again. I Thank you.

This information will of course prove to be invaluable to all collectors now and in the future. I am an authority in my own right. Many people have asked for my opinion and value my judgement which is not backed up by monetary gain but for the truth to be known and recorded for posterity. So let it be written so let it be done. All topics are open for discussion. I thank the Creator for allowing me this venue. Let us not disapoint but release the store house of Spiritual knowledge left to us painted on the canvas of Norval Morrisseau's legacy. This is my Constitution and Manifesto. Let us begin...

Spirit Walker

Note: The above writing was posted during Norval Morrisseau's lifetime on November 27, 2007 when I addressed readers of this Blog for the first time /See: "Blog Master's Public Address I"/

Words of Genius XI

"Why am I alive? To heal you guys who are more screwed up than I am. How can I heal you? With colour. These are the colours you dreamt about one night."

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Norval Morrisseau

* Detailed information about the painting in this posting unknown: © c. 1990s Norval Morrisseau /Private Collection/

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Understanding Art of Norval Morrisseau (Part II)

An example of genuine Norval Morrisseau painting from the 1970s
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"Energy Transformation"- acrylic on canvas, approx. 28"x 44", © 1976 Norval Morrisseau /Purchased from reputable Toronto gallery - Private Collection/

The above painting represents energy transformation of the spiritual powers in the presence of the Creator, Mother Earth and shamans (Note: two shaman images could have also represented one shaman in different stages of spiritual development).

Shamans are protected within spiritual realm and power lines connect the rattles that are represented as arm extensions. Yellow colour is representing protection from the Creator while green colour represents everlasting presence of Mother Earth.

Shamans are sitting on stones that are considered sacred due to the fact that they had been pushed up to the surface from the heart of Mother Earth. There are seven stones that represent seven teachings of the Ojibway or seven teachings from seven grandfathers: wisdom, love, respect, bravery, honesty, humility and truth.

Power circles over shamans' heads and power lines that are connected to them express high level of spiritual powers that are present. Spirits that are emerging from their backs are representing communication with ancestral spirits (curly lines that are coming out of the spirits' mouths represent lines of speech or prophecy lines).

Cross-hatched lines inside of the shamans' bodies that are placed in the sets of four represent powers that spread evenly in all four cardinal directions (east, south, west and north).

Red colour represent blood-line of the tribe and their true connection with ancestral spirits.

White colour is the most sacred and spiritual colour that artist uses and in this painting he painted eye pupils to enhance spiritual powers of his vision.

Note: There is not any specific way to describe the art of Norval Morrisseau. The text included herein is just one way of experiencing his art. Norval Morrisseau's art can be experienced in so many different ways depending of the subject matter and the knowledge and spiritual inspiration of the viewer.

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See the following images for detailed observation of the above presented genuine piece of art of the Great Norval Morrisseau:

Click on image to enlarge

Click on image to enlarge (back of canvas)

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Please do not hesitate to contact me if any additional explanation is needed. In one of the next postings of: "Understanding Art of Norval Morrisseau" I will pay more attention in describing painting techniques that Norval Morrisseau used throughout his prolific career.

Meegwetch,

Spirit Walker

Q: What does Grey Owl and Copper Thunderbird have in common?

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A: Their biographies written by Armand Garnet Ruffo.

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“I like to read because I’m curious about people and about the world.”
Armand Garnet Ruffo

Armand Garnet Ruffo, Ojibwe poet, was born in the small northern town of Chapleau, Ontario and currently resides in Ottawa, where he teaches Native literature and creative writing at Carleton University. He has previously taught creative writing at both the Banff Centre for the Arts and the En'owkin International School of Writing in Penticton, British Columbia.

A former director of the Centre for Aboriginal Education, Research and Culture, his work is strongly influenced by his Ojibwe heritage. His first collection of poetry, Opening in the Sky (Theytus Books, 1994; ISBN: 0-919441-55-6), reveals an abiding interest in the complexities of Aboriginal identity in a multicultural society. His second book, Grey Owl: The Mystery of Archie Belaney (Coteau Books, 1996; ISBN: 1-55050-109-7), further "raises difficult questions about voice and identity, aboriginal culture, human rights and the environment." His third collection of poetry, At Geronimo's Grave (Coteau Books, 2001; ISBN: 1-55050-176-3), employs "Geronimo's life as a metaphor for the many abandoned native people on this continent, trapped in the slow-moving vehicle of another culture which is taking them nowhere." His latest book in progress, Norval Morrisseau: Man Changing Into Thunderbird, is a creative biography of the renowned Ojibway painter and founder of the Woodland School, Norval Morrisseau - Copper Thunderbird. In addition, he has written plays, stories and essays, which continue to appear in literary periodicals, including Red Ink, Rampike, CVII, and absinthe, and anthologies in both Canada and the United States.

For more info on Armand Garnet Ruffo follow the links below.

Sources:
"Native Wiki" (Native Wikipedia);
"Armand Garnet Ruffo" (The League of Canadian Poets)

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Words of Genius X

"It is our Ojibwa tradition to recall our history or obtain our history in an oral manner. It is important for our children and others to benefit through the process of continuing to recall and make history"

Norval Morrisseau

Monday, March 24, 2008

Canada Council Awards $30,000 to Red Lake Woodland Arts Festival: A Tribute to Norval Morrisseau and the Woodland Artists

July 4th-6th, 2008
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Media Release - March 25th, 2008

RED LAKE, ONTARIO - The Red Lake Regional Heritage Centre and the Red Lake Indian Friendship Centre are delighted to announce that the Canada Council for the Arts has approved a $30,000 grant for the Red Lake Woodland Arts Festival: a Tribute to Norval Morrisseau and the Woodland Artists.

The festival, to be held July 4 -6th, 2008, is a collaborative endeavour between the Red Lake Regional Heritage Centre and local Aboriginal organizations. The first of its kind in Red Lake, the event will bring together Aboriginal artists from across Ontario as well as collectors, curators, dealers, writers, art historians and others.

The festival will feature a variety of activities that celebrate and promote the Aboriginal culture, including plays, dance performances, art workshops, story-telling, and special exhibitions. Also offered will be guided walking tours where visitors will learn about Norval Morrisseau’s remarkable journey, from the time he arrived in the area in 1959 to work as a gold miner, to when he left in 1973, at the peak of his artistic career.

The Canada Council funds will be used to pay for the travel and artist fees for Ontario-based visual artists Christi Belcourt, Whitefish Bay; Goyce Kakegamic, Thunder Bay; Gord Fiddler, Elliot Lake; Alice Williams, Curve Lake; Saul Williams, North Caribou Lake, and De-ba-jeh-mu-jig, Wikwemikong, (Manitoulin Island). The artists were selected for the quality and variety of their work; their interest in sharing their knowledge with youth; and their connection to Norval Morrisseau and the Woodland art movement.

The guest artists will spend the festival weekend conducting art workshops, participating in lectures and panel discussions, and meeting informally with young artists to encourage and guide them in their artistic pursuits. In addition, selected pieces of their art will be displayed in a special exhibition at the Heritage Centre, along with original works by Norval Morrisseau.

De-ba-jeh-mu-jig, also known as the “Best Medicine Troupe”, is a six member Theatre Group that assists communities in developing infrastructure to support and promote artistic development. The Troupe will conduct workshops on various art forms, as well as stage a play about Norval Morrisseau’s Red Lake years, which will be presented at the Red Lake Legion on July 5th.

“The Canada Council’s support for the Festival is not just about supporting one event; it is also about contributing to the artistic development of aboriginal youth of the community”, says Michèle Alderton, Director/Curator of the Red Lake Regional Heritage Centre.

In addition to Morrisseau presence, from 1960 to 1980, Red Lake was home to a number of Canada’s best known and most successful Aboriginal artists. Inspired by Morrisseau and supported by the Triple K Cooperative, a local aboriginal art cooperative, they created pieces that continue to be exhibited in prominent Canadian art galleries and museums. These early pieces are also in high demand by private collectors from around the world.

A number of aboriginal youth living in Red Lake today are the direct descendants of these artists, and some also show artistic promise. However, since the closure of the Triple K Cooperative 28 years ago, too few new Aboriginal artists have emerged from the area. Nurturing the creative development of this new generation of Woodland Artists is the vision and mandate of the festival.

For more information, please contact:

Michele Alderton

Director/CuratorRed Lake Regional Heritage Centre

(807) 727-3006

e-mail: rlhc@goredlake.com

website: http://www.redlakemuseum.com/

* The painting in this posting: "Untitled" (Thunderbird), "30"x62", © c. 1960 Norval Morrisseau /Collection of the Red Lake Museum/

Words of Genius IX

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"I paint with these colours to heal, my paintings honour the Anishnaabe ancestors who have roamed the Great Lakes for centuries upon centuries."

Norval Morrisseau

* The painting in this posting: "Shaman with Rattle", 48"x36", © 1989 Norval Morrisseau /Private Collection/

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Norval Morrisseau Illustrations I

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Bruce Cockburn's "Dancing in the Dragon's Jaws" (1979/2002) album/CD

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NORVAL MORRISSEAU BLOG

Blog Master