Blog Master's Public Address VIII

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~ To all readers happy holidays and prosperous 2011 ~
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From left to right: Ugo Matulić a.k.a. Spirit Walker with his brother Jakša by the Indian totem after the screening of one of the "Winnetou" films, based on German author Karl May novels; Omiš, Croatia - July 1966
/Click on image to Enlarge/
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~ Source: An Unofficial Website of Omiš, Croatia at www.almissa.com
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>>> The main purpose of this blog is to share information with anyone interested in the Anishinaabe (Woodland) School of Art Movement that Norval Morrisseau and other early aboriginal artists started in the late 1950's. From this start that is linked to the cliff paintings seen along the canoe routes of antiquity, and others yet to be found in other sparsely settled areas of North and South America, Canada and the World has become aware of the artistic genius of Our aboriginal culture. This artistic genius doesn't stop at visual art alone but extends to the written and performing arts that are also being recognized.
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The artistic genius of Norval Morrisseau was best described by Jack Pollock (1930-1992) who wrote: "...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."
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My arrival in North America (more than 21 years ago) provided the greatest discovery - NORTH AMERICAN NATIVE SPIRITUALITY. All that blended with passion for the art collecting of the greatest aboriginal painter of the world - Norval Morrisseau and exposure to his art that provided me with an opportunity to acquire a collection that consists of pieces of art that span his career from 1952 to 2002.
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I appreciate all of you visiting the NORVAL MORRISSEAU BLOG and I wish to thank all the contributors for encouraging me to continue with this monumental project which is dedicated entirely to protecting the integrity of Norval Morrisseau's art and the preservation of his artistic legacy.
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Hvala/Miigwetch,
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Ugo Matulić a.k.a. Spirit Walker, Calgary, Alberta CANADA
/spiritwalker2008@gmail.com/
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~ Source (image): www.almissa.com /Ugo Matulić - Webmaster/
--Click HERE to view the above photograph in its original context -
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>>> Reference posts:
- Blog Master's Public Address I,
- Blog Master's Public Address II,
- Blog Master's Public Address III,
- Blog Master's Public Address IV,
- Blog Master's Public Address V,
- Blog Master's Public Address VI,
- Blog Master's Public Address VII,
- Will the real SpiritWalker please stand up?,
- The real Spirit Walker is standing up!,
- >>> The Story behind photograph published in the post "The real Spirit Walker is standing up!" & - The Best-Selling German Author of All Time /Ref. Karl May/.
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The Best-Selling German Author of All Time

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Karl May (1842-1912), Writer


by MarliesBugmann
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>>> Most German literary critics dismiss his work as second-rate. He never set foot in most of the places he so vividly described in his numerous adventure tales, including the American West, the home of his best-known fictional character, the Apache warrior Winnetou.
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Yet it is Karl May - not Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, not Thomas Mann - who has become the best-selling German author of all time!
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
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• In early 1960s Winnetou and Old Shatterhand had their first appearance on the Silver Screen. From 1962 to 1968, nine movies were made, with Pierre Brice starring as the brave Winnetou, and Lex Barker as the dashing Old Shatterhand. Other cast members, among others, included Elke Sommer, Herbert Lom and Klaus Kinski.
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The Winnetou movies, based on Karl May's novels, and the breathtaking scenes filmed on locations in Croatia - Paklenica, Plitvice Lakes, Kornati archipelago (Silver Lake), rivers Krka, Zrmanja and Cetina, enchanted the world.
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• The Karl May Verlag (Press) in Bamberg, Germany claims over 100 million copies sold worldwide, and there's hardly an adult German alive today who didn't read Karl May's books as a youngster. Every summer there are popular Karl May Festivals and outdoor pageants across Germany and Austria.
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For good or bad, the German image of the North-American Indian is largely based on the books of Karl May (and films based on his books).
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>>> Reference posts:
- Will the real SpiritWalker please stand up?,
- The real Spirit Walker is standing up! &
- >>> The Story behind photograph published in the post "The real Spirit Walker is standing up!".
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Norval Morrisseau: 'Best Canadian painter ever'

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* This post was originally published on January 23rd, 2008 (click HERE)
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/Opinions and thoughts of admirers of Norval Morrisseau art, art collectors, friends.../




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/Click on image to Enlarge/
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NORVAL MORRISSEAU: BEST CANADIAN PAINTER EVER

I'm guessing that when the 2010 Vancouver/Whistler Winter Olympics finally roll around in two years there's going to be lots of references to Aboriginal culture. Lots of dancing, drumming, native dress, references to aboriginal creation myths during the opening ceremonies; some elders will be brought in to bless the proceedings, that kind of thing. You can already see them using an Inuksuk (those Inuit 'rock piles') as one of their official icons. And as it should be. I have no problem with it, in fact I'm all for it. Like Australians we post-centennial, post-modern Canadians like to reach back to the deep time or the dream time when it comes time to show our face to the world. How real we are. The indigenous art. What inspired up and out from the land before the blight of colonialism. See, "we" are as ancient as everybody else. As old as Europe. I suppose its a kind of progress really, but a large dose of irony might still be necessary amidst all our mutual, terribly official self-congratulation.

Residential schools aside - check out Bill Reid on the twenty dollar bill. Bill Reid at the Vancouver airport. And my personal favourite, Bill Reid at the Canadian Embassy in Washington.

Many a Canadian white boy and girl has ventured forth into The Bush, however clumsily, trying to catch a whiff of the spirits. Going deep, getting back, oh yeah - getting real. Going back to the earth, because as the late, great Canadian poet Gwendolyn MacEwen once wrote: "No one invited us here."

But I wonder if any "Canadian" (and yes, in the context of this post I do feel the need to put that word in quotation marks) ever saw this 'real spirit' behind the surface of what we now call Canada better and more vibrantly than the recently, dearly departed Norval Morrisseau. His paintings were literally churning from the inside out. Skeletal and skeletons. Often called "x-ray". People within animals and animals within people and animals within animals within people covered in flowers riding on a fish, and all of it singing in the most glorious colour. And so out there and dangerous, freaky, hallucinogenic, tripping the bounds of sanity, and erotic. And inspired by sacred, ancient aboriginal myth.

"Why am I alive?"he said in a 1991 interview with The Toronto Star. "To heal you guys who are more screwed up than I am. How can I heal you? With color. These are the colors you dreamt about one night."

I've adored his work for years, before I ever knew his name or even knew who the heck he was. I bought my first Norval Morrisseau print a few years back at some poster sale in Hamilton and I remember riding the GO bus back into Toronto with the thing spread out on my lap for the whole trip, taking it in grinning ear to ear, just dazzled. And that was just a print. A poster. I tacked it to my kitchen wall and it made me happy every time I looked at it.

If anyone was the God Father of the Renaissance of Aboriginal Art and Culture that has ultimately made Canada a much humbler, more honest, better and yes more beautiful place, it had to be him. And at its heart the work was a profound movement for justice. That which cannot be denied.

Marc Chagall famously compared him to Picasso.

Keep your Group of Seven's, sure.

But Norval Morrisseau was the Best Canadian Painter Ever.

Reid Neufeld
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Source: Global Health Nexus Blog /Global Health, Politics and Culture/
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Note from a Blog Master: I am encouraging others to send their thoughts, opinions and personal experiences that refer to Norval Morrisseau and his art.
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* Detailed information about the painting in this post unknown: "Flower of Life", © c. 1980s or 1990s Norval Morrisseau /Private Collection/

'Winter Wonderland' by Jana Mashonee

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~ Sung in Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe)
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By JanaMashonee
-- /www.janamashonee.com /
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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."

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Norval Morrisseau

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'Lily of the Mohawk', © 1974 Norval Morrisseau

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* This post was originally published on December 30th, 2009 (click HERE)
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"Lily of the Mohawk, © 1974 Norval Morrisseau
/Click on image to enlarge/
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Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha (1656 - 1680)
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"Lily of the Mohawks"
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Kateri Tekakwitha also known as Catherine Tekakwitha/Takwita, was born in 1656 in Gandahouhague, on the south bank of the Mohawk River, in a village called Ossernenon. The Mohawks were known as the fiercest of the "Five Nations" of the Iroquois. War was waged between the Mohawks and Algonquins. Kateri's mother, a christian Algonquin, was taken captive by a Mohawk warrior and soon they were married. They had a happy life together and eventually had a girl. They named her Tekakwitha, which means "she who moves forward". When she was four years old, a smallpox epidemic claimed the lives of her parents and baby brother. Their names are unknown. Kateri survived the disease but her eyesight was impaired. Her face was scarred and the disease left her weak the rest of her life. After five years of the sickness, the survivors of the village moved to the north bank of the river to begin a new life. Tekakwitha and her relatives moved into the Turtle Clan village called Gandaouague.
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She was then raised by aunts and an uncle, the Chief of the Turtle Clan.
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In 1667 the Jesuit missionaries Fremin, Bruyas, and Pierron spent three days in the lodge of Tekakwutga's uncle. They had accompanied the Mohawk delegation who had been to Quebec to conclude peace with the French. From the Blackrobes she received her first knowledge of Christianity.
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In 1670 the Blackrobes established St. Peter's Mission in Caughnawaga now Fonda, NY.
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In 1674, Fr. James de Lamberville arrived to take charge of the mission which included the Turtle Clan.
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Tekakwitha met Father de Lamberville when he visited her home. She told him about her desire to become baptized. Despite opposition to Christianity from her tribe and particularly her uncle, she met with the Blackrobe in secret. She began to take religious instructions. On Easter Sunday, April 5, 1676, at the age of 20, she was baptized and given the name Kateri, Indian for Katherine. Her family wanted her to abandon her religion. She became the subject of increased contempt from the people of her village for her conversion, as well as her refusal to work on Sundays or to marry. She practice her religion unflinchingly in the face of almost unbearable opposition. Finally her uncle's lodge ceased to be a place of protection to her.
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With the help of Christian Indians she fled her village. Two months later and about two hundred miles through woods, rivers and swamps, Kateri arrived at the Sault.
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On Christmas Day, 1677, Kateri received her first Holy Communion. Here she lived in the cabin of a Christian Indian, Mary Teresa Tegaiaguenta. She and Kateri became friends. Both girls performed extraordinary penance. Kateri and her friend asked permission to start a religious community. The request was denied.
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At Caughnawaga she contributed to the community's economy while engaging in great personal sacrifices. She also continued to keep her personal vow of chastity.
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In 1678, Kateri was enrolled in the pious society called The Holy Family because of her extraordinary practices of all virtues.
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Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha died on April 17, 1680, when she was 24 years of age. When she died, much to the amazement of those in attendance, all the disfiguring scars on her face miraculously disappeared.
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Pope John Paul II beatified her in Rome on June 22, 1980, in the presence of hundreds of North American Indians. She is now known to us as Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha.
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Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha died on April 17, 1680, when she was 24 years of age. In the past, we commemorated her Feast Day on the day of her death. April 17 often falls during the season of Lent or during Easter Week. When the Bishops of the United States gathered for their fall meeting in Washington, DC, in November 1982, they voted to change the day of observance of the Feast of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha to July 14th. The new feast day will enable the Church in the United States to celebrate and honor Blessed Kateri without the feast day overlapping with the season of Lent. We prayerfully await the day that our Holy Father proclaims her Saint Kateri.
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Source: http://impurplehawk.com/kateri.html
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* The painting in this post: "Lily of the Mohawk, 53"x23", © 1974 Norval Morrisseau /Private Collection/; This painting has been exhibited at "NORVAL MORRISSEAU - SHAMAN ARTIST" - The first solo exhibition featuring a First Nations artist in 126-year history of the National Gallery of Canada. Exhibition held in Ottawa, Ontario from February 3rd to April 30th, 2006.

Authenticity known

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* This post was originally published on May 27th, 2008 (click HERE)
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by Ross Montour
May, 2006
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Two weeks ago I attended a major retrospective of Ojibwa artist Norval Morrisseau at Canada's National Gallery of Art. There is nothing 'western' about Morrisseau's art. It grows powerfully and organically out of his own people's Native tradition. It makes no apologies on behalf of its creator - indeed it confronts western sensibilities and announces its own potency. Morrisseau could care less if the 'white man' never declared him credible; he knows his authenticity. Like the great Nanibooshou of his people's legends, Morrisseau shakes his great head, lays down his foot and the leaves fall from the trees. Compare this to European art at the turn of the last century. Photography, a creature of western technology, had only recently reared its head prompting artists to run for the cover of ingenuity. "Something new, something new," became the 'Om' of art. That most deconstructionist of artists Pablo Picasso sheds an interesting light on all of this. When he and others in his circle began co-opting forms from oceanic and African cultures it was an admission of the desperate extremes western artists would go to in order 'break new ground.'

And while their adoring publics were tittering about the greatness of these new maestros' wild and carnivorous works, the newly reforming masters of orthodoxy continued to mischaracterize the sources of Picasso et al's 'inspiration.' They continued to look down their noses at the 'primitives' (savages) who truly created the source art and their cultures. In Canada, Native artists who painted in styles and forms that grew authentically out of their own cultures had to live with the fact that in their own land their works were 'banished' from the cultural temples of white society - i.e. the major public art galleries. For over 40 years the 'esteemed' Art Gallery of Ontario revealed its ethnocentricity by declaring the works of Morrisseau and others as being fit only to be shown in ethnographic and natural history museums. How barren!

Back to the Morrisseau exhibition in Ottawa. After viewing the showing, my wife and I decided to take in the works of the permanent collection. Walking through hall after hall of Flemish masters and Italian renaissance masters etc., we stumbled across a room labeled 'New York School.' Entering the room we were immediately confronted by two massive colour field paintings by Barnett Newman. One of these - 'Red Stripe' - was a triptych nearly 20 feet in height. It almost demanded an act of worship be done. I laughed out loud because, for one thing, it reminded me of my first viewing of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Remember the scene at the end when the cavemen come upon the huge blank monolith, the drums pounding out the rhythm in the soundtrack... Enigmatic to say the least! In the end they worshipped nothing. My sincerest thanks for your patience in reading this rant. I make no apology though - I am, after all, a Mohawk.
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Source: Robert Genn's "The Painter's Keys"
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* The painting in this posting: "Shaman Warrior", 48"x23", © 1990s Norval Morrisseau /Private Collection/

This Blog has 1,400 posts!

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NORVAL MORRISSEAU, 1970's
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Blog Master speaks...
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I appreciate all of you visiting the 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. I wish to thank all the contributors for encouraging me to continue with this monumental project which is dedicated entirely to protecting the integrity of Norval Morrisseau's art and the preservation of his artistic legacy. Allow me again to introduce myself to those who don't know me.
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I was born in Split, Croatia. As a child I saw, and continue to see, the Indians of North America as members of an outstanding race. My favourite childhood memory was the time when 'spagetti western' movies were filmed in Croatia (then part of Yugoslavia) and as a memento from that time were countless memories and a photograph with my brother and I in front of Indian totem pole in my hometown of Omiš, Croatia (click HERE). When I emigrated to Canada my aim was to become a true Canadian and contribute to the advancement of this outstanding country. I also wanted to advance the cause of the First Nations Citizens. The best way I could do this appeared through advancing the cause of native art. Researching the background of Norval Morrisseau and other native artists and their lives has shown the adversity these artists had to overcome to become recognized. Some wonderful people emerged through this research, as did the hardships the art goddess imposed on many of these talented artists.
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The subject of my passion is Norval Morrisseau's art. He was one of the very few 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 used 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 disappoint but release the store house of Spiritual knowledge left to us painted on the canvas of Norval Morrisseau's legacy.
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Hvala/Miigwetch,
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Ugo Matulić a.k.a. Spirit Walker
/spiritwalker2008@gmail.com/
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> For the purposes of this blog I would like to be referred to as Spirit Walker. Miigwetch!
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Norval Morrisseau a.k.a. Copper Thunderbird

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Shaman-Visionary-Storyteller-Artist
- Anishinaabe/Canadian Painter
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© 2008 by Vanessa Liston
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"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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Norval Morrisseau
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'The Ballad of Norval Morrisseau' by Duke Redbird

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"Christ", 2-3 © 1974 Norval Morrisseau
/Click on image to Enlarge/
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THE BALLAD OF NORVAL MORRISSEAU
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Norval, Norval, What's driving you?
Are the spirits talking?
Are the spirits coming thru?
Are they talking to you?
You've lived in the forest, all of your life
You've been hungry and you've suffered strife
And you paint with the blood of a thousand years
You paint the legends and you paint the fears
And you paint the birch bark and you paint the sand
And you paint your sweat with an ancient hand.

They took your paintings and hung them in town;
They took your body and flung it around,
So the world could see an Indian in high society.
They gave you a china cup filled with tea,
But you drown their pale faces in brown whiskey,
You painted their Jesus to expose their hypocrisy.

You've lived in their churches, you've known their jails
And you laughed when they said you had failed,
Your art will be living when they're all dead;

You took their green money and you painted it red;
You paint your canvas with a brush of pain,
You signed your works with an Indian name.

You're an Ojibway man, a child of this land;
An artist, a prophet with a torch in your hand;
A blueprint for seeing, and it's not for sale;
A harbour for living in the eye of a gale.
The people, they love you, and they know your truth;
The culture is yours; you can never lose.

The Algonquin nation is listening to your voice.
They're learning your wisdom and pride;
They're painting with a brush you passed on to them,
With a talent they no longer need to hide.
Yes, you've opened the doors and the windows too;
The spirits are talking;
yes they're coming through.

Duke Redbird
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* The painting in this post: "Christ", 2-3, 37"x23", © 1976 Norval Morrisseau /Private Collection/

The exhibition that ended institutionalized discrimination against First Nations art at the National Gallery of Canada

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* Below presented text was originally published on December 18th, 2009 (click HERE)

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--"Androgyny" (left) & "Man Changing into Thunderbird" (right),
© Photography by Stephen Goetz /Click on image to Enlarge/
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-"NORVAL MORRISSEAU - SHAMAN ARTIST"

~ the first solo exhibition featuring a First Nations artist in 126-year history of the National Gallery of Canada. Exhibition held in Ottawa, Ontario from February 3rd to April 30th, 2006.

Despite being widely recognized as the father of contemporary aboriginal art and despite the pleas of some influential people, Norval Morrisseau did not become part of the National Gallery of Canada's collection until 2000 (click HERE & HERE to view the first two Norval Morrisseau acquisition by the National Gallery of Canada).

As early as 1972, Selwyn Dewdney, an influential anthropologist and art enthusiast who befriended Morrisseau in northern Ontario early in his career, pressed the National Gallery of Canada to buy some of the artist's work. The gallery refused. "I made a pitch at the National Gallery for inclusion of your work in the permanent collection but encountered deaf ears, Dewdney wrote Morrisseau. "It appears that if you're of Amerindian origin the proper place for your art is a museum!"
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>>> Reference post:- Recommended readings (Part V)
/'NORVAL MORRISSEAU: SHAMAN ARTIST' by GREG A. HILL/.---* The paintings in this post: "Androgyny", 12'x20', © 1983 Norval Morrisseau (left) & "Man Changing into Thunderbird" (6 panels), 60"x50" ea., © 1977 Norval Morrisseau (right)

Who Are the Shaman?

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by eternallyaseeker444
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"My art reflects my own spiritual personality. Driven from birth by the spirit force within, I have always been convinced that I am a great artist. Only the external and commercial society around me which has caused interruptions and deviations to occur has attempted to dictate to me and establish false values and ideals. The path through this maze has not been easy. Now, thirty-five years later, fortified by my grandfather's spiritual teachings during the first nine years of my life, I make peace with the external world, and I recognize the higher powers of the spirit.
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I am a shaman-artist. Traditionally, a shaman's role was to transmit power and the vibrating forces of the spirit through objects known as talismans. In this particular case, a talisman is something that apparently produces effects that are magical and miraculous. My paintings are also icons; that is to say, they are images which help focus on spiritual powers, generated by traditional belief and wisdom. I also regard myself as a kind of spiritual psychologist. I bring together and promote the ultimate harmony of the physical and the spiritual world.
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My art speaks and will continue to speak, transcending barriers of nationality, of language and of other forces that may be divisive, fortifying the greatness of the spirit which has always been the foundation of the Great Ojibway."
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Norval Morrisseau, 1979-
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Source: The text from THE ART OF NORVAL MORRISSEAU ('Jack Pollock's Book') /Lister Sinclair, Jack Pollock, and Norval Morrisseau/; ISBN: 0-458-93820-3 /Toronto, Ontario: Methuen, 1979./
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A poem for Norval Morrisseau by Dana Claxton

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* This post was originally published on April 4th, 2009 (click HERE)
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Norval Morrisseau in front of "ANDROGYNY" at the National Gallery of Canada
/© 2006 Bruno Schlumberger, CanWest News Service/
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NORVAL

The last time I saw you, was the first time
Live, in person
The man
Live, in person
The Artist
Live, in person
The Icon
Live, in person
The Shaman

I walked through your exhibition at the NAG
I felt wrapped in an ancestor’s blanket

You Norval, the great one
You Norval, the innovator
You Norval, the astral traveller
You Norval, set the pace

Was there a race?
For the artworld to behold
To acknowledge the work of your ancestors told
To help the artworld and public understand
The medicine in your paint…is what is at hand
Ahhhhhhhh…look at his colourful work
OMG she faints…
…cuz the paint …

His paint…his paint!!!
Norval’s paint, pushing to and fro
You push the paint Norval with Shaman flair
With ease and grace…oh!! how you care
You pushed the paint across this land
You pushed the paint into the universe
The gallery was full of mind!
The gallery was full of spirit!

Multi hues and figures much
All there on the canvas, or brown paper, blue
All there on the birch bark too
Back to the old stories told
In the land where the ancestor roll
In the land where that spirit lives old

Colour so flash…across the canvas told
Stories of creation and how the people roll
The spirit beings and bears
Xray vision, oh so bare!

A movement you created through art
Grandfather of contemporary Aboriginal Art
You painted the canvas and the gallery beholds
Upon their white walls you showed
An ancient culture painted by a shaman on his ancient homeland
Stories of the land, sky and water too
Complex inter-celestial beings sat across from me to!
That Indian thang! of supernatural beings
Visit our people and bring
Teachings to us to share somehow

You choose the paint
As the paint must
Tell the words of old stories told
Tell the words of land and water as they hold
They hold our stories and ancestors too
Land and water beings all over this place
They connect us to above and below
Ahhhhhhhhhhh….to behold.

Paint the words of those underworlds
Paint the words of those aboveworlds
Paint the words of those supernatural beings
They harken to you to show their appeal
To show they are real
To show they bring gifts with them
For us to live in a certain way

Who will sway?
And listen to land.
Who will sway?
And listen to water.
Who will sway?
And listen to song bird sing.
I swayed so long ago and now I begin.

Turquoise blue you paint the sky
Turquoise blue the being crawled
Turquoise blue that healed so many
Uplift, uplift to the land of plenty?

The land of plenty? What is that?
Have we seen that upon our land?
What happened really? I want to know.
From the north to those ugly schools you go
I learned your story through books
I loved your work through books
I heard people talk about their Norval encounters

The stories that I only heard
Of a man named Copper Thunderbird
Of a man whom walked so gently
Of a man who painted endlessly
Of a man who shook the artworld
Of a man who showed them so

Some got it, what this man has shown
I am altered from how yo shone!!
Shine Norval shine in the land of peace
You!!! up there now…with all those…
Entities?

What shall I call all those worlds?
Swirling, twirling and swirling so
All around us… there you go
The man Norval who created so

Dana Claxton , 12/05/2007
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~ Blog Master is thanking Ms Dana Claxton for the submission of a poem dedicated to Norval Morrisseau and encouraging others to contribute to the NORVAL MORRISSEAU BLOG for purposes of informing and educating the readers.-
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* The above photograph of of Norval Morrisseau taken in Otawa in February, 2006 at the opening of the "Norval Morrisseau - Shaman Artist" exhibition. It was the first solo exhibition featuring a First Nations artist in 126-year history of the National Gallery of Canada.

"St. Christopher", © 1980 Norval Morrisseau

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"St. Christopher", © 1980 Norval Morrisseau
/Click on image to enlarge/
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Before the 1969 reform of the Roman calendar, Christopher was listed as a martyr who died under Decius. Nothing else is known about him. There are several legends about him including the one in which he was crossing a river when a child asked to be carried across. When Christopher put the child on his shoulders he found the child was unbelievably heavy. The child, according to the legend, was Christ carrying the weight of the whole world. This was what made Christopher patron saint of travelers and is invoked against storms, plagues, etc.. His former feast day is July 25.

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Before the formal canonization process began in the fifteenth century, many saints were proclaimed by popular approval. This was a much faster process but unfortunately many of the saints so named were based on legends, pagan mythology, or even other religions -- for example, the story of the Buddha traveled west to Europe and he was "converted" into a Catholic saint! In 1969, the Church took a long look at all the saints on its calendar to see if there was historical evidence that that saint existed and lived a life of holiness. In taking that long look, the Church discovered that there was little proof that many "saints", including some very popular ones, ever lived. Christopher was one of the names that was determined to have a basis mostly in legend. Therefore Christopher (and others) were dropped from the universal calendar.

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Some saints were considered so legendary that their cult was completely repressed (including St. Ursula). Christopher's cult was not suppressed but it is confined to local calendars (those for a diocese, country, or so forth). His name Christopher, means Christ-bearer. He died a martyr during the reign of Decius in the third century.

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Feast: 25 July (West), 9 May (East);

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Attributes: tree, branch, as a giant or ogre, carrying Jesus, spear, shield, as a dog-headed man;

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Patronage: bachelors, transportation (drivers, sailors, etc.), travelling (especially for long journeys), storms, Brunsweik, Saint Christopher's Island (Saint Kitts), Island Rab, Croatia, Vilnius, Lithuania; epilepsy, gardeners, holy death, toothache.
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Source: www.catholic.org; 'Wikipedia', the free encyclopedia

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* The painting in this post: "St. Christopher", © 1980 Norval Morrisseau /Private Collection/

Honouring the Great Colourists of the 20th Century (Part I)

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Joan Miró (1893-1983), painter/sculptor/ceramicist
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by arwen987
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"I try to apply colours like words that shape poems, like notes that shape music."
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Joan Miró
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The James Evans Story

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/Story behind Norval Morrisseau's signature/

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James Evans
(1801-1846)
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James Evans was born in 1801 in Hull, England and was named for his father, a merchant captain. Although eager to enter a similar career when he was young, James Evans was discouraged from the sea by the experience of sailing with his father, and was to return to his studies after only two voyages.
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In 1820 Evans’ family moved to La Chute, Québec, while James remained in England to try his hand at business. When he later emigrated in 1822, he taught at L’Orignal and met the woman he would wed, Mary Blithe Smith. After two years the couple moved to Augusta, Upper Canada, where James made the decision to enter into missionary work.
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In 1827, James Evans received the responsibility of the mission post at Rice Lake (Rice Lake is approximately 20km north of Coburg, Ontario, and south of Peterborough). After a year there were some 40 native students, half of whom could read English. Evans himself was becoming familiar with the local languages, and wrote in Ojibwa, and in 1830 was preaching sermons in the local Ojibwa language. By 1831, Evans had produced an original orthography and the beginnings of a writing system for the native languages to replace the only current representation for the language which was in the Latin script. As the Ojibwa were being taught both in English and in their own tongue, it was confusing for them to use the same script, especially as English.
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Through his study of the language, Evans realized that the Ojibwa language could best be represented through just nine sounds, which are: a, ch, k, m, n, p, t, s, and y all of which can be combined with the basic vowels in four variations: ai, chi, ki, mi, ni, pi, ti, si, yi and so on for the vowels e, i, o, u. It was probably also around this time that Evans first considered a new syllabic writing system as being the ideal way to render the Algonkian languages.
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In 1837 Evans was able to publish some of his first translations. He had a spelling book printed for him in New York that year; hymns and music. Unfortunately the speller (Speller and Interpreter in English and Indian) was rejected by the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1838. The lack of sanction and funding from the Bible Society did not, however, prevent the use of the syllabic speller and accompanying works by either Evans or his assistant Thomas Hurlburt.
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In 1840, after two years of expedition and missionary work around Lake Superior, Evans was appointed to the post of General Superintendent of the North West Indian missions. To take up his new post, he moved to Norway House, on the shores of Playgreen Lake about 650km north of Winnipeg, Manitoba, arriving there in August of 1840.
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Norway House is strategically situated near the head of the Nelson River, which empties Lake Winnipeg and a number of smaller lakes into the Hudson Bay, and was a major waterway route for the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC). The settlement was built c. 1819 by Norwegian carpenters on behalf of the HBC and at the time of Evans arrival served as headquarters to Governor Simpson when he was in the area.
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The spring following Evans arrival, he decided to locate his new mission outside of the fort as the conditions within the fort did not suit the interests of religion. He chose a small island some 3km from the main fort and named it ‘Rossville’ for his new friend, the chief factor of Norway House, Donald Ross. Evans employed locals to help in the construction, and over that summer built a small church and about 20 houses for the new residents. During this first year, Evans educated himself in the customs and language of the Cree. He determined that the language had 36 principal sounds and a few affixes for which he adapted a syllabic writing system he originally devised for Ojibway, of nine basic shapes which when rotated on their axis could be used to represent each syllable. Being a student of phonography1 , he was no doubt familiar with many of the efforts of others to improve, adapt or invent new systems of writing. Only 3 years previous in 1837, James Frere had devised a new alphabet for the illiterate and the blind based on a series of simple shapes. Thomas Lucas devised a writing system for shorthand notation used for embossing books for the blind. Also in 1837, Isaac Pitman published his ‘Stenographic Sound Hand’ - phonetic shorthand system where all characters may be represented with a single pen stroke of either straight or curved lines. (1837 seems to have been a busy year.)
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It was during the autumn of 1840 that Evans began his efforts at producing type so that he could print using his newly developed writing system. The Hudson’s Bay Company refused to transport printing presses and requisite materials into their territory for fear that their hold on the natives would be lost through some dissemination of information contrary to their own motivations. It is also doubtful that at the time Evans would be able to convince his superiors that it was worthwhile funding the casting of new typefaces and all that that entails, having already been rebuked in 1837. So, faced with a long winter ahead, Evans began to collect scraps of lead from the lining of tea-chests, which were in abundance due to the large trade in tea between the fur traders and the natives, as well as bullets. He engaged in several experiments, but ended by carving the characters in the end-grain of oak wood, thus fashioning a matrix. Over this he placed a hollowed-out square of metal, into which was poured the molten lead. The newly cast character was removed from this, finished by filing and was then ready for composition. Ink was manufactured by mixing fine soot (or lampblack) with fish oil and a printing press was improvised by using a jack-screw press used by the fur trade to compress hides or blankets for shipment. It is unclear what was used for paper - perhaps birch bark early on - but this was probably impractical to manufacture on any but the smallest scale.
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Evans first printing was from a stereotype plate, a showing of the syllabary, on October 15th, 1840. By November 11th, he had succeeded in his manufacture of movable type and printed three hundred copies of the hymn ‘Jesus My All to Heaven is Gone’. In the following months he printed several other hymns, the Lord’s Prayer, and a small hymnbook with 16 hymns. By mid-June, 1841 he had printed approximately 5,000 pages of material.
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It was not until autumn of 1845 that permission was obtained and a printing press was delivered to Rossville. By this time Evans was too sick with a kidney disease as well as being burdened with a allegation of moral improprieties involving native women. It is possible that these were founded on rumours started by his enemies who saw some of his Christian principals - such as forbidding his canoemen to paddle on the sabbath - as contrary to commerce if it got into the heads of the native employees, York boat brigades and trappers - many of whom were becoming converts - to do likewise. Chief amongst his antagonists was the Governor of the Territory of Rupert’s Land, Sir George Simpson, who even went so far as to charge Evans with sedition and held a trial against Evans with himself as the judge.
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Evans probably did not get the opportunity to use the new press (in fact it was a rather over-used wooden press built in 1786). He had to return to England in the summer of 1846 to defend himself against the morals charge at the Wesleyan Methodist Assembly. Although he found opinion and many of his collegues against him upon his arrival in England, no evidence was found to prove the charges, and in the end Evans was exonerated both by the Assembly and by the Canadian Court. Publication of the conspiracy against Evans rallied support and bolstered interest in his work, and so many invitations to speak at church meetings and missionary gatherings were received. And although his health was dire, he refused to stop:
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"If I cease from active labours, and have an idle hour, there comes up before me the picture of the dying interpreter. I can not be idle. I must be busy. I can not stop"
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On the 22nd of November, 1846, Evans gave a talk at a missionary meeting in his home town of Hull and died later that evening at a friend’s home.
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Postscript : Perspective
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It should be noted that while historical evidence favours Evans as the originator of the syllabic system, there are are other perspectives; some attribute the syllabic characters as a gift from the Creator Kisemanito to two Cree elders - Mistanaskowew, (Badger Bull) was from Western Canada and Machiminahtik (Hunting Rod), was from Eastern Canada. These two elders are said to have both received the knowledge of the syllabic characters at the same time, in their respective locations, and that from these elders the knowledge spread amongst the Cree nations.
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Source: TIRO TYPEWORKS

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NOTE: Norval Morrisseau's wife, Harriet Kakegamic, inspired him in his work and taught him Cree syllabics, form of writing developed by Methodist missionary James Evans in the 1840s, reflected in Morrisseau's own signature of his works "Copper Thunderbird"

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