"Norval Morrisseau Conspiracy & Art Market Competition"; writings by Michael Moniz (Part I)

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* This post was originally published on May 4th, 2009 (click HERE)





























"Ancestral Spirit with Evil Serpent", © 1977 Norval Morrisseau

~ Appeared in Maslak McLeod's "Norval Morrisseau: The Development of the Woodland School of Art", 2002... An authentic painting by Norval Morrisseau not given the recognition it deserved in the 'National Post' article: "Morrisseau fakes alleged" /National Post, May 18th, 2001/.


AN ISSUE OF 'MARKET COMPETITION': 'NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN'

When viewing this entire issue one is left with the obvious conclusion that those who hold 'superior looking' pieces done by Norval Morrisseau have dominated the market for many decades. This is obviously a reasonable and logical result. A couple of galleries already mentioned many times have sought to curb this domination in favour of the later works by Norval Morrisseau which they presently hold large inventory stock in. Irregardless of the period that a painting maybe coming from be it the 60's,70's and 80's a campaign to slander competive work began on May 18th 2001 as revealed in the National Post newspaper article posted in this Blog (click HERE).

No apology nor admission by the newspaper to the public was ever given to vindicate the artwork they slandered ignorantly. This painting is authentic in all aspects.

The internet has become an avenue for severe attack by these few individuals wishing to spread 'market terrorism'. Justice is prevailing and their time is quickly running out. One must ask 'Why has the internet been such a threat to these galleries?' Simply put an individual selling their private property can sell at a much lower price without overhead costs that a 'brick and mortar gallery' store otherwise passes on as higher prices to their customers. Nothing new here folks. Savings of thousands of dollars are not unheard of because of this phenomenon caused by the internet.

If you people had spent your time promoting all of Norval Morrisseau's work as one body instead of attacking certain pieces and periods then the market would have turned for the better for 'everyone'. But your fear of not getting your share took over your minds and the result has been a massive 'back firing'... congratulations-ironically speaking of course.

I do not blame you for being hypnotised by this mass-production quantity vs quality consciousness you hold. It shows up in your lives everyday and you know no other way for now.

Classified ads in newspapers have always been in the marketplace but with the internet an individual's exposure to what they have for sale is multiplied many times over and success in a sale occurs more often and easily. 'Art competiton?' This statement is erroneous by nature. Art can never be competitive if we are dealing with an 'original one of kind' piece of art. Mass produced art such as prints and giclées can certainly exhibit a competitive platform in the market place because there are many copies made of the same painting. Other deciding factors in purchasing a mass produced copy are based on prices, services, and availability of the art at various galleries holding the same prints.

However when one holds an 'Original one-of-kind' piece of art there can be 'no competion' against that work because there is only one of it's kind in the whole world. What would it have to 'compete' with? You may say another painting of similar theme and be correct but it is just a similar theme and not an exact copy as you would find with a print or giclée. The deciding factors for a collector of Original art are completely different than mass produced art as explained above.

Massed produced art will always have its place in the market for collectors who cannot afford the 'real thing' but wish to enjoy the imagery the art presented to them. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this.

What will be the deciding factor for a collector to purchase a genuine piece of art is simply their ability to 'afford it or not' and if they enjoy seeing the 'Image or not'. Your chronic 'assembly line mass produced mentality' cannot apply here. In the 'old days' we would determine the price of Morrisseau by its square inch believe it or not. What an insult that is to the creator of the art work that people are interested in quantity and not quality of the image presented. People who hold to this mentality exhibit an extreme ignorance of the art and should be avoided at all costs. It is better to possess one flawless one carat diamond than 10 flawed one carat diamonds! Quality will always supercede quantity in life.

As genuine pieces of art increase in prices substantially this will leave many collectors 'out in the cold' sort of speak. They will leave the 'market arena' disgruntled that they can no longer purchase a piece of art at their accustomed lower prices of the past years gone bye. Many who are upset in this category will sabotage the market themselves to keep prices lower by spreading lies and false accusations about the art which they secretely adore and wish to covet. A weeding out process is occuring leaving behind the more affluent capable of purchasing high-end art.

Protégés and students alike in the discipline of the Woodland Art are also finding themselves to be the minions of evil and slander against Norval Morrisseau to further their own failing art careers. A classic case of the 'student turning against the master'. To these would be artists my advice to you is to remember to be unique and not a 'copy cat'. There was ever only one Rembrandt, one Van Gogh, one Picasso, one Chagal, one Dali, and one 'MORRISSEAU'...

Michael Moniz (1965-2013)
/comment for Morrisseau History Detective Stories (Part III)/

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>>> Reference posts:
- In Memoriam Michael Moniz,
-  Justice for Norval Morrisseau (Part I) /Ref. CV-07-1776 SR/,

- Downloadable Norval Morrisseau Forensic Reports (Part III),
- Michael Moniz vs. CTV Globemedia Publishing Inc,
- Hatfield vs. Artworld of Sherway (Part IV), - After 3 years of RCMP & Thunder Bay Police Service investigation no evidence of fraud found & - Norval Morrisseau Conspiracy & Art Market Competition.

* The acrylic painting on canvas in this posting: "Ancestral Spirit with Evil Serpent", 58"x37", © 1977 Norval Morrisseau; acquired from Randy Potter Estate Auctions and appraised by Mr. Joseph McLeod of Maslak McLeod Gallery, Toronto, Ontario CANADA. This genuine Norval Morrisseau painting was also part of the forensic report analysis by Mr. Brian Lindblom of 'The Document Examination Consultants Inc.' - Forensic Expert & Document Examiner; Report dated January 24th, 2002. /Private Collection/