Norval Morrisseau Blog's 8th Year Anniversary

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"The spirit comes through you. It is very creative force, you see. You could be a singer, you could be a writer, you could be a painter, you could be anything if you allow that spirit to flow." ~ Norval Morrisseau
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Norval Morrisseau/Copper Thunderbird (1931-2007)

~ Illustration by Spirit Walker ~


Hi to all,

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.

I am using this opportunity to express a sadness and special thank you to my very good friend Michael Moniz of Brampton, Ontario who departed to the spirit world on April 13, 2013. I will sorely miss our friendship and his relentless and unwavering dedication and assistance that he has provided me since this blog's inception on November 12th, 2007.

Allow me again to introduce myself to those who don't know me.

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 'Winnetou' movies were filmed in Croatia (then part of Yugoslavia). 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 after the filming of one of the 'Winnetou' movies based on novels by the best-selling German author of all time - Karl May.

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.

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/Anishnaabe School of Art, and has been dubbed the Father of Canadian Aboriginal Art. 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...
 

... 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."

Thank you for your continuing support.


Ugo Matulić a.k.a. Spirit Walker
/spiritwalker2008@gmail.com/

> For the purposes of this blog I would like to be referred to as Spirit Walker. Miigwetch!


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* The illustration of this posting is constisted of: The photograph of Norval Morrisseau taken at the opening of his first art exhibition at Pollock Gallery in Toronto, 1962; The background image taken from the illustration of the book "Crooked River" by Shelley Pearsall /ISBN: 0-375-82389-1/. The "Copper Thunderbird" Syllabics signature of Norval Morrisseau extracted from an original painting: "Syllabics": 53"x112", © 1980 Norval Morrisseau /Private Collection/