I've just finished reading two books from the Marmora Library about arguably Canada's two greatest artists, Emily Carr and Norval Morrisseau. They were born 6 decades apart, Carr in 1871, Morrisseau in 1932, into very different times and cultures. Emily Carr was a settler with a very traditional upper middleclass background. Morrisseau was born into a traditional Ojibway trapper culture in northern Ontario in the Lake Nipigon area. The commonality they share, the basis for both their great paintings, is their love, understanding and depiction of First Nations culture. Carr painted totem poles, an already disappearing west coast art form, while Morrisseau bravely restored elements of aboriginal spirituality and traditions with his depictions of shamanic tales and experiences.
I read Emily Carr first. It's by Lewis DeSoto as part of John Ralston Saul's series, Extraordinary Canadians (Penguin Canada, 2008). It's a short book, under 200 pages, and it reads like an extended Cole's Notes. Just the facts, without a whole lot of insight. But despite the uninspired writing style, Carr's life and times and contribution to Canadian art are so interesting I enjoyed the book. There are other, likely better, books on Carr, but at least I finally got around to grasping the barebones of her story via this book.
Norval Morrisseau: Man Changing Into Thunderbird (Douglas and McIntyre, 2014) is a much better plate of bannock bread. Author Armand Garnet Ruffo, a First Nations poet, author and professor, presents the twisting, turning tale of Morrisseau's life in the present tense. Although as readers we know some of his story already, this style makes the book read like a novel, with events unfolding in the now.
This is a longer book, which cost me at least three decent nights of sleep. We first experience Morrisseau living with his shaman grandfather and grandmother in a far north land based lifestyle. His grandfather's stories and teachings formed the foundation for Norval's love of indigenous spirituality, but as with so many First Nations children, he was sent at age six to a Catholic residential school, where he was sexually abused and partially indoctrinated into Christianity. The pull between these two belief systems stayed with Morrisseau his entire life, influencing his art with the frustrating impossibility of reconciling them. Late in life he became involved with the Eckankar cult, which is perhaps the closest he came to a spiritually satisfying philosophy, apart from his shamanistic painting.
Why I especially enjoyed these books:
My interest in Canadian culture and art was fostered by membership in The Canadian Liberation Movement (CLM), which I joined the year after I arrived back in Canada in 1972. As Canadian born, but raised in the United States, I felt I had a lot of catching up to do on Canadian history and culture after being miseducated south of the border. As a very active opponent of the Vietnam War and a "draft dodger" I also felt I had a mission to help Canadians understand the negative role American imperialism was having in the world. The best thing about membership in the CLM was its emphasis on supporting Canadian art and culture and learning our history. The bad aspect was its crazy brew of Maoism/Stalinism - a crash course in sectarian realpolitik for a free ranging hippy who'd been living a knockabout life on the streets of the UK for three years.
The summer of 1974 witnessed an armed uprising on First Nations territory. We were holding a CLM congress and organizing school, and as one of CLM's primary goals was opposing imperialism, I organized a whiparound collection from the members and sent it to the occupying Warriors. Soon after I extensively interviewed Tapwe Chretien, an activist founder of the Dene Nation, for our newspaper, New Canada. I also interviewed Vern Harper, founder of the Toronto Warriors, for an article. It was also during my CLM years in Toronto that I first visited the McMichael Art Gallery in Kleinburg. Hence the overlapping interests in First Nations issues and Canadian art, which are so married in both Carr and Morrisseau.
Since moving to the eastern Kawartha Lakes area in 1989 I've made semi annual visits to the Whetung Art Gallery on Curve Lake First Nations, and also to Petroglyphs Provincial Park, where the sacred rock carvings inspired Morrisseau. The Gallery on the Lake near Buckhorn is also worth visiting. Morrisseau had some major interactions with the Whetung Gallery owners, which added to my interest. Poet and acquaintance Karl Jirgens is credited with one of the chapter heading photos of Morrisseau. His magazine, Rampike, is credited with an interview with Morrisseau. Decades ago Karl published one of my poems in Rampike - an honour - belated thanks, Karl : )-
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