Discover over 200 years of history and artistic creation
QUÉBEC CITY, Oct. 16, 2024 /CNW/ - The Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (MNBAQ) is highlighting Indigenous art from October 17, 2024 to April 21, 2025 through Early Days. Indigenous Art from the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, a major exhibition produced and circulated by the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, Ontario.
The MNBAQ will host the exhibition's exclusive Québec presentation on its international circuit. It is proud to contribute to raising the profile of more than 50 artists from 13 nations spanning Canadian soil through 110 works ranging from past traditions to contemporary practices.
This sweeping panorama, celebrating 200 years of artistic creation, has been organized in collaboration with Indigenous specialists in light of recent research. Early Days. Indigenous Art from the McMichael Canadian Art Collection presents a fine selection of objects ranging from 18th-century ceremonial insignias to the significant work of avant-gardist artists of the 1960, 1970s, and 1980s, and including works by contemporary artists.
The exhibition's key artists include Caroline Monnet (Anishinabeg, French), Norval Morrisseau (Anishinaabe), Nadia Myre (Anishinabeg), Meryl McMaster (Plains Cree/Métis, Dutch, and British), Kent Monkman (Cree), Shuvinai Ashoona, Annie Pootoogook, Pudlo Pudlat et Nick Sikkuark (Inuit), Dana Claxton (Wood Mountain Lakota), Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun (Cowichan-Syilx), Carl Beam (Ojibwa), Robert Houle (Anishnabe, Saulteaux) and Faye HeavyShield (Káínawa), to name but a few.
The exhibition not only affords visitors a rare opportunity to immerse themselves in the richness and diversity of Indigenous art but also reveals our relationship with the earth and our ancestors, and the ties that bind us. It proposes a unique encounter with living cultures that are deeply rooted in our shared history.
The thematic path explained
The design team of the MNBAQ has created an uncluttered space occupied by megalithic assemblages that reflect the territory and natural features to place the works of art and the artists presented at the forefront.
Eight guiding themes structure the exhibition, thus enabling visitors to discover the root of the artistic history of the Indigenous peoples in modern-day Canada: Open a Dialogue Humorously, Norval Morrisseau's Heritage, Anishinaabe Artists. Clear Voices, The Art of the Northwest Coast, Masks and Objects, The Importance of Women in Indigenous Cultures, Colonial Contacts and Exchanges, and Contemporary Inuit Artists.
Open a Dialogue Humorously highlights the work of artists whose creative approach focuses on humour in order to discover new spaces for reflection and discussion conducive to exchanges of views and intercomprehension. Kent Monkman (Cree) and Dana Claxton (Wood Mountain Lakota) are telling examples.
One of the next two sections, Norval Morrisseau's Heritage and Anishinaabe Artists. Clear Voices, is devoted to artist Norval Morrisseau. Also called Miskwaabik Animiiki in Anishinaabemowin, which means "Copper Thunderbird," Morrisseau is regarded as a pioneer in contemporary Canadian Indigenous art. He was also one of the first North American Indigenous artists whose work was exhibited in museums and commercial art galleries. Visitors will also discover artists that he influenced, including Bob Boyer (Métis) and Alex Janvier (Denesuline, Saulteaux) from the prairies who opted for abstract painting and the creation of works on paper, inspired by ideas and stories that defy temporal and spatial boundaries.
In the area devoted to the Art of the Northwest Coast, the artistic expression of Pacific-rim cultures in modern-day British Columbia, the Yukon, and Alaska, is noteworthy for its dynamic formline style. For over two millennia, artists from this region have reorganized these arrays of fluid lines of varying thickness to create a unique visual universe that brings to life historic events, emblematic figures, and orality. Robert Davidson (Haida) is one artist who has reinvented this style. The forms that these communities treasure are also brilliantly incorporated into the paintings of Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun (Cowichan/Syilx).
The Masks and Objects section assembles early masks from the Northwest Coast dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries, and contemporary models produced for trade. Starting in the 1970s and the 1980s, certain Indigenous artists entered the mainstream art market and created works in traditional forms but with artistic designs. The works include argillite Haida sculptures (carved pipes, anthropomorphic figures) that are considered one of the first forms of Indigenous artistic production intended for trade with merchant seafarers and colonists.
Another section highlights the Importance of Women in Indigenous Cultures. The striking works, which embody women's strength and combining their efforts to confront adversity, include the self-portraits of artist Meryl McMaster (Plains Cree/Métis, Dutch, and British) and a sculptural work by Faye HeavyShield (Káínawa). Meryl McMaster's staged photographs affirm her link to the earth and mixed ancestry. Faye HeavyShield's sculptural work reflects the importance of solidarity among women, which strengthens communities and sustains family unity.
The works in the Colonial Contacts and Exchanges section revolve around a rare ceremonial costume from the Great Lakes region. All of the items, garments, and finery presented date from the late 18th century. Certain works are related to the use of the wampum belt, an object embroidered with beads that sealed alliances or negotiations. Others, which evoke the trauma of contagion, will certainly resonate with contemporary visitors, also reminding of us of the often-fatal exchanges between the colonists and the Indigenous.
The last section, The Canadian Arctic, presents a panorama of artists from the Far North. For over 50 years, it has been the focal point of some of the country's boldest artistic innovations. Several generations of Inuit artists have distinctively shaped art history and their works are valued the world over. From the late 20th century, engravings, textiles, and Inuit sculptures were the main exports from the Arctic. However, for the past 20 or so years, drawings have become a genre in themselves for contemporary artists, who draw inspiration from the legacy of their forebears. Shuvinai Ashoona, Tim Pitsiulak, Annie Pootoogook and Pudlo Pudlat are among the leading figures in this trend.
A bouquet of selected works
Among the seminal works in the Early Days. Indigenous Art from the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, mention should be made of: Headdress – Shadae (2019) by Dana Claxton; Earth Mother Hair, Indian Hair, and Earth Mother Eyes, Indian Eyes, Animal Eyes by Duane Linklater; Thunderbird with Inner Spirit (circa 1978) by Norval Morrisseau; Sisters (1993) by Faye HeavyShield; We Come in Numbers (2020) by Caroline Monnet; and Bringing Home Food (2003-2004) by Annie Pootoogook.
Headdress – Shadae (2019), Dana Claxton's photographic work intrigues at first sight with its imposing coloured headdresses. For the artist (Wood Mountain Lakota), this excessive superimposition of items such as beaded caps inspired by hip-hop, a woven cedar hat, and majestic pow-wow and peyote fans, serve as a metaphor for the different layers that make up the Indigenous identity and diversity. Humour also allows us to ask basic questions, e.g., "Can we truly see others beyond the suppositions that we make about them?"
Norval Morrisseau's grandparents, who lived on the southeastern shore of Lake Nipigon in Ontario, exposed him in childhood to an array of beliefs. His grandfather, a shaman, transmitted to him Anishinabe culture and spirituality while his grandmother taught him the Catholic religion. The two worldviews influenced his work. Thunderbird with Inner Spirit (circa 1978) is a revealing example. The self-portrait displays an open channel, from top to bottom, which reflects significant Ojibwa spiritual and metaphysical concepts. The artist represents his own transformation into a powerful being rising toward the kingdom of heaven or descending in the more physical manifestation of life.
Duane Linklater's fresco Earth Mother Hair, Indian Hair, and Earth Mother Eyes, Indian Eyes, Animal Eyes evokes the mural that Norval Morrisseau created for the Canadian Indian Pavilion at Expo 67. The work is entitled Earth Mother and Her Children and it presents a human child and a bear cub nursed by an anthropomorphic figure personifying Mother Earth. The work was censured at the time by the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, supported by the organizers of Expo 67. They demanded that the artist modify the overly explicitly visual element. When the time came to paint his mural, the artist was conspicuous by his absence and his assistant, Carl Ray, completed the work. To symbolically evoke Morrisseau's absence, Linklater (Omaskêko Ininiwak) adopted the practice of delegating the production of his own mural, which draws inspiration from the iconography of Morrisseau's original work. Huron-Wendat artist Manon Sioui has reproduced the mural presented at the MNBAQ. [The work appears on page 1.]
Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun's boldly colourful New Climate Landscape (Northwest Coast Climate Change) (2019) brilliantly incorporates the forms dear to the communities on the Northwest Cost. The Cowichan/Syilx artist has for several decades lived and worked in Vancouver in the traditional territory of the Coast Salish. The coastal rain forest of the Pacific Northwest is frequently the focus of his creations, thus emphasizing the artist's attachment to the territory. However, he does not hesitate to criticize the use and violation by the colonists of the land and their underhand machinations to extract resources from Indigenous lands. [the work appears on page 1]
Artist Faye HeavyShield's sculptural work Sisters (1993) is elegantly composed of plaster effigies representing 12 life-size inward-pointing women's shoes arranged equidistant from each other in a circle. The split end of the shoes alludes to a deer's hoof, suggesting the animal's attributes of elegance, strength, and delicacy. Some observers will see in it a representation of the artist and her five sisters, whereas the work unfolds like a metaphor for the solidarity between women that bolsters communities and families.
Annie Pootoogook certainly heads the list of artists from the Far North who have redefined contemporary Inuit art. Her work lies within the scope of established artists such as Ashoona and Pudlo Pudlat, but she is part of the famous Pootoogook family from Kinngait in Cape Dorset. Her pencil drawings are autobiographical, forceful, and original and represent scenes of contemporary northern life. The work Bringing Home Food (2003-2004) is far removed from mythical visions of the North and reflects instead the works that implacably capture changing living conditions in the North.
Multidisciplinary artist Caroline Monnet is of Anishinabeg and French ancestry and a native of the Outaouais region in Québec. She does not hesitate to combine the visual vocabulary of popular and traditional culture with elements of modern abstraction to create her own formal language. We Come in Numbers (2020) encourages contemplation. The intriguing foliated jet-black surface alternately evokes the fine plumage of a crow, the cracks of burnt wood, or the charred pages of a book. To produce this fascinating composition, the artist used Tyvek fibres, an insulation used in construction. By incorporating this type of materials into her work, Caroline Monnet can symbolically evoke the drastic consequences of the housing crisis that is affecting Indigenous communities. She also reminds us that insulation often remains visible on the outside of houses in the Indigenous communities that are frequently unfinished because of social injustice and a lack of resources. The work's title, We Come in Numbers, simultaneously highlights the seriousness of the situation and the great resilience of the Indigenous peoples.
Visit the exhibition with Xavier Watso
The audio guide is an excellent tool that enables visitors wishing to enrich their experience to proceed more intimately at their own pace. The Early Days. Indigenous Art from the McMichael Canadian Art Collection audio tour is accessible in French and in English on mobile devices. It invites visitors to discover and appreciate the cultural practices, core values, and creativity of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis artists past and present. Accompanied by Abenaki host, columnist, actor, and exhibition spokesperson Xavier Watso, visitors will discover through 20 stops the major themes of the exhibition through a selection of works that highlight the originality, reflection, and creative expression of the artists exhibited.
TO LISTEN: Audio guide Early Days
Credits
The Early Days. Indigenous Art from the McMichael Canadian Art Collection exhibition has been produced and circulated by the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, Ontario.
Curatorship and Didactic Texts
Sarah MILROY
Executive Director and Chief Curator, McMichael Canadian Art Collection
Collaborator for the presentation in Québec City
Eve-Lyne BEAUDRY
Director of Collections and Research, MNBAQ
Management
Marie-Hélène AUDET
Head of Mediation, MNBAQ
Yasmée FAUCHER
Head of Museography, MNBAQ
Design and graphic design
Philippe LEGRIS, MNBAQ
Gallery Mediation
Florence GARIÉPY, MNBAQ
The Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec is a state corporation funded by the Gouvernement du Québec.
Early Days. Indigenous Art from the McMichael Canadian Art Collection
Pierre Lassonde Pavilion of the MNBAQ
From October 17, 2024 to April 21, 2025
SOURCE Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec
PRESS CONTACTS: Linda Tremblay, Media Relations Officer, MNBAQ, 418 262-4681, [email protected]; Montréal, Rosemonde Gingras, Rosemonde Communications, 514 458-8355, [email protected]
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