Photo By Gail
Canadian artist Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas (b. 1954) named his ongoing series Coppers from the Hood — to which Yelthadaas (2010) belongs — for the shield-like totems, or coppers, that Haida chiefs traditionally exchanged during potlaches. These are communal feasts that formed the basis of the pre-colonial economy on the Northwest Pacific Coast, and they’re still held today.
Continue reading Modern Art Monday Presents: Yelthadaas By Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas
Photos By Gail
For Cannupa Hanska Luger (b. 1979) the Bison is a symbol of Indigenous resilience and sovereignty. The mass slaughter of North American bison from 1845 to 1895 by settlers of European descent took place for profit, dominion over land and westward expansion. The strategic removal of this vital source of food, clothing, shelter and spiritual reverence for the Great Plains Native American populations forced their assimilation into western culture. It was also an ecological disaster with long lasting effects.
Continue reading Cannupa Hanska Luger’s Attrition in City Hall Park
Photos By Gail
Trade (Gifts For Trading Land With White People) (1992) is the first painting, in which Native American artist Jaune Quick-To-See Smith depicted a trade canoe, a subject she frequently returns to. Here, Smith uses the painted canoe as a vehicle for examining the history of exploitation in this country, which she underscores with collaged photocopies of old photographs, zoological illustrations, and clippings from newspapers and magazines – many from the publication of her reservation, Char-Koosta News.
Continue reading Modern Art Monday Presents: Trade By Jaune Quick-To-See Smith
All Photos By Gail
To make the figure in this sculpture, a sleeping bag was draped to suggest the contours of a human body and then cast in clay. The thousands of empty bullet casings that surround the ceramic form become a protective barrier. “In some way,” artist Rebecca Belmore (b. 1960) has said, “the work carries an emptiness. But at the same time, because it’s a standing figure, I am hoping that the work contains some positive aspects of this idea that we need to try to deal with violence.”
Continue reading Modern Art Monday Presents: ishkode (fire) By Rebecca Belmore