Man seeing visions
Norval Morrisseau
Silkscreen, 25” x 20”, 1974
Legal Copyright 2010
The Norval Morrisseau Estate of Gabe & Michele Vadas
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Published by Ritchie 'Stardreamer' Sinclair. This Blog is a record of posts published between 2009 and 2011, archived here for the record.
“I saw a sense of purpose, a direction, and an inner strength. Looking at it from a painting point of view, I found an incredible sense of design, a power of imagery, and a uniqueness. You know, there is a sense of the unique. Obviously, he is one of the few people who have interpreted the legends and myths. But, his images of those demigods, the animal world, the Merman - things of this type were unique to himself, I felt. I felt that I had not seen this before."Jack Pollock1974
The studies displayed above bear witness to Morrisseau fundamentals. i.e decisive line, comrehensive balance and vision. All five paintings are simple sketches. The first four images were painted with a heavier brush than the 1965 "Power Giver" sketch which explores a recurring Morrisseau theme.The first two pieces were sold for thousands of dollars each by Gallery Gevik in Toronto; a primary art dealer of Daphne Odjig's work. I introduced Norval to Philip Gevik in the mid 1980s. Philip bought a few paintings and took us out for Armenian food.
The second two were listed as serigraphs and went for $200 each at Hodgins Auctions.Stardreamer
I am a shaman-artist. Traditionally, a shaman's role was to transmit power and the vibrating forces of the spirit through objects known as talismans. In this particular case, a talisman is something that apparently produces effects that are magical and miraculous. My paintings are also icons; that is to say, they are images which help focus on spiritual powers, generated by traditional belief and wisdom. I also regard myself as a kind of spiritual psychologist. I bring together and promote the ultimate harmony of the physical and the spiritual world.Norval Morrisseau
Two essays on erotic painting and carving, "Norval Morrisseau and the Erotic" and "Inuit Men, Erotic Art," have a hard time competing with the images printed alongside their written analyses -- not just because sexual pictures trump academic writing but because so few such images of indigenous art have ever been published.Heid ErdrichExcerpt from "All my relations - and then some".Star TribuneMay 23, 2008
For most artists, making art is a quiet, gentle pursuit. But for Norval Morrisseau it's a matter of life and death. Always has been.
When he began painting the sacred legends of the Ojibway in the early 1960s, he found himself up against tribal shaman aghast at his effrontery. The stories Morrisseau depicted were forbidden territory; anyone who broke the rule had to pay the price.
But Morrisseau's magic was stronger than his rivals and three decades later, he's not just alive, but creatively well. He has finished painting his next solo exhibition, which will open this Saturday at the Kinsman Robinson Galleries, 14 Hazelton Ave.Christopher HumeToronto StarSep 24, 1997
What we are about to do is an ancient Indian Bear Ceremony...an earth renewal ceremony. The Grand Shaman is now in...This is a secret society eh...We are allowing who is ever around looking... to look. Now what we are going to do is the Shaman...the Grand Shaman...with his assistant Shaman is bringing the Bear...who is the Initiate...He's not a human...he's a Bear. It won't be too long or too short....So be it
Norval Morrisseau1997
Dr. Mansfield was an American citizen who was a dedicated collector of Native American art. He considered Norval Morrisseau to be the greatest Indian artist on the continent. His donated collection of almost 1000 works of North American Indian art and pottery included quality authentic Morrisseau paintings and prints along with several "questionable" Morrisseau paintings.The two American Museums split their take on one day and then went back to the business of educating the World about Indians and their Art.Purported Morrisseau artwork acquired by the Fred Jones Jr. Museum and the Smithsonian from Dr. and Mrs. R.E. Mansfield in 2003 that in my studied opinion are forged pieces includeStoryteller of the Ages , dated 1980 - Fred Jones Jr. MuseumEarly Shaman, dated 1973 - The SmithsonianLily of the Mohawk, dated 1979 - The SmithsonianMother To All Things, dated 1980 - The SmithsonianThe Wanderers, dated 1985 - The Smithsonian (On tour in Australia)Authentic Morrisseaus donated by Dr. and Mrs. R.E. Mansfield includeTime Track / Causal Plane , date created 1990 - Fred Jones Jr. MuseumPsychic Space, date created 1996 - The SmithsonianMeeting with Thunderbird, date created 1994 - The SmithsonianTogether We are All One Spirit, date created 1992 - The Smithsonian
Stardreamer
Now freed from the responsibilities of his own gallery Pollock intends to paint seriously for the next 20 years. He also would like to do a television program about art, aimed at viewers with no previous background. Pollock, who was clinically dead for two days after his operation makes a good case for "Art Is Life".Nancy BaeleExcerpt from the Ottawa Citizen article
Canada needs more Jack Pollocks. It needs erratic adventuresome investors in our future. Pollock has taken chances in art when he couldn't afford to. Luckily the rest of the art community soon caught up.Kathleen WalkerOttawa Citizen arts Editor
Norval Morrisseau painted dozens of paintings while residing on Baldwin Street in Toronto in the early 1980s. The proprietor of the "Art Imperial Gallery", a stone's throw from the Art Gallery of Ontario, was a woman named Ilona Nagy. Ms. Nagy, and her son, Tommy, were fascinating characters in their own right. Ilona's stories of door-to-door sales of her own artwork in winter, leaving baby Tommy sleeping in the car, are just the beginning of her entrepreneurial tales.
In 1990 she took her beloved Morrisseau art, purchased "for a song" directly from Norval, and opened the "Native Art Imperial Museum" upstairs. She charged people a few bucks to see her collection of a hundred or more Morrisseaus. From time to time she needed to sell a piece to pay bills, but many thought she over-valued Morrisseau's work. I liked that she prized it so.
In 1987 she attended my exhibition, "The Rabbit and the Resurrection", held at Gallery St. Luke in Toronto. She bought the largest piece in the show on opening night and made a big tadoo in leaving a deposit. When I delivered the painting after the show closed she wouldn't pay me more than half the agreed price so I ended up walking away. I never forgot being squeezed by her, nor did Norval.
All of her paintings are of course authentic, though many were the product of Norval's depressed state of mind at the time, for various legitimate reasons. While his art of this era reflects his temperament, he was ever the master artist and produced more great exploratory art, and even a few masterpieces. I consider this little piece to be one of them.
One day authentic Morrisseaus with erotic content will be sought after by the World's finest collectors and bring the highest valuations. This is world class art that is unique, pertinent and attractive to the aesthetic sensibilities of Paris, London, New York and LA.
Ms. Nagy is still around, though she must be in her eighties. She carries on without her son Tommy, a great guy with real musical talent, that I hear passed away. In Northumberland Ontario she runs a tea house where she still operates her Morrisseau "museum". I think she named it after Tommy. I wish her all the best.Stardreamer
From the beginning, Morrisseau created a visual bridge from the culture of the Anishnaabe to art, in terms of subject matter and style. His pictographic style has its roots in the distinctive beadwork of the Anishnaabe, where black rows of beads separate and delineate shapes such as the petals of a flower. He also had an early interest in colour, perhaps derived from the iconography of the Ojibway people in their traditional clothing, adornments, dyed porcupine quills and, later, glass beads.________________
To this Morrisseau added his own iconography. He reveals the souls of humans and animals through what has been simplistically termed an x-ray style of imaging. Sinewy black spirit lines emanate, surround and link the figures,while stylized skeletal elements and internal organs within the figures’ segments represent their spirituality, as well as, sometimes, their physical strength(rigid bone structure) or health and vitality(enlarged heart of a bird). Dots denote power. Lines drawn out of people’s mouths represent power or communication or establish relationships. An intersected circle expresses the idea of duality - night and day, men and women - and the concept of the necessity of two halves to balance the whole.Barbara SibbaldExerpt from - Artist as visionary - 2006