The Canadian North, a rugged landscape often glamorized as a land of adventure and promise, hides a dark history. From the early day’s of the gold rush, when the land was first colonised, to the attempted cultural assimilation of the indigenous peoples through residential schools, the people native to the area are still in a struggle of identity and culture, and the resulting effects such as high suicide rates, poverty and drug abuse,. It is through this lens that I will examine the work of Ted Harrison, a prolific English artist who spent the majority of his life living in the Yukon and painting the contemporary society that he saw around him. There is no doubt that his work was highly intertwined with the indigenous culture, and as such his identity brings up questions regarding the appropriation of native american culture. To that end, this essay will look at the context of his biography, the subject matter of his work, and compare it to contemporary Native American artists in order to clarify the nature of his art.
Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun is a contemporary Indigenous artist from Kamloops British Columbia. (Griffin, 2016) He attended the Emily Carr School of Arts and Design, graduating with an honours degree in painting. (Yuxweluptun, 2016) Yuxweluptun’s paintings often deal with issues such as corporate greed, environmental destruction and colonialism in an abstract contemporary way. He was referred to in the Vancouver Sun as an artist who, “can speak truths many would rather not hear.” (Griffin, 2016) This is exactly what Yuxweluptun is trying to do with his artwork, reveal the brutal truth that is too often swept under the rug. Yuxweluptun believes that the passion he holds for all of the issues he bases his work on was influenced by his parent’s involvement in social activism while he was a child. In an article for Straight he shares: “they were
Aboriginal art has many inspiring aspects such as the link that it has to the past of Aboriginal people, kinship the dreaming, land and reconciliation. Charlie Colbung is the artist behind a large beautiful acrylic painting exhibited in the Plantagenet community resource centre, in Mount Barker Western Australia. Colbung’s painting is called ‘Past to Present’ and represents the journey to reconciliation of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. Full of depth, texture, colour and numerous artistic elements to entice audiences to engage and analyse his lovely art work as well as critically reflect on the art and the meaning behind the painting. Charlie Colbungs painting Past to Present is a beautiful example of Aboriginal art work.
The READing outlined the role of movement and myth as a part of Indigenous histories yet with the arrival of settlers to Canada their colonial notions tried to replace and erase many of these worldviews and understanding. With the colonial attempt to assimilate and destroy Indigenous cultures in favor of European Christianity, Indigenous practices, understanding and tradition were band or lost. As seen through the banning of Potlaches and PowWow celebration, ritual and spiritual practises, destruction of land and the removal of children from communities and placing them in harmful residential schools stripping them of their languages and cultures. There are many, particularly due to their placement in residential schools that have lost the traditions and practices of their families and communities. The loss of these practises within art due to colonialization is a part of the reason why there large gape within Indigenous art histories, as many practise were banned, or not given the chance to learn from their communities. There are differences to pre- and early contact art as many could no longer practise or no longer knew how to make these traditional forms. It is this loss of information within nations that cultural continuance look towards, it is a re-learning of
This paper describes the Sea Bear Transformation Mask, created by Don Svanvik in 2000, and how it reflects Northwest Coast Indian art and culture, specific to the Kwakiutl tribe. A transformation mask is a large mask with hinged shutters that, when open, reveal another mask. Audrey and Alan Bleviss gave this mask to the Montclair Art Museum in 2005. The medium consists of red cedar, cedar bark, copper, pigment, and string. In the Montclair Art Museum, the mask is displayed in its open form.
It has been over a century since the magical world of Vanar forcibly merged with Earth for a short period of time. In the aftermath of the short merger dragons and the host of mythical creatures left behind did war with the worlds armies, destroying vast swathes of land, while other countries were destroyed with nary a gunshot, due to the power and versatility of magic. While some guns and advanced technology survived, most of it was lost as weapon caches and nuclear arsenals detonated, or as the remaining gear was snatched up by scavengers, raiders, and technology hoarders. The humans managed to win the war...but only barely, launching every nuclear weapon they could at the strongest creatures, obliterating them but at terrible cost to some
SeaWorld orca adds another to kill count. Zoos are bad because they harm the animals, the trainers have doubt and it can lead to bigger problems, and they put a lot of stress on others.
Since 1961, Killer whales have been held captive in a tank for entertainment. Helpless whales get captured from their families and get forced to live in artificial social groupings. At least 56 orcas have been captured and are currently held in captive. 23 of them were captured from the wild, and 33 were captive born. At least 163 orcas have died in captivity, not including the 30 miscarriages held in captivity. As you can tell, killer whales have a great negative impact when their in captive.
As I explored the James T. Bialac Native American Art Collection at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, I came across two paintings that really stood out to me because of their relevance to what we have been learning in class. In muted tones of blue and yellow, Harry Oosahwee’s (Cherokee) One Fall Morning depicts a Cherokee family in a barren rural landscape; animals and plants dot the landscape, and a small wooden house sits on the far right of the painting accompanied by a father, mother, and child to the left.
Killer Whales, otherwise known as Orcas, are not designed to be held in captivity. Over the past few years, we have seen an increase in Orca captivity, which also allows us to see a decrease in the quality of life in these animals. Within captivity, Orcas will experience a decline in mental health, limitations to it’s natural instincts as a wild animal, and in extreme cases, their behaviour will lead them to inflict harm or even kill their human companions.
Killer whales, otherwise called orcas, are the biggest individuals from the dolphin family and the top predator in their ecosystem. They are a standout amongst the most wise marine animals, particularly because of their intense faculties of sight and hearing. Their excellence has surprised people for years, yet for some orcas imprisonment restricts their opportunity and delight in life. It isn’t just harming the physical and psychological wellness of these creatures, but also represents a risk to coaches, yet individuals keep on profiting from killer whales.
Many people go to SeaWorld or other marine amusement parks to see these animals that they have never seen before for their own pleasure and wonders. Some people don’t know or care how these creatures even got there in the first place. Taking these orcas from the wild is depleting the population in the wild and it is killing them by keeping them in captivity. There is no way to mimic the ocean so that these animals can live comfortably and happy in captivity. Orcas do not thrive in captivity despite claim’s, they often suffer deadly physical, psychological, and social side effects. (My thesis-made up before I did my research)
“from which a boardwalk leads half a mile across a marsh to a series of natural thermal pools”(158)
In this class, I was presented with an opportunity to reflect upon my personal knowledge of Indigenous
it carried strange beings from faraway worlds and over the railings their bellies were curled. gasping and waving and cheering me on they did so the whole time until they were gone. i took to heart as they left my sight i remember it now both day and