Ancestral Figures with Spirit Helpers
Norval Morrisseau
acrylic on five canvass panels, 1978
From the permanent Collection of the City of Toronto
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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.
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Copyright
All Norval Morrisseau Art copyright © The Norval Morrisseau Estate of Gabe & Michele Vadas. All other text and media copyright © Ritchie Stardreamer Sinclair and/or the copyright holders. All Right Reserved
Welcome to Authenticity
The Authentic Norval Morrisseau blog has been launched to stimulate and inspire artists, educators, students, patrons and art lovers.
This forum provides interesting food for thought to assist, guide and uplift the grassroots visionary.
I hope that one day this effort to educate the public about Morrisseau's incredible art will no longer be necessary because his name, his art and his profound legacy will be one with global consciousness.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please Email Me
Ritchie "Stardreamer" Sinclair
Protege of Norval Morrisseau
This forum provides interesting food for thought to assist, guide and uplift the grassroots visionary.
I hope that one day this effort to educate the public about Morrisseau's incredible art will no longer be necessary because his name, his art and his profound legacy will be one with global consciousness.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please Email Me
Ritchie "Stardreamer" Sinclair
Protege of Norval Morrisseau
Blog Archive
Norval Morrisseau Articles
Norval Morrisseau Quotes:
>>>>>>>
"I transmit astral plane harmonies through my brushes into the physical plane. These otherworld colours are reflected in the alphabet of nature, a grammar in which the symbols are plants, animals, birds, fishes, earth and sky. I am merely a channel for the spirit to utilize, and it is needed by a spirit starved society."
>>>>>>>
"My art speaks and will continue to speak, transcending barriers of nationality, language and other forces that may be divisive, fortifying the greatness of the spirit that has always been the foundation of the Ojibwa people."
>>>>>>>
"My goal is to break the barrier between the white world and mine. I wish only one thing, to be an artist and to be respected as one - and my paintings to be seen by all people."
>>>>>>>
"My heart and soul is reflected into my mind and my mind is reflected into my hands."
>>>>>>>
"From the first time I picked up the brush, painting became my passion. Over the years that passion has grown and strengthened.
>>>>>>>
There is no other way to describe it. To paint is to live."
>>>>>>>
"I started to do some painting. I guess I saw some art literature from Arizona or the Southwest somewhere, but I was hungry to learn more. I wanted to paint my house and paint the walls in traditional pictographs like the ones I saw from the rock paintings and birch bark scrolls our people used to make."
>>>>>>>
"I was told by some relatives not to do this - that I should not be tampering with these forms, 'because the Indians will ostracize you'. Or the elders would not care for it, just like the Jesuits.
>>>>>>>
Nevertheless I was determined to do it, for it is my destiny..."
>>>>>>>
"I don't wish my work to be exploited, but to be properly used as an art form in its proper place where for the generations of the great Ojibway people it can be seen in the future, as well as be appreciated by all our white brothers."
>>>>>>>
"I want my work to be cornerstone for Indian art, to provide something that will last."
>>>>>>>
"Love for life is a gift"
>>>>>>>
“I would like to say that I am an artist so that I can beautify the world and battle conditioned consciousness with the same tools used to condition it.
>>>>>>>
“My paintings are icons, that is to say, they are images which help focus on spiritual powers, generated by traditional belief and wisdom.”
>>>>>>>
"It is our Ojibwa tradition to recall our history or obtain our history in an oral manner. It is important for our children and others to benefit through the process of continuing to recall and make history."
>>>>>>>
"I guess I was increasingly seeking the art form and culture I was being taught, but there was none out there."
>>>>>>>
"The Grand Shaman is like the Pope of Rome. The Pope is on one side of coin, the Shaman on the other side of the coin."
>>>>>>>
"I consider Manitoulin Island to be the most sacred place in Canada"
>>>>>>>
"Be who you are no matter how hard it is. Never mind the ridicule."
>>>>>>>
"Just be"
>>>>>>>
"People had to be stripped of their culture before they could be taught to be civilized. The Natives of the Americas were not the dogs people were misled to believe, but rather a sophisticated network of different cultures, religions and so on."
>>>>>>>
"When the Jesuits came, the Indian was already around. The Indian did not understand them. He tried to understand them, what they were up to. He knew that they were going to be there for awhile. He knew how sad it was, seeing his people, how low they were put, how they had previously enjoyed living and needed to live freely again. How do we go about doing that now? We need images. We’re going to use images ourselves."
>>>>>>>
"To accomplish what I have started and to die in it feeling I have fulfilled what I started - to reach a level where I and Manitou and the Indian will always keep the Indian faith alive - to be a great Artist and Preserver of Indian culture. I accept it fully as a duty in life which was set forth for, to set an example."
>>>>>>>
"These paintings only remind you that you're an Indian. Inside somewhere, we're all Indians. So now when I befriend you, I'm trying to get the best Indian, bring out the Indianness in you to make you think everything is sacred."
>>>>>>>
"The fish, sacred trout, was the most respected of all fish. The trout gave the Indian life in abundance and according to Ojibwa Indian mythology it represented his soul carrier. The trout carried the Indian soul through transmigration into an other existence in the supernatural or reincarnation. All this belief worked for the betterment of the Indian food in reality - faith in the supernatural."
>>>>>>>
"Nepii-Naba, the merman, who brought good luck to those who offered him tobacco and, in return, helped Indians to travel safely on lakes and rivers"
>>>>>>>
Among the Indians, as among other nations, some people are born artists, but most are not. I am a born artist. I have as much interest in my people as any anthropologist, and I have studied our culture and lore. My aim is to reassemble the pieces of a once proud culture, and to show the dignity and bravery of my people.
>>>>>>>
"Now, when I paint a picture I just allow myself to be used. I pick up the pencil and the canvas. I allow the interaction with soul to reflect in the mind, to put down these images of people, men or women or children especially. I may draw a hundred children, but there is never the same colour."
>>>>>>>
"I go to the inner places, I go to the source, I go to the house of invention."
>>>>>>>
"Many times people tell me that I’ve cured them of something, whatever’s ailing them. But I didn’t do anything. It was the colour of the painting that did it. But now it’s even much stronger. The healing is much stronger than it ever was. What I finally find is this: We could live with turmoil and the anguish in everything and still we could feel contented and happy and compassionate. What we got rid of is the stress with colour.”
>>>>>>>
"So, if am in this World to deliver any messages I wouldn't want to be a preacher. I would want to be a painter"
>>>>>>>
"Let's put it this way. I know what is to be hungry and poor in cloths. But the spirit of one that is poor shall never be weaken by hunger, as hunger is good matter. This is what gives a man life and wisdom. I don't regret that I was hungry."
>>>>>>>
"All is well"
>>>>>>>
"I may not have a Ferrari, but I'm the first Indian to break into the Canadian art scene and I have forever enriched the Canadian way of life. I want to make paintings full of colour, laughter, compassion and love. I want to make paintings that will make people happy, that will change the course of people's lives. If I can do that, I can paint for 100 years."
>>>>>>>
"Why am I alive? To heal you guys who are more screwed up than I am. How can I heal you? With colour. These are the colours you dreamt about one night."
>>>>>>>
They speak about this tortured man, me, but I'm not. I've had a marvelous time, when I was drinking and now that I'm not, a marvelous time in my life.
>>>>>>>
"I've always wanted to be a role model. I've always wanted to stay an Indian. I wanted the little kids to know that."
>>>>>>>
"The Ojibways have great respect for the Bear. According to their legends, in the distant past the Bear had a human form and was in fact an ancestor of the Ojibways. Therefore he understands the Indian language and will never attack or fight any Indian if he is addressed properly."
>>>>>>>
"I can live anywhere. I can paint anywhere. I have painted six panels of the Man Who Changed Into a Thunderbird. All these paintings came from within. I don't need to isolate myself to do them. I can paint them here, there or anywhere. A pipe band could be going by, or cars."
>>>>>>>
"I paint with these colours to heal, my paintings honour the Anishnaabe ancestors who have roamed the Great Lakes for centuries upon centuries."
>>>>>>>
"My people believe the earth to be their mother and that we are children of the earth. In spirit we are one with our environment."
>>>>>>>
"Personally I am not thinking about myself truthfully in this present year but years ahead when I am death for the children of mine and the generations of my people to feel proud of the art heritage of the Ojibway and every nationality is proud of its culture."-
>>>>>>>
"We Are All One in Spirit"
"I transmit astral plane harmonies through my brushes into the physical plane. These otherworld colours are reflected in the alphabet of nature, a grammar in which the symbols are plants, animals, birds, fishes, earth and sky. I am merely a channel for the spirit to utilize, and it is needed by a spirit starved society."
>>>>>>>
"My art speaks and will continue to speak, transcending barriers of nationality, language and other forces that may be divisive, fortifying the greatness of the spirit that has always been the foundation of the Ojibwa people."
>>>>>>>
"My goal is to break the barrier between the white world and mine. I wish only one thing, to be an artist and to be respected as one - and my paintings to be seen by all people."
>>>>>>>
"My heart and soul is reflected into my mind and my mind is reflected into my hands."
>>>>>>>
"From the first time I picked up the brush, painting became my passion. Over the years that passion has grown and strengthened.
>>>>>>>
There is no other way to describe it. To paint is to live."
>>>>>>>
"I started to do some painting. I guess I saw some art literature from Arizona or the Southwest somewhere, but I was hungry to learn more. I wanted to paint my house and paint the walls in traditional pictographs like the ones I saw from the rock paintings and birch bark scrolls our people used to make."
>>>>>>>
"I was told by some relatives not to do this - that I should not be tampering with these forms, 'because the Indians will ostracize you'. Or the elders would not care for it, just like the Jesuits.
>>>>>>>
Nevertheless I was determined to do it, for it is my destiny..."
>>>>>>>
"I don't wish my work to be exploited, but to be properly used as an art form in its proper place where for the generations of the great Ojibway people it can be seen in the future, as well as be appreciated by all our white brothers."
>>>>>>>
"I want my work to be cornerstone for Indian art, to provide something that will last."
>>>>>>>
"Love for life is a gift"
>>>>>>>
“I would like to say that I am an artist so that I can beautify the world and battle conditioned consciousness with the same tools used to condition it.
>>>>>>>
“My paintings are icons, that is to say, they are images which help focus on spiritual powers, generated by traditional belief and wisdom.”
>>>>>>>
"It is our Ojibwa tradition to recall our history or obtain our history in an oral manner. It is important for our children and others to benefit through the process of continuing to recall and make history."
>>>>>>>
"I guess I was increasingly seeking the art form and culture I was being taught, but there was none out there."
>>>>>>>
"The Grand Shaman is like the Pope of Rome. The Pope is on one side of coin, the Shaman on the other side of the coin."
>>>>>>>
"I consider Manitoulin Island to be the most sacred place in Canada"
>>>>>>>
"Be who you are no matter how hard it is. Never mind the ridicule."
>>>>>>>
"Just be"
>>>>>>>
"People had to be stripped of their culture before they could be taught to be civilized. The Natives of the Americas were not the dogs people were misled to believe, but rather a sophisticated network of different cultures, religions and so on."
>>>>>>>
"When the Jesuits came, the Indian was already around. The Indian did not understand them. He tried to understand them, what they were up to. He knew that they were going to be there for awhile. He knew how sad it was, seeing his people, how low they were put, how they had previously enjoyed living and needed to live freely again. How do we go about doing that now? We need images. We’re going to use images ourselves."
>>>>>>>
"To accomplish what I have started and to die in it feeling I have fulfilled what I started - to reach a level where I and Manitou and the Indian will always keep the Indian faith alive - to be a great Artist and Preserver of Indian culture. I accept it fully as a duty in life which was set forth for, to set an example."
>>>>>>>
"These paintings only remind you that you're an Indian. Inside somewhere, we're all Indians. So now when I befriend you, I'm trying to get the best Indian, bring out the Indianness in you to make you think everything is sacred."
>>>>>>>
"The fish, sacred trout, was the most respected of all fish. The trout gave the Indian life in abundance and according to Ojibwa Indian mythology it represented his soul carrier. The trout carried the Indian soul through transmigration into an other existence in the supernatural or reincarnation. All this belief worked for the betterment of the Indian food in reality - faith in the supernatural."
>>>>>>>
"Nepii-Naba, the merman, who brought good luck to those who offered him tobacco and, in return, helped Indians to travel safely on lakes and rivers"
>>>>>>>
Among the Indians, as among other nations, some people are born artists, but most are not. I am a born artist. I have as much interest in my people as any anthropologist, and I have studied our culture and lore. My aim is to reassemble the pieces of a once proud culture, and to show the dignity and bravery of my people.
>>>>>>>
"Now, when I paint a picture I just allow myself to be used. I pick up the pencil and the canvas. I allow the interaction with soul to reflect in the mind, to put down these images of people, men or women or children especially. I may draw a hundred children, but there is never the same colour."
>>>>>>>
"I go to the inner places, I go to the source, I go to the house of invention."
>>>>>>>
"Many times people tell me that I’ve cured them of something, whatever’s ailing them. But I didn’t do anything. It was the colour of the painting that did it. But now it’s even much stronger. The healing is much stronger than it ever was. What I finally find is this: We could live with turmoil and the anguish in everything and still we could feel contented and happy and compassionate. What we got rid of is the stress with colour.”
>>>>>>>
"So, if am in this World to deliver any messages I wouldn't want to be a preacher. I would want to be a painter"
>>>>>>>
"Let's put it this way. I know what is to be hungry and poor in cloths. But the spirit of one that is poor shall never be weaken by hunger, as hunger is good matter. This is what gives a man life and wisdom. I don't regret that I was hungry."
>>>>>>>
"All is well"
>>>>>>>
"I may not have a Ferrari, but I'm the first Indian to break into the Canadian art scene and I have forever enriched the Canadian way of life. I want to make paintings full of colour, laughter, compassion and love. I want to make paintings that will make people happy, that will change the course of people's lives. If I can do that, I can paint for 100 years."
>>>>>>>
"Why am I alive? To heal you guys who are more screwed up than I am. How can I heal you? With colour. These are the colours you dreamt about one night."
>>>>>>>
They speak about this tortured man, me, but I'm not. I've had a marvelous time, when I was drinking and now that I'm not, a marvelous time in my life.
>>>>>>>
"I've always wanted to be a role model. I've always wanted to stay an Indian. I wanted the little kids to know that."
>>>>>>>
"The Ojibways have great respect for the Bear. According to their legends, in the distant past the Bear had a human form and was in fact an ancestor of the Ojibways. Therefore he understands the Indian language and will never attack or fight any Indian if he is addressed properly."
>>>>>>>
"I can live anywhere. I can paint anywhere. I have painted six panels of the Man Who Changed Into a Thunderbird. All these paintings came from within. I don't need to isolate myself to do them. I can paint them here, there or anywhere. A pipe band could be going by, or cars."
>>>>>>>
"I paint with these colours to heal, my paintings honour the Anishnaabe ancestors who have roamed the Great Lakes for centuries upon centuries."
>>>>>>>
"My people believe the earth to be their mother and that we are children of the earth. In spirit we are one with our environment."
>>>>>>>
"Personally I am not thinking about myself truthfully in this present year but years ahead when I am death for the children of mine and the generations of my people to feel proud of the art heritage of the Ojibway and every nationality is proud of its culture."-
>>>>>>>
"We Are All One in Spirit"
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Disclaimer:
The author of the authentic Norval Morrisseau blog does not have any material financial interest in any commercial activity related to Norval Morrisseau artworks. The NorvalMorrisseauBlog.blogspot.com website is intended to be a source of practical information about genuine Morrisseau work. Unless otherwise noted, opinions presented are those solely of the author. Third parties who comment are solely responsible for their published content.
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