Woodlands Style
Encyclopedia
The Woodland School Of Art, also named Woodlands style, Woodlands School, or Anishnabe painting, is a genre of painting among First Nations
and Native American art
ists from the Great Lakes
area - including northern Ontario
and southwestern Manitoba
. The majority of the Woodland artists belong to the Anishinaabeg
- notably the Ojibwe (also Ojibwa), Odawa
, and Potawatomi
, as well as the Oji-Cree and the Cree
. The style is also known as Legend Painting or Medicine Painting.
, a First Nations Ojibwe artist from Northern Ontario, Canada. He learned Ojibwe history and culture primarily from his grandfather Moses "Potan" Nanakonagos and later collected traditional narratives from his tribe in the 1950s. This oral history provided subject matter for his paintings, and he drew upon dreams and visions. Morrisseau said, "all my painting and drawing is really a continuation of the shaman's scrolls." Ojibwe intaglio
, pictographs, petrographs rock art
and birch bark scrolls
, Wiigwaasabak, were stylistic antecedents of the Woodland style.
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
and Native American art
Native American art
Visual arts by indigenous peoples of the Americas encompasses the visual artistic traditions of the indigenous peoples of the Americas from ancient times to the present...
ists from the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
area - including northern Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
and southwestern Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
. The majority of the Woodland artists belong to the Anishinaabeg
Anishinaabe
Anishinaabe or Anishinabe—or more properly Anishinaabeg or Anishinabek, which is the plural form of the word—is the autonym often used by the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Algonquin peoples. They all speak closely related Anishinaabemowin/Anishinaabe languages, of the Algonquian language family.The meaning...
- notably the Ojibwe (also Ojibwa), Odawa
Odawa people
The Odawa or Ottawa, said to mean "traders," are a Native American and First Nations people. They are one of the Anishinaabeg, related to but distinct from the Ojibwe nation. Their original homelands are located on Manitoulin Island, near the northern shores of Lake Huron, on the Bruce Peninsula in...
, and Potawatomi
Potawatomi
The Potawatomi are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family. In the Potawatomi language, they generally call themselves Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and that was applied...
, as well as the Oji-Cree and the Cree
Cree
The Cree are one of the largest groups of First Nations / Native Americans in North America, with 200,000 members living in Canada. In Canada, the major proportion of Cree live north and west of Lake Superior, in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, although...
. The style is also known as Legend Painting or Medicine Painting.
Origin
The style was founded by Norval MorrisseauNorval Morrisseau
Norval Morrisseau, CM , also known as Copper Thunderbird, was an Aboriginal Canadian artist. Known as the "Picasso of the North", Morrisseau created works depicting the legends of his people, the cultural and political tensions between native Canadian and European traditions, his existential...
, a First Nations Ojibwe artist from Northern Ontario, Canada. He learned Ojibwe history and culture primarily from his grandfather Moses "Potan" Nanakonagos and later collected traditional narratives from his tribe in the 1950s. This oral history provided subject matter for his paintings, and he drew upon dreams and visions. Morrisseau said, "all my painting and drawing is really a continuation of the shaman's scrolls." Ojibwe intaglio
Intaglio
Intaglio are techniques in art in which an image is created by cutting, carving or engraving into a flat surface and may also refer to objects made using these techniques:* Intaglio , a group of printmaking techniques with an incised image...
, pictographs, petrographs rock art
Rock art
Rock art is a term used in archaeology for any human-made markings made on natural stone. They can be divided into:*Petroglyphs - carvings into stone surfaces*Pictographs - rock and cave paintings...
and birch bark scrolls
Birch bark scrolls
Wiigwaasabak are birch bark scrolls, on which the Ojibwa people of North America wrote complex geometrical patterns and shapes. When used specifically for Midewiwin ceremonial use, these scrolls are called mide-wiigwaas...
, Wiigwaasabak, were stylistic antecedents of the Woodland style.
Style
This visionary style emphasizes outlines and x-ray views of people, animals, and plant life. Colours are vivid, even garish. While Morrisseau painted on birch bark initially, the media of Woodland style tends to be western, such as acrylic, gouache, or watercolor paints on paper, wood panels, or canvas.Woodland style painters
- Jackson BeardyJackson BeardyJackson Beardy was a Canadian artist. He was an Anishinini-Indian and his works are characterized by scenes from the holy stories of his people. He belonged to the "Woodland School of Art" and was a prominent member of the “Indian Group of Seven”...
(1944–1984) - Kelly ChurchKelly ChurchKelly Jean Church is an award-winning black ash basket weaver, Woodlands Style painter, birch bark biter, and educator, enrolled in the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians.-Background:...
(b. 1967) - Blake Debassige (b 1956)
- Norval MorrisseauNorval MorrisseauNorval Morrisseau, CM , also known as Copper Thunderbird, was an Aboriginal Canadian artist. Known as the "Picasso of the North", Morrisseau created works depicting the legends of his people, the cultural and political tensions between native Canadian and European traditions, his existential...
(1931–2007) - Daphne OdjigDaphne OdjigDaphne Odjig, CM, LL.D. , is an influential Canadian First Nations artist of Odawa-Potawatomi-English heritage. Her many awards include the Order of Canada and the Governor General's Award. Her painting is often characterized as Woodlands Style...
(b. 1919) - Carl RayCarl RayCarl Ray was a First Nations artist who was active on the Canadian art scene from 1969 until his passing in 1978. Considered primarily a Woodlands Style artist, he also painted European style wildlife and landscapes...
(1943–1978)
Further reading
- Dawson,K.C.A. (1966) "The Kaministikwia Itaglio Dog Effigy Mound." Ontario Archeology. No.9 (June):25-84.
- Pollack, Jack. The Art of Norval Morrisseau. Toronto: Metheren Press, 1979. ASIN B001BY1VHU.
- Rajnovich,Grace. "Reading Rock Art." Interpreting the Indian Rock Paintings of the Canadian Shield. Dundum Press Ltd., 1994'
- Robinson, Donald C. Travels To the House of Invention. Bolton, Ontario: Key Porter Books, Ltd., 1997. ISBN 1-55013-880-4.
- Selwyn Dewdney and King Kenneth E. Indian Rock Paintings of the Great Lakes. University of Toronto Press, 1967.
External links
- "The Socio-Political Influence of Woodlands Art," Native Art in Canada
- Norval Morrisseau, Woodland style blog