Norval Morrisseau, also known as Copper Thunderbird, is an Aboriginal Canadian artist. In his works he depicted the legends of his people, the cultural and political contransts between native Canadian and European traditions, his existential struggles, and his deep spirituality and mysticism. His style is characterized by thick black outlines and bright colors. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (589x640, 58 KB) This image is of a drawing, painting, print, or other two-dimensional work of art, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the artist who produced the image, the person who commissioned the work... is the 73rd day of the year (74th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1932 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Latin: Loyal she began, loyal she remains) Capital Toronto Largest city Toronto Official languages English Government - Lieutenant-Governor James K. Bartleman - Premier Dalton McGuinty (Liberal) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 106 - Senate seats 24 Confederation July 1, 1867 (1st) Area [1] Ranked... Aboriginal people in Canada are Indigenous Peoples recognized in the Canadian Constitution Act, 1982, sections 25 and 35, respectively, as Indians (First Nations), Métis, and Inuit. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ... Spirituality, in a narrow sense, concerns itself with matters of the spirit. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Biography

An Anishinaabe, he was born March 14, 1932 on the Sand Point Ojibway reserve near Beardmore, Ontario. Some sources quote him as saying that he was born in Fort William, now part of Thunder Bay, Ontario, on the same date in 1931. His full name is Jean-Baptiste Norman Henry Morrisseau, but he signs his work using the Cree syllabics writing ᐅᓵᐚᐱᐦᑯᐱᓀᐦᓯ (Ozaawaabiko-binesi, unpointed: ᐅᓴᐘᐱᑯᐱᓀᓯ,"Copper/Brass [Thunder]Bird"), as his pen-name for his Anishnaabe name ᒥᐢᒁᐱᐦᐠ ᐊᓂᒥᐦᑮ (Miskwaabik Animikii, unpointed: ᒥᐢᑿᐱᐠ ᐊᓂᒥᑭ,"Copper Thunderbird"). Anishinaabe or more properly Anishinaabeg or Anishinabek (which is the plural form of the word) is a self-description often used by people belonging to the indigenous Odawa, Ojibwe, and Algonkin peoples of North America, who share closely related Algonquian languages. ... is the 73rd day of the year (74th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1932 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses of Chippewa, see Chippewa (disambiguation). ... Beardmore is a community in the Canadian province of Ontario, located on Highway 11 in the municipality of Greenstone. ... Nickname: Motto: Superior by nature Location of Thunder Bay, Ontario Coordinates: , Country Canada Province Ontario Region Northwestern Ontario District Thunder Bay District CMA Thunder Bay Settled 1679 as Fort Caministigoyan See histories of Port Arthur and Fort William Amalgamation 1 January 1970 Government [1][2]  - Type Municipal Government  - Mayor Lynn... Year 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Cree syllabics are the variations on Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics that are used to write Cree language dialects. ...

According to Anishnaabe tradition, he was raised by his maternal grandparents. His grandfather, Moses Potan Nanakonagos, a shaman, taught him the traditions and legends of his people. His grandmother, Grace Theresa Potan Nanakonagos, was a devout Catholic and from her he learned the tenets of Christianity. The contrast between these two religious traditions became an important factor in his intellectual and artistic development. The shaman is an intellectual and spiritual figure who is regarded as possessing power and influence on other peoples in the tribe and performs several functions, primarily that of a healer ( medicine man). The shaman provides medical care, and serves other community needs during crisis times, via supernatural means (means... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is...

At the age of six, he was sent to a Catholic residential school, where students were educated in the European tradition, native culture was repressed, and the use of native language was forbidden. After two years he returned home and started attending a local community school. The term residential school generally refers to any school at which students live in addition to attending classes. ...

Man Changes Into Thunderbird (1989)

At the age of 19, he became very sick. He was taken to a doctor but his health kept deteriorating. Fearing for his life, his mother called a medicine-woman who performed a renaming ceremony: She gave him the new name Copper Thunderbird. According to Anishnaabe tradition, giving a powerful name to a dying person can give them new energy and save their lives. Morrisseau recovered after the ceremony and from then on always signed his works with his new name. Image File history File links Norval_Morrisseau_Man_Changes_Into_Thunderbird_125_1004. ... Image File history File links Norval_Morrisseau_Man_Changes_Into_Thunderbird_125_1004. ... Anishinaabe traditional beliefs cover the traditional belief system of the Anishinaabeg peoples, consisting of the Algonquin/Nipissing, Ojibwa/Chippewa/Saulteaux/Mississaugas, Odawa, Potawatomi and Oji-cree, located primarily in the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada. ...

An early advocate of Morrisseau was the anthropologist Selwyn Dewdney, who became very interested in Morrisseau's deep knowledge of native culture and myth. Dewdney was the first to take his art to a wider public. This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ...

Jack Pollock, a Toronto art dealer, helped expose Morrisseau's art to a wider audience in the 1960s. The two met in 1962 while Pollock was teaching a painting workshop in Beardmore. Struck by the discovery of Morrisseau's art, he immediately organized an exhibition of his work at his Toronto gallery. Template:Hide = Motto: Template:Unhide = Diversity Our Strength Image:Toronto, Ontario Location. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

One of Morrisseau's early commissions was for a large mural in the Indians of Canada Pavilion at Expo 67, a revolutionary exhibit voicing the dissatisfaction of the First Nations People of Canada with their social and political situation. The Indians of Canada Pavilion at Expo 67 in Montreal presented a somewhat different message than what the Canadian government had hoped. ... The 1967 International and Universal Exposition, or simply Expo 67 was the General Exhibition Category 1 Worlds Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from April 27 to October 29, 1967. ... First Nations is a term of ethnicity used in Canada. ...

In 1972, he was caught in a hotel fire in Vancouver and suffered serious burns on three-quarters of his body. In that occasion he had a vision of Jesus encouraging him to be a role model through his art. He converted to the apostolic faith and started introducing Christian themes in his art. A year later he was arrested for drunk and disorderly behaviour and was incarcerated for his own protection. He was assigned an extra cell as studio and was allowed to attend a nearby church.

In 2005 and 2006, the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa organized a retrospective of his work. This was the first time that the Gallery dedicated a solo exposition to a native artist. Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... National Gallery of Canada on Canada Day. ...

The artist's principal dealer, Kinsman Robinson Galleries, has represented Norval Morrisseau and his artwork for the last eighteen years.

In 2006, the Norval Morrisseau Heritage Society began to compile a database of Norval Morrisseau paintings to discredit many prevalent Morrisseau forgeries. This committee, not affiliated with any commercial gallery or art dealer, comprises highly respected members of the academic, legal and Aboriginal communities. It is charged with creating a complete catalogue raisonné of Norval Morrisseau artwork. Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Style

Morrisseau is a self-taught artist. He developed his own techniques and artistic vocabulary which captured ancient legends and images that came to him in visions or dreams. He was originally criticized by the native community because his images disclosed traditional spiritual knowledge. Initially he painted on any material that he could find, especially birchbark, and also moose hide. Dewdney encouraged him to use earth-tone colors and traditional material, which he though were appropriate to Morrisseau's native style.

The subjects of his art in the early period were myths and traditions of the Anishnaabe people. He is acknowledged to have initiated the Woodland School of native art, where images similar to the petroglyphs of the Great Lakes region were now captured in paintings and prints. The term Woodlands Style (also called Woodlands Metis Art, Legend Art or Medicine Art) came into being to differentiate the people of Northwestern Ontario from the later Praire Metis culture. ... Petroglyphs on Newspaper Rock State Historic Monument, southern Utah, USA Petroglyphs are images created by removing part of a rock surfaces by incising, pecking, carving, and abrading. ... The Great Lakes from space The Great Lakes are a group of five large lakes on or near the United States-Canadian border. ...

His later style changed: He used more standard material and the colors became progressively brighter, eventually obtaining a neon-like brilliance. The themes also moved from traditional myth to depicting his own personal struggles. He also produced art depicting Christian subjects: during his incarceration, he attended a local church where he was struck by the beauty of the images on stained-glass windows. Some of his paintings, like Indian Jesus Christ, imitate that style and represent characters from the Bible with native features. A large Perpendicular style Gothic window of eight lights in Canterbury Cathedral, c. ...

After he joined the new age religion Eckankar in 1976, he started representing on canvas its mystical beliefs. Eckankar. ... Year 1976 Pick up sticks(MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The cover art for the Bruce Cockburn album, Dancing in the Dragon's Jaws, is a painting by Norval Morrisseau. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

He was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1978. Seal of the Order of Canada The Order of Canada is Canadas highest civilian honour, with membership awarded to those who exemplify the Orders Latin motto Desiderantes meliorem patriam, which means (those) desiring a better country (Hebrews 11. ... Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). ...

Observation of the Astral World (1990)

Image File history File links Morrisseau_Astral_World. ... Image File history File links Morrisseau_Astral_World. ...

Exhibits

• National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario: February 03, 2006–April 30, 2006
• Thunder Bay Art Gallery, Thunder Bay, Ontario: June 06, 2006–September 04, 2006
• McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, Ontario: September 30, 2006–January 14, 2007
• Institute of American Indian Arts Museum, Santa Fe, New Mexico: June 15, 2007–September 03, 2007
• The George Gustav Heye Center of the National Museum of the American Indian, New York City, New York: October 20, 2007–January 20, 2008

National Gallery of Canada on Canada Day. ... This article is about the capital city of Canada. ... Thunder Bay Art Gallery The only of its kind in all of Northwestern Ontario, the Thunder Bay Art Gallery offers all sorts of paintings and exhibits from young artists and old, professional and unprofessional. ... Nickname: Motto: Superior by nature Location of Thunder Bay, Ontario Coordinates: , Country Canada Province Ontario Region Northwestern Ontario District Thunder Bay District CMA Thunder Bay Settled 1679 as Fort Caministigoyan See histories of Port Arthur and Fort William Amalgamation 1 January 1970 Government [1][2]  - Type Municipal Government  - Mayor Lynn... The McMichael Canadian Art Collection is an art gallery in Kleinburg, Ontario, near and to the north of Toronto, in Canada. ... Kleinburg is a small unincorporated village located in the city of Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. ... The Institute of American Indian Arts is a college and museum focused on Native American art. ... Nickname: Location in Santa Fe County, New Mexico Coordinates: , Country State County Santa Fe Founded ca. ... The George Gustav Heye Center is the branch in New York City of the National Museum of the American Indian, which is part of the Smithsonian Institution. ... National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C., viewed from the northeast Interior view looking down toward the entrance. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ...

External links

• NORVAL MORRISSEAU — SHAMAN ARTIST On view June 15 - September 3, 2007 at the IAIA Museum, Santa Fe
• Authorized biography
• Unofficial WEBsite of Norval Morrisseau
• Norval Morrisseau: Shaman Artist at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection
• Current radio show: ARTIST CARRIES TRIBE'S TRADITIONS FORWARD

References

• Greg Hill, Norval Morrisseau: Shaman Artist, Douglas & McIntyre, Canada, 2006, ISBN 1-55365-176-6.
• Basil H. Johnston, The Art of Norval Morrisseau, The Writings of Basil H. Johnston, The Glenbow Museum, Calgary, 1999.
• Norval Morrisseau, Legends of my people, the great Ojibway, Ryerson Press, Toronto, 1965.
• Norval Morrisseau, Donald C. Robinson, Travels to the House of Invention, Key Porter Books Ltd, Canada, 1997, ISBN 1-55013-880-4.