Canadian Aboriginal Art | Daily Art Fixx - Art Blog: Modern Art, Art History, Painting, Illustration, Photography, Sculpture

Daphne Odjig: Painting

Internationally recognized and renowned artist Daphne Odjig was born on September 11, 1919 and raised on the Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve on Manitoulin Island (Lake Huron), Ontario Canada. As a child, art was a favourite subject and she developed the habit of sketching with her grandfather and father who were both artistic.

In 1942, Odjig moved to Toronto with her sister Winnie where she worked at the John Inglis Munitions, Planters Peanuts and Dr. Ballards dog food factories. Over the next ten years, Odjig taught herself to paint by trial and error. In 1945, she moved to British Columbia and married Paul Somerville, a Mohawk/Metis Second World War veteran she met in Toronto. In 1948, their son Stanley was born.

Odjig continued her art explorations, experimenting in oils on homemade stretchers and recycled tent canvas. Influenced by Canadian painter Cornelius Krieghoff, she painted naturalistic landscapes. In 1950, Odjig discovered the work of Picasso and began experimenting with Cubism and Abstract Expressionism.

In 1958, Odjig and her family purchased a thirty-acre farm at Columbia Valley, British Columbia with a plan to grow strawberries. Despite her husband’s death in 1960, Odjig planted the crop as planned and continued to farm in the summer, focusing on painting in the winter months. In 1961, Odjig began a period of intense artistic experimentation. She learned by copying works in books borrowed from the library and by visits to the Vancouver Art Gallery to study painting techniques up close. Influenced by the Impressionists, Odjig experimented with light effects, broken brush strokes and Cloisonnism.

In 1967, Odjig had her first public solo exhibition at the Lakehead Art Centre in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The exhibition consisted of seventy-eight drawings, pastels and acrylics. By 1971, Odjig had moved to Winnipeg with her second husband Chester Beavon, where she opened a small craft store and taught at Manitou Art Foundation on Schreiber Island.

In 1973, Odjig co-founded the Professional Indian Artists Inc. (the Indian Group of Seven), a group of professional aboriginal artists who came together to promote their work and change the way the western art world looked at native art. In that same year, she was commissioned by the Royal Ontario Museum to create From Mother Earth Flows the River of Life for the Canadian Indian Art’74 exhibition.

“Odjig has a unique Native style blended with a modern graphic approach. Influenced by Northwest Coast art during her time in British Columbia and by the developing Anishnabe style, her paintings focus on the importance of womanhood and sense of family. Central to her work is the circle, which to the Ojibwa signifies completion and perfection and is symbolic of women.”

Odjig has received numerous awards and honours including the first, (and as of November 2009), the only First Nation woman artist to show at the National Gallery of Canada, the Order of Canada, the Order of British Columbia, seven honorary degrees, the National Aboriginal Achievement Award, the Governor General’s Laureate for Visual and Media Arts, and the Expression Award from the National Film Board of Canada.

Odjig currently lives and works in Penticton, British Columbia, Canada. For more information, visit DaphneOdjig.com.

Sources: Preview Gallery Guide, Art History Archive, DaphneOdjig.com

National Aboriginal Day: Indian Group of Seven

June 21st is National Aboriginal Day in Canada. Established in 1996, it is a day for all Canadians to celebrate the cultures of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples, and their contributions to Canada.

June 21st was chosen because of the cultural significance of the summer solstice (first day of summer and longest day of the year) and because many Aboriginal groups mark this day as a time to celebrate their heritage. Setting aside a day for Aboriginal peoples is part of the wider recognition of Aboriginal peoples’ important place within the fabric of Canada and their ongoing contributions as First Peoples.

To celebrate National Aboriginal Day, DAF presents the work of the Professional Native Indian Artists Incorporation, better known as the “Indian Group of Seven”. Initiated in the 1970s by Potawatomi painter Daphne Odjig, the group consisted of professional aboriginal artists who came together to promote their work and change the way the western art world looked at native art. Members of the group included Daphne Odjig, Norval Morrisseau, Jackson Beardy, Carl Ray, Joseph Sanchez, Eddy Cobiness, and Alex Janvier.

The precursor to the formation of the group occurred in 1972, when a joint exhibition of indigenous contemporary art was held in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The show called, “Treaty Numbers 23, 287 and 1171″, included Jackson Beardy, Alex Janvier and Daphne Odjig. The success of the exhibition led to the formation of the Professional Native Indian Artists Association in November 1973 which was funded by the Department of Indian Affairs. The PNIAI was incorporated in February 1974 by all seven members. Haida artist Bill Reid, although not formally signed on, was considered the eighth member and participated in some of the group’s shows.

The name “Indian Group of Seven” was given to the group by Gary Scherbain of the Winnipeg Free Press, referring to the well known Group of Seven who painted Canadian landscapes in an impressionistic style in the 1920s.

“The group’s work covered the gamut from intensely spiritual to slyly humourous, deeply personal to fiercely political. It took Canada by storm, in both native and non-native communities.”

The “Indian Group of Seven” had numerous joint exhibitions in Canada. The last in which all participated was at the Dominion Gallery in Montreal in 1975. The group disbanded in 1975.

National Aboriginal Day events are held in every region across Canada. For a detailed list of activities, visit the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada website or contact an Aboriginal community or organization near you.