Indigenarts

A music festival featuring Indigenous Artists from around the world creating music that crosses almost all musical and physical borders. It is happening in Winnipeg from August 18th to the 22nd!

A very good production for this album. I am glad to see how many followers they have!

"Target" by Tom Jones. From the 'I am an Indian First, an Artist Second' series. What you see is a photograph of the base of several toy soldiers. Here the artist raises the issue of identity genocide. Why do American Indian artists both claim Native ancestry (by utilizing Indian symbols or entering shows specifically geared towards Indian artists) and simultaneously reject classification as American Indian artists? A tension among the contemporary Indigenous artists.

Yes, but what is a regalia? The website lacks critically of information about it. A regalia is composed of a special dress, ornamentation and jewelry which is worn for particular occasions such as festivals and dances, ceremonies and rituals. The style of the dress, the symbols used in designs as well as the colors in beadwork can help identify the wearer’s tribe or family. EDIT: I see now that my last sentence could have been misinterpreted. Nevertheless thanks for your input and sorry if my wording was not appropriate.

Another beautiful basket hat. This is a Haida one, made in the 19th century by native artisan Isabella Edenshaw. The four branches star on the top of it looks very modern, almost displaced. But it gives a very nice general look to my opinion.

Saw this rain boots today, not sure what to think.. Is it over-exploitation and industrial production of form lines supposed to be used by Indigenous artists? Or is it something good to your opinion?

Christi Belcourt's acrylic paintings gives this impression of fullness, harmony and dynamism. Her floral patterns are inspired by Métis and First Nation’s breadwork art. When you take a close look at it, the patterns are symmetrical. “So much Depends Upon Who Holds The Shovel”, 2008

As I said in a previous post, I struggled to find street artists from the Northwest Coast. And in fact there are quite a lot! I missed this website containing wide lists of Indigenous musicians, artists and writers. I think it is a very great initiative to gather all these underground names (that don't necessary have personal websites) into a single web address. Thanks to Nwcprintjoy for this great discovery.

Corey Bullpitt's artworks are very diverse. He is a painter, jeweler, wood and argillite carver who explores different mediums such as spray paint here. A huge visible piece of art accessible to anyone. I love it!

I was looking for First Nation street artists, and curiously I could not find any significant name from the Northwest coast who has internet media coverage for his works. These murals above are made with spray can by Navajo artist Pastes Healing. The interesting point is that graffiti completely breaks away from traditional methods of producing art. But also, these realistic representations of Indigenous people are not anchored in the tradition. I guess it is because street art is originally linked to the city culture. Has the Indigenous art always to follow the same visual perspectives of representation to be considered as such? No official website, but you can type “Pastes Healing artist” on Google to see more of his works.

"ALLIANCE = REBELLION" Scott Erickson made these very interesting prints, that might look familiar to the majority of us. The artist tackles the "sacred dimension" of Indigenous Art by mixing elements from two opposed cultures. On the one hand, Star Wars (and by the same extend American mainstream culture) and on the other hand, formlines from Northwest tribal culture. I feel like Erickson is trying to create a link, or to fill a gap, between the mainstream pop-culture and his artistic heritage. By doing so, he presents a graphic alternative history that unifies under-popularized historical indigenous myths with an over-popularized fictional space epic. Discover more about Erickson at http://alliancerebellion.wix.com/preview#!images/mainPage

Lyle Wilson is a Haisla artist and here are two guitars he made. I think it is very interesting for this instrument (that is not originally from the Haisla culture) to be transformed into an Northwest coast tribal piece of art. The Spaniards were the first people to encounter the Haisla in 1792. To some extend those cultures may have influenced each other in the production of art. Find out more about Lyle Wilson: http://www.spiritwrestler.com/catalog/index.php?artists_id=223

The works of art use humour, irony, parody and satire to challenge stereotypes and raise unexpected questions.