The Paradox of Norval Morrisseau
1974
28 min
Coming soon
In this revealing study of Norval Morrisseau, filmed as he works among the lakes and woodlands of his ancestors, we see a remarkable Indigenous artist who emerged from a life of obscurity in the North American bush to become one of Canada's most renowned painters. Morrisseau the man is much like his paintings: vital and passionate, torn between his Ojibway heritage and the influences of the white man's world. Jack Pollock, the Toronto art gallery owner who discovered Morrisseau's paintings in the early 1960s, comments on what makes them so unique.
Details
In this revealing study of Norval Morrisseau, filmed as he works among the lakes and woodlands of his ancestors, we see a remarkable Indigenous artist who emerged from a life of obscurity in the North American bush to become one of Canada's most renowned painters. Morrisseau the man is much like his paintings: vital and passionate, torn between his Ojibway heritage and the influences of the white man's world. Jack Pollock, the Toronto art gallery owner who discovered Morrisseau's paintings in the early 1960s, comments on what makes them so unique.
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musicShingoose
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singerShingoose
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lyricsDuke Redbird
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director of photographyDavid M. OstrikerNaohiko KuritaJackson Samuels
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writerBruce Martin
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editorMichael MacLaverty
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directorDuke RedbirdHenning Jacobsen
Education
Ages 15 to 17
Arts Education - Visual Arts
Family Studies/Home Economics - Aging/Death and Dying
Indigenous Studies - Arts
Indigenous Studies - Identity/Society
Media Education - Documentary Film
Have media students consider how the film represents Morrisseau as an artist and as an Aboriginal person, and how an Aboriginal viewer might understand this film. Arts and Aboriginal Studies students can consider how the artist has integrated his native religion and Christianity; evaluate his representation of Aboriginal myths; examine his influence on art in modern Aboriginal culture; discuss how Morrisseau has influenced the non-Aboriginal view of Aboriginal identity; compare his art to Aboriginal world arts.
