Norval Morrisseau: Return to the House of Invention

Kathy E. Zimon is a fine arts librarian (emerita) at the University of
Calgary. She is the author of Alberta Society of Artists: The First 70
Years and co-editor of Art Documentation Bulletin of the Art Libraries
Society of North America.

Norval Morrisseau, also known as Copper Thunderbird, the name he was
given by a medicine woman, was born in 1931 near Thunder Bay, Ontario.
Morrisseau was taught by his shaman grandfather, and incorporated in his
paintings the sacred symbols of his heritage as found on birchbark
scrolls, pictographs, and petroglyphs. He is the founder of the
“Woodland” or “Legend” style of painting that draws on the
spirituality of the Anishnabe (Ojibwa) people of the eastern woodlands.
Initially criticized for depicting sacred images, his works have
inspired and influenced a younger generation of artists to explore their
heritage in the style he originated.

This book includes a collection of brief texts by several admirers of
Morrisseau’s work; a few pages of explication on the sources of his
art by the artist himself; more than 50 pages of glorious full-colour
reproductions of his paintings; an anecdotal appreciation of his life
and work by the owner of the gallery that represents his work and
sponsored this book; and a chronology, a bibliography, and an index. Of
these components, by far the most important are the reproductions
because the vibrant images convey as much about Morrisseau’s
philosophy as the artist’s words. Briefly, Morrisseau believes that
colour has healing properties and can relieve stress, that each colour
represents a different kind of sickness, and that colours in a picture
are reflected in the mind of the viewer. In that moment, the viewers are
in tune with their own internal “colour space” and heal themselves.
The simplicity of the images—their intense, saturated colours bordered
in thick black lines—have a mesmerizing impact that lends some
credibility to this belief.

Morrisseau has achieved many honours: Royal Canadian Academy of Art,
1970; Order of Canada, 1978; Grand Shaman of the Ojibwa, 1986; Holder of
the Eagle Feather, from the Assembly of First Nations, 1995; and in
2006, the first solo exhibition of a First Nations artist at the
National Gallery of Canada. This beautifully produced book pays deserved
homage to his unique art and achievements.