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This video tells the story of Robert Houle's art practice, which connects strongly to First Nations mythology, the first leg of the Canadian founding peoples tripod.
Robert Houle is a 2015 winner of the Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts.
Directed by Derreck Roemer
Co-production of the Canada Council for the Arts and Charles Street Video
Presentation of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Independent Media Arts Alliance
The Canada Council for the Arts is a federal, arm's-length Crown corporation created by an Act of Parliament in 1957 (Canada Council for the Arts Act) "to foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts."
For more information, visit: ggavma.canadacouncil.ca
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Transcript:
My grandfather said: “Jiishin gegoo wiiseg maa akiing, nishnaabe waabdaan.“ “If something is going to happen, our people will witness it.”
Well, this is known as a parfleche. It’s a saddle bag used for pemmican, which is food, and also for medicine. And it was more the medicines that I was concerned about.
Parfleches or the Last Supper was the first work of art that was actually mine, that was not inspired by any other artists or any other ideas. It was my culture, it was my history. It was handmade paper, and they were ceremonially closed with paint and they were decorated with porcupine quills, because I wanted to use natural material to allude to the hide.
Kanata? Wow, I never thought that it would be popular because it had been rejected: it was too controversial. For me, The Death of General Wolfe painting is not the full story. The story of Canada is about us as well from day one, because we were here first, we settled here first. It’s a tripod this country. You know, it’s French, English and First Nations. We helped shape this country, you know, and we continue to. I wanted to connect our mythology, that period where we actually were very closely related to the animals, to the eagle, to the bear, to the wolf, to the turtle. These are the grandfathers, and the gifts that they brought. And I want to teach about who gave these values to us and how we live by them. It was very, very important to bring in the drummers and the dancers. It was cultural affirmation, cultural presence. Then to add to that the medicine that comes from the drumming, to make the heart soar.
Негізгі бет Фильм және анимация Robert Houle, visual artist and 2015 Canada Council laureate - a film by Derreck Roemer
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