Social change and Woodlands Indian art : the Sandy Lake school
Date
1983
Authors
Pearce, Alice Carol
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Abstract
"Arts of acculturation" is a term often used in reference to those arts produced by minority, indigenous peoples for sale to dominant, majority, often white populations, Several anthropologists and art historians have examined the attitudes of such artists to their work, and the unique problems produced by dual aesthetic systems and viewer prejudice regarding media, themes, and the nature of the creators, This study presents a summary of academic concerns and considerations in this field.
A literature search provides a general acculturation history of the Cree-Ojibwa of northwestern Ontario, where the contemporary Woodlands Indian art movement emerged in the early 1960's under the leadership of Norval Morrisseau, and where several artists and schools are now located, Concentration on religion, mythology, and visual traditions reveals the role played directly and indirectly by these factors in the new art.
A large and prominent Woodlands art school emerged on the Sandy Lake Reserve, due largely to the success and leadership of artist Carl Ray. This study examines social and art history in this community to provide a rationale for the development of the art phenomenon. As a result of fieldwork among the Sandy Lake artists in June 1981, a synchronic picture develops of a contemporary, native art-producing community; methods, skill acquisition, marketing approaches, producer attitudes, local and extralocal stimuli and influences, and the styles and trends observed in the portfolios of several native artists of varying success and experience.
The conclusion reached is that several socio-historical factors combined to produce idiosyncratic acculturation in Sandy Lake. The resultant environment was fertile ground for the growth of a communal apprenticeship system of art learning and teaching. The local talent of Carl Ray and the historic accident that placed Norval Morrisseau in Sandy Lake at a strategic time were major stimuli to the contemporary art movement.