Native artists embrace contemporary work

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Visitors to the Fort Whoop-Up Interpretive Centre in Lethbridge will get a unique look at art through the eyes of Native artists.

"Blackfoot Originality: Beyond Eagles and Buffalos" highlights the contemporary work of three Aboriginal students from the University of Lethbridge, Delia Cross Child and Debbie Kelman, both of whom grew up on the Peigan reserve, and William Singer III, who's a member of the Blood Tribe.

"I wanted to avoid the eagles, buffalos and historical figures," said curator Rob First Charger. "Most artists are marginalized because of their traditional work. I wanted to venture something different."

First Charger interviewed eight artists and then decided to show the works of three.

First Charger's criteria for the art he selected is personal.

"It needs to make me think; it needs to heighten emotion; and it needs to be a constant source of discovery. I felt these met all those criteria."

Cross Child, who grew up on the Peigan reserve but now resides on the Blood reserve, said her work is a "reflection of myself as a female Native artist.

A lot of my work reflects my people's philosophy, my heritage, my being here in 2001."

Cross Child's art wasn't always non-traditional.

"When I first left high school, I was painting traditional images," she said.

"A lot of what you see here goes beyond that. My experience of being an artist can be represented in symbols and images."

Singer, too, began his art career with traditional painting. About five years ago he branched into mixed media.

"My mentor is (Blood Tribe writer) Everett Soop. He always told me there was more I could do beyond this, to try something new. It was in me to get out."

Kelman considers herself the "new kid on the block. I just started as an art student in spring of 1999."

Unlike the other two, Kelman did not do traditional art.

"Part of me is living in the contemporary world," she said. "Native people have always been known to adapt and incorporate."

Kelman is no stranger to being creative, having done beadwork and sewn costumes for her boys, but it wasn't until she started taking an art class at university that she first picked up a paint brush.

"It was a really exciting thing," she said.

First Charger said "(These) Blackfoot artists are establishing a contemporary paradigm in Blackfoot art, through the usage of vibrant colors, cultural icons and invoking powerful bold images into their art.

Their statements transmit messages of family ties, political views, traditional teachings as well as community and cultural identity. They foster the continuity of Blackfoot tradition and emphasize its aesthetic and cultural values.

Their statements are redefining contemporary Aboriginal art by recognizing its ties to traditional modes as well as their innovative and powerful artistic expressions of Aboriginal life experiences in the new millennium. Furthermore, Cross Child, Kelman and Singer are contributing to this new dimension of Aboriginal creativity and the vital search for artistic excellence."

The show runs to March 30.