New book celebrates work of Daphne Odjig

Page 15

The Art of Daphne Odjig,

1960-2000

Key Porter Books, Toronto

$41.95(HC)

Daphne Odjig has been painting the better part of four decades, and readers can watch her progess over the years with a new publication of her work in book form. The Art of Daphne Odjig 1960-2000 is a gift.

The 54 reproductions of Odjig's work would have been enough for any fan, but Odjig had added for our enlightenment some insights into the joy that flows from her palette onto her canvas.

Daphne Odjig was born in 1919 on the Wikwemikong Reserve on Manitoulin Island. She was blessed with artistic talent that came through her blood from grandfather Jonas, who carved and engraved tombstones and loved to draw.

When his young granddaughter was fighting rheumatic fever he sat with her for hours while they sketched.

"He would look at my sketches approvingly and often say nothing, but he'd smile his approval."

Odjig went on to gain much more than approval for her artwork. She has been appointed to the Order of Canada and elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Art. In 1993, the Society of Canadian Artists of Native Ancestry made her an Elder and bestowed their highest honor by presenting her with a sacred eagle feather.

In the forward to this book, Phillip Gevic, Odjig's representative since 1980, calls her "a Canadian icon."

As well as wonderful art and information about the artist, this book has insightful essays by Bob Boyer and Carol Podedworny. Boyer's article gives the reader a good overview of the landscape of Canadian Aboriginal art from the mid-1950s and Odjig's place within it.

He links her with Carl Ray and Norval Morrisseau as "role models of cultural survival. Their art spoke eloquently to both the Native and non-Native communities of the beauty and viability of Aboriginal society."

Podedworny's focus is a critical consideration of Odjig's work and her legacy.

"[It] cannot be denied that Odjig has played an important part in recording developments that have been traumatic, passionate, and critical to the rewriting of Canadian art history."

Comparing the critical views of Odjig against the personal wisdom that the artist herself imparts is an interesting exercise. Not one to be categorized, Odjig gives this advice.

"Working within the context of your own cultural heritage doesn't mean that you shouldn't explore all that is out there in other cultures. Stay open to new ideas. Reflect on them and analyze them for yourself. Reinterpret those ideas in your own way."

One notes both her sadness for the hardships endured by First Nations people and optimism for a better future.

At age 82, this wise woman continues to see her paintings as a celebration of life. As viewers, we too can celebrate her art and her life.