MORRISSEAU MYTHS
A book review of James R. Stevens’ "A Picasso in the North Country"
Ahnisnabae Art Gallery, 2011 - ISBN - 9-780986548-21-5
________________
"I let my art speak for me."
"Actions speak louder than words."
"My art speaks and will continue to speak, transcending barriers of nationality, of language and of other forces that may be divisive, fortifying the greatness of the spirit that has always been the foundation of the Ojibwa people."
Norval Morrisseau
________________
James R. Stevens’ hard-cover book purports to detail the life and "times" of Norval Morrisseau. Like Robbie Lavack’s "Morrisseau Papers" published in 2007, Stevens’ quasi-biographical compilation presents a menagerie of embellished memories and sideshow myths of Morrisseau escapades over the early years.
Both Lavack and Stevens myopically choose to view Morrisseau, not as a Shaman, but rather as a sham, or at best - a show-man. So compelled are the two authors by Norval’s alleged antics that they never venture near legitimate insight into Morrisseau’s unique destiny, his revolutionary character or his phenomenal art. Their presentations of Norval’s life are devoid of the shamanistic context required to comprehend him.
That being said, Stevens’ book is superior to Lavack’s tawdry paperback. In part because Stevens’ effort is chock full of previously unpublished, early era Morrisseau art. Most were painted from the late 1950s through the early 1970s. As ever, traditional legend-based compositions abound, but the work displayed here also runs the gamut in shamanistic, mammalian portraiture.
The book charts a course from Morrisseau’s ancestral roots through his early adulthood by knitting together multiple interviews, articles, and historic accounts of the region. Of special value are Morrisseau statements about his life, family, friends, art and artists.
Unfortunately this fascinating record of Morrisseau’s early life degenerates into little more than fantasies espoused by estranged relatives of Morrisseau and known forgers of Morrisseau’s art, cheered on by Mr. Stevens’ ineffectual narration. Sadly, the final portion of the book covering 35 years of Morrisseau’s incredible life has been hastily slapped together without the required research. The result is misleading at best.
Against the will of Norval Morrisseau and his Estate Jim (James R.) Stevens went ahead with self-publishing this unauthorized biography about Norval Morrisseau. Their potential book contract was shelved in or around 1976 by Morrisseau and Stevens (pg. 137) and Norval instead published the historic, "Art of Norval Morrisseau" with Pollock.
The "Morrisseau Papers" published by Robbie Lavack is similarly unauthorized. After Norval Morrisseau and his Estate refused Lavack permission, he published anyway, albeit after removing letters and images that were copyright "Norval Morrisseau." Stevens, however, brazenly includes more than 150 colour plates of Morrisseau artwork without legitimate permission or oversight from the Estate.
To his credit, Stevens doesn’t shy away from fingering the
thousands of purported Morrisseau paintings sourced to Thunder Bay’s
Gary Lamont, as fakes. In fact, he goes further; publishing images of fakes, providing a link to Morrisseau.com, and pointing to Woodland artists who have independently been critical of the counterfeit paintings.
While Stevens rightly sources fake paintings to Gary Lamont’s defunct forgery operation he fails to detail how Morrisseau’s relatives, including his estranged children along with many of those he acknowledges in his foreword, were directly involved in the proliferation of Gary Lamont’s counterfeit Morrisseau artworks.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS?
In paragraph 1 of the Acknowledgements preamble Stevens writes the following,
"For all those, past and present, Norval and I have gratitude".
Throughout his narration of this book Stevens often pretends to speak for Morrisseau. Those in Stevens’ extensive list of "acknowledgements" that Norval was personally upset with include, "Benjamin Morrisseau, Anthony Martinenko, Robbie Lavack, Jackie Bugera, Joe McLeod and Karl Burrows."
PICASSO OF THE NORTH?
To title his Morrisseau book with an interesting hook, Stevens uses a well-worn and oft repeated myth regarding a statement about Morrisseau that has been attributed to Chagall. Stevens credits Chagall (on page 2)
with dubbing Morrisseau, "The Picasso of the North" in 1969 however Chagall did not assign that title to Morrisseau. Pollock did.
As if to prove the point on page 3 of his book Stevens displays a Toronto Star advertisement for the 1966 Galerie Cartier exhibition held in Montreal which reads as follows;
"Presenting paintings by Norval Morrisseau -
"Picasso of the North,"
including oil sketches for the mural - Indian Pavilion Expo 67."
Clearly, Stevens’ research leaves much to be desired. If Chagall had indeed been the source of the Picasso of the North moniker (attributed to Chagall due to his 1969 Saint- Paul De Vences exhibition attendance); why is it found in a 1966 exhibition poster authorized by Jack Pollock for a Montreal show?
In comparing Morrisseau with Picasso, Stevens concludes that the artists have little in common, beyond the fact that both were prolific Pisces babies who abandoned their wives. Here he misses the real story.
Gauguin and Picasso left contemporary art behind to seek out the aboriginal in art because 20
th Century art had fallen victim to photo-technology. The big screen had replaced the little canvas, leaving fine art to wander aimlessly through the 20
th century like an orphaned child. The inclusion of rudimentary aboriginal Shamanism into their work provided their artistry with a measure of meaning and authenticity. Unlike Picasso, however, Morrisseau was already there.
Morrisseau was well beyond any contemporary artist, including Picasso, in tapping and transmitting inspirational power through art. Producing art as medicine, he broke barriers at will, by simply assimilating obstacles into his craft. In this sense he is the incomparable capstone to history’s pyramid of artists. With due recognition the legacy of Norval Morrisseau may yet lift "art" back into genuine significance within our society.
Stevens, however, wastes no time considering the beauty and significance of Morrisseau’s art. He falls back upon the most obvious and simplified critique of Morrisseau art and places the imagery hither and thither without apparent purpose throughout. Nevertheless, the imagery captivates without need for commentary.
WHERE’S THE BEEF?
The author’s bizarre choice not to interview the Morrisseau Estate,
his principal art dealers,
Morrisseau’s publicly acknowledged apprentices, the
Norval Morrisseau Heritage Society art luminaries or
Morrisseau’s authentic friends clearly undermines this authoring effort. In fact, the book appears to disparage the aforementioned parties, or in the alternative, omits them from the historical record. As a result Stevens grossly distorts Morrisseau’s personal history.
When detailing Morrisseau’s journey there will necessarily be omissions. Norval lived a life that could fill volumes. Nevertheless, readily available facts that Stevens chooses to omit from this book, together with those he includes as facts, distort reality significantly.
Conversations that Stevens shared with Morrisseau, which begin with him showing up on Norval’s doorstep looking for an autograph, reveal the nature of his personal relationship with Norval. The topics of conversation that Norval felt compelled to pursue while in the company of Mr. Stevens were more indicative of Mr. Stevens’ vibration and shamanistic need as assessed by Morrisseau, than of Morrisseau’s individual character. Norval spoke with him about issues which still appear to interest Mr. Stevens, as evidenced by his book and the like-minded few he attracted to assist him with it.
CONTRACT?
Stevens’ disclosure of his early 1970’s publishing "contract" appears to include Morrisseau’s desire to oversee anything Stevens may want to publish. Stevens excuse for not producing his "biography" of Morrisseau in a timely fashion is that Jack Pollock’s publishing of "The Art of Norval Morrisseau" in 1979 allegedly put their book project on hold for decades, until after Morrisseau had passed away. Therefore, Stevens laments,
"Norval would never see the final manuscript."
According to Stevens in the 1970s a man named Bob Fox who
"was just the latest of a number of people who felt they had an agent’s rights over Norval’s paintings" (Page 80) sounded off at Stevens over his purported contract with Morrisseau. Fox accused Stevens of getting Norval drunk to sign the purported contract.
Stevens discloses that,
"From time to time Norval and I discussed doing a book together. This eventually led to a formalized contract to do an art-biography book about Norval in 1973. Norval was then living and drinking heavily in Kenora "" (Page 89)
We read of Norval pleading with God for release from alcohol. At the end of Morrisseau’s soliloquy Stevens narrates,
"Norval’s search for a meaningful Catholic life was still intact as we started this book in 1973" (Page 116)
In a 1973 letter apparently sent from a Kenora jail Morrisseau asks Stevens,
"How is the Manuscript coming?" So it seems likely that there was an initiative underway to produce a book of some sort (pg. 94) that was later shelved in lieu of the Pollock book (pg. 137)
This was not unusual. Over the years Norval had a string of apparent authors and purported movie makers wishing to record and write "his story". Norval liked the idea. He did not, however, give any of them license to publish unchecked. Would you?
According to Stevens the last time he saw Morrisseau was in 1985 when they bumped into one another by chance on a street. A sober Norval cursed at him and walked away, labeling him "a mechanic" (Page 175)
Stevens states that Norval had his number (surprisingly) and phoned him weeks later to arrange a meeting. At that time Norval allegedly presented Stevens with an un-dated scrap of paper giving him license to do what he wanted to with Norval Morrisseau’s life and art. Is this Mr. Stevens way of justifying publishing this book?
Even if this far-fetched tale is true Stevens still had an undeniable obligation to bring his "biographical" manuscript to Norval Morrisseau and/or the Estate prior to publishing. Would you allow someone to unilaterally write your life story, who knew little of your life beyond a few liquor-laced talk-fests decades ago?
ABUSIVE?
Though the Morrisseau imagery within is breathtaking the quality of the photography leaves much to be desired. Important details about the art and its provenance are largely absent. This book is not the labour of love that it pretends to be. Stevens’ fixations with Pollock’s book, Norval’s sex life and with Norval’s alleged failures as a father mystify.
Was Norval Morrisseau the decrepit, drunk, dead-beat Dad that Stevens seems obsessed with portraying him to be, or was Norval merely expressing the collective consciousness of his people?
Younger brother Ronnie Morrisseau remembers the following (from appendix 1),
"Every time we got drunk we went to jail. First offense was two weeks, second offense was a month. Third offense was three months. You’d spend three months for an overnight drunk. That’s ridiculous! That happened to me. It happened to my brothers. It happened to all my relatives there. It happened to my Mom."
Ronnie Morrisseau speaks of Norval’s ongoing issues with nuns hounding him at the Residential school (on page 37) and of Norval having a harder time and often getting punished and strapped for drawing and envisioning.
"Many times during the years we attended boarding school we were often blamed for things we were not guilty of; but someone was. We were punished severely for that reason, without having a chance to explain.
Norval always resented and despised the nuns at the boarding school because of the way they treated us, or for other reasons of his own."
Norval Morrisseau has stated that he was abused by priests and nuns at the residential school. He said that he assimilated the experiences by telling himself that "he liked it". Jim Stevens and Ronnie Morrisseau deny that Norval was ever abused. (pg. 175) Given the aforementioned Residential school situation why would they do this?
When he was finally released from Residential school Norval survived with his brother and mother in an old dynamite shack in Beardmore, Ontario. Margaret Hedican, a neighbour to the Morrisseaus remembers life in Beardmore in 1946 as follows,
"The place was bustling with all kinds of men around. There was a lot of child abuse, and it wasn’t just native kids either. I would have little children walk up to me with quarters in their hands. ‘Look at what I earned last night". Eight years old and they received money from the guys at the bar. The drinking that was going on was something else".
-.I only saw Norval’s father Abel once in all the time we lived in Beardmore."
DEAD-BEAT DAD?
This "fatherhood" cross that Stevens insists on nailing Norval to reeks of elitism. Why does he insist on holding Norval to such a standard?
According to Stevens, Norval’s mother was an alcoholic with many partners, who was away for weeks at a time on binges, before and after he and Ronnie attended Residential school. Norval’s namesake step-father was (respectfully) the "village idiot", associated with windigos, and largely absent. Norval saw his biological father only once. At nine he was ripped away from his family and culture and taken to what was for all intents and purposes a foreign prison where he was indoctrinated and abused beyond comprehension.
Released years later, at 14 years of age, "born artist" Norval Morrisseau was now apparently two-spirited. He had paid a dear price for drawing his way through Residential school. Spiting superstitious directives, warnings and threats coming from his own "Ojibway" community he continued to paint and draw. Like a sponge he assimilated everything thrown at him and then spat it up as inspirational art.
He ingeniously made his own paint by licking previously printed material. His lips became his pallet. He was now his own work of art, a laughing stock and a freak of nature. He was in his own words, "excommunicated".
At 19 saddled with TB he wound up in a sanatorium where he met his bride to be, Harriet Kakegamic; a woman with her own insurmountable issues. He expanded his visionary vocabulary to include her Sandy Lake culture. Harriet must have known from day one what a driven artist Norval was. How could she not?
Both were outlaw alcoholics, as was apparently the entire culture. Both had affairs and certainly weren’t model parents. They finally divorced after twelve years of marriage, responsible for seven children. Harriet’s father, David Kakegamic, apparently took a similar role mentoring Norval’s children to that of Grandfather Potan mentoring Norval and his brothers. According to Norval, this was all traditional and reasonable.
Norval’s art brought Harriet and her children money over the years, as evidenced by Pollock’s, Lavack’s and Stevens’ writings. Norval’s fame brought, and still brings, unique opportunities to Norval’s children. Appreciating what their Dad went through, who he always was, and how lost they all would be if he hadn’t followed his calling should be obvious to them. Unfortunately, it isn’t.
Norval’s children, like their parents before them, struggle with alcoholism, abuse, drugs, crime, and they too have left family and children behind. Simply put, native culture has been deeply undermined by the Canadian government with their zealous indoctrination initiatives. Those who judge Norval Morrisseau as if he lived in a vacuum are in denial.
Morrisseau’s quest to craft a visionary message to be gifted to humankind, created in tandem with the Great Spirit, was a lifelong odyssey. Norval would paint his entire life as if his life depended on it, because it always did. He held tight to his vision, not because of the riches fame might bring, but because it was his only trustworthy conduit to Spirit.
FOR THE RECORD
1. A 1982 Morrisseau print (Page 123) has been misidentified as being a portrait
dedicated to the memory of Carl Ray. It is more likely a portrait dedicated to the memory of a founding member of the Thunderbird School of Shamanistic Arts, artist "Carl "Sunshine" Henderson", who died in 1981 of a drug overdose in New York. Norval produced dozens of portraits during this period to re-envision Carl Henderson.
2. Norval’s estranged brother, Barney Morrisseau, along with Barney’s son, forger Benji Morrisseau, and collector Al Komenda ($) are portrayed by Stevens as rescuers on a mission to save Norval from an inhumane prison. Nothing could have been further from the truth, as the RCMP made clear to them. Under the pretence of seeking out Norval it actually appears that the "rescuers" broke into Norval’s home on the Semiahmoo reserve and went through Norval’s things, taking whatever they wanted to.
The trio claim to have discovered a 200lb sculpture on Norval’s front lawn that Benji misidentified as a Morrisseau creation. It was actually a sculpture created by artist, Peter Young, left inside Norval’s home for Peter to pick up. When Peter went to get it, as prearranged, it was gone. Barney and Benji had taken it to Thunder Bay with them, apparently at the direction of Al Komenda.
3. According to the Stevens account Benjamin Morrisseau alleges that he was Norval Morrisseau’s "heir apparent" and that he had apprenticed with him since 1982. Stevens tells us that an unnamed bike gang member bearing a tattoo of the word "Killer" was also an apprentice. He also informs us that unknown biker/artist, "Wil Hedican", is an apprentice, as well as hang-around drug dealer, "Gary Lamont". Stevens also adds Karl Burrows to the list of apprentices along with Norval’s youngest son, Christian.
It is likely that "Killer", Hedican, Burrows, Lamont, Christian and Benjamin Morrisseau are all forgers and distributors of fake Norval Morrisseau art. It is pleasantly notable that Brian Marion and I, Morrisseau’s personally chosen and publicly acknowledged apprentices, have been omitted from Stevens’ list of apprentices.
4. Norval’s estranged brothers, Ronnie and Barney, and their children, Bernice and Benjamin, provide self-serving interviews for Stevens’ book, as does Wil Hedican, Al Komenda and Karl Burrows. Together the seven comprise a clique, rejected by Norval, yet also at odds with the primary forgery ring that Stevens exposes and discredits.
5. Fugitive Karl Burrows appears to seek absolution for his fraud against Morrisseau by asserting that Norval personally OK’d him to paint forgeries, sign them, and sell them. There is no evidence beyond Burrows’ word to back up his assertions. There is, however, ample evidence that Karl Burrows sold many paintings that he attributed to Morrisseau, which appear to have no Morrisseau whatsoever in them.
6. Norval's youngest half-brother, Wolf Morrisseau, is auspiciously mentioned three times in Stevens’ book. The first time he is brought to Norval by the police for trying to buy cigarettes (alcohol?) with a $1000 bill that he said Norval gave to him (stole?). Norval probably covered for him.
The second time Wolf is mentioned he is collecting the art sales money at a fire-sale of questionable-to-fake Morrisseau art flogged at a flea market in Thunder Bay in 2001. Rest assured, Norval never saw a penny of it.
The third time Wolf is mentioned Stevens recounts him leading a private ceremony for estranged family members that took place over Norval’s grave. Wolf was always envious of Norval. Norval publicly fingered Wolf as "a psychic leech", "a liar" and "a vampire".
Soon after Wolf’s conjuring another ceremony took place over Norval’s remains. This was a Christian ceremony attended by the general public. Norval wished his body to be cremated. He instead wound up lying in mud beside the grave of a woman that he divorced in 1972 and wanted nothing to do with.
Norval would likely laugh at the ridiculousness of all three scenarios; Wolf dancing on his grave, his Christian torturers praying over his body, and that of being forced to lie beside this woman he left. Perhaps he might have said, "Well its better than lying in a freezer for another month!" (Referring to the 3-way tug-o-war fought over his remains)
CONCLUSIONS
At first glance I felt that at $60 this book might be a worthwhile purchase to those interested in mining diamonds in a minefield but there is so much wrong with this shoddy compilation that I have to give this book two massive thumbs down. Stay the course.
If you want to view great Morrisseau imagery, trust me, the N.M.H.S. Catalogue Raisonné of Norval Morrisseau’s art is well underway. Furthermore, an authorized biography, inclusive of the interesting tidbits found in Stevens’ attempt, is also working its way to bookshelves. As Norval often said, "The reward for patience is more patience."
Ritchie Stardreamer Sinclair - 2011
Posts
