The Winnipeg Art Gallery features Kent Monkman's ~ The Triumph of Mischief |
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| Saturday, 07 June 2008 06:07 |
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WINNIPEG, MB - Nineteenth-century photography and Romantic painting, colonial portrayals of Aboriginal peoples, and Hollywood films and television have all presented a damaging and inaccurate stereotypical representation of First Nations art and history. It is these misconceptions that inform the work of Kent Monkman, on exhibition at The Winnipeg Art Gallery, Kent Monkman: The Triumph of Mischief ; the exhibition will be on view from June 6 to August 17, 2008. Of Irish/English and Cree ancestry, raised in Manitoba and now living in Toronto, Monkman uses video, photography, painting, installation, and performance art to construct new stories that take into account the missing narratives and perspectives of Aboriginal peoples. His work re-invents the past as a way of challenging one-dimensional representations of First Nations people and changing the way we think, not only about specific histories, but about the construction and authority of capital “H” history itself. Monkman’s eager sense of mischief is focused on challenging the authority of received history, as well as the structures—including art history and art institutions—that produce, convey, and support it. With humour, style, and potent homoerotic sexuality, he questions the influence and power of masculinity and the related trust often extended to institutional knowledge.  The centerpiece of this exhibition is Monkman’s alter ego, Miss Chief Eagle Testickle. A site-specific installation of her Tipi Camp displays her dwelling space and various prized possessions, all surrounding the premiere of Monkman’s video work Shooting Geronimo. In a second video installation, a crystal tipi offers a more glamorous performance space, one perfectly suited for the heroine of Group of Seven Inches projected inside. The exhibition consists of 3 installations, 12 paintings, and 5 photographs. There are also 2 paintings and a sculpture from the WAG’s collection. This exhibition is a collaborative project between the Art Gallery of Hamilton, the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, and the Art Gallery of greater Victoria. Sponsored by the Canada Council for the Arts and The Dorothy Strelsin Foundation. Established in 1912, the Winnipeg Art Gallery is Western Canada’s oldest public art gallery, mandated to develop and maintain Manitoba’s visual arts heritage. As one of Canada’s leading galleries, it collects and exhibits works of art by Manitoba, Canadian, and international artists. The WAG takes seriously its mandate of Involving People in the Visual Arts, and is committed to helping people enrich their lives through art. Exhibitions are accompanied by informative wall panels, brochures, articles in the Gallery publication Tableau, catalogues—all designed to guide visitors to a new appreciation of the art they are viewing. Tours conducted by trained Gallery guides—and often by the artists or curators themselves—bring a new dimension to visitors’ enjoyment of the exhibitions. Visit Winnipeg Art Gallery at : www.wag.mb.ca Click on logo below to add this article to your favorite Social Website ~ |
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