Jackson Beardy
Encyclopedia
Jackson Beardy was a Canadian
artist. He was an Anishinini-Indian and his works are characterized by scenes from the holy stories of his people. He belonged to the "Woodland School of Art
" and was a prominent member of the “Indian Group of Seven
”. He is also the father of the famous Mach 3 commercial model, Amanda V. "Beardy".
In 1972 Jackson Beardy, Alex Janvier
and Daphne Odjig
held a joint exhibition at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. It was called "Treaty Numbers 23, 287, 1171" a reference to the treaty numbers that the Canadian government gave to the indigenous groups which they had concluded treaties. From this exhibition grew a group of indigenous (Native) Canadian artists who named their selves the "Professional Native Indian Artists Association
” in 1973. This is better known as the "Indian Group of Seven
”, including alongside Jackson Beardy also Alex Janvier
, Norval Morrisseau
, Daphne Odjig
, Carl Ray
, Eddy Cobiness
en Joseph Sanchez
. This group combined forces to promote their work into the world of western art. They were committed to indigenous
control of indigenous art and to change the way the world looked to this art. A shift from an emphasis on "indigenous" to "Artistic” value.
From 1982 through 1983, Jackson Beardy was senior arts advisor to the Federal Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development now Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
. He helped to make a methodological shift from the anthropological to the aesthetic evaluation of “Native art”. He worked tirelessly to lay the institutional and activist political foundations, which would help future generation of First Nations
artists.
Jackson Beardy died on December 7, 1984 in Winnipeg
, Manitoba to complications after a heart attack.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
artist. He was an Anishinini-Indian and his works are characterized by scenes from the holy stories of his people. He belonged to the "Woodland School of Art
Woodlands Style
The Woodland School Of Art, also named Woodlands style, Woodlands School, or Anishnabe painting, is a genre of painting among First Nations and Native American artists from the Great Lakes area - including northern Ontario and southwestern Manitoba...
" and was a prominent member of the “Indian Group of Seven
Indian Group of Seven
The Professional Native Indian Artists Incorporation, better known as the Indian Group of Seven, was a group of professional Indian artist from Canada, founded in November 1973....
”. He is also the father of the famous Mach 3 commercial model, Amanda V. "Beardy".
Biography
Beardy was raised by his grandmother, from whom he's learned the rich history and sacred stories of his ancestors. He attended residential school at Portage la Prairie at the age of sixteen. Beardy quickly distanced himself from the forced nature of education that all Indians in that area underwent at the residential schools, and it was from these lessons that he began to assert his “Indianness”. Interestingly, Beardy did benefit from his education at the boarding school, as it was there that he learned to draw and paint. Beardy then went on to graduate from Commercial Art at Tech Voc High School and then finished his education at the School of Fine Arts at the University of Manitoba.In 1972 Jackson Beardy, Alex Janvier
Alex Janvier
Alex Janvier, AOE is a Native Canadian artist. As a member of the commonly referred to “Indian Group of Seven”, Janvier is a pioneer of contemporary Canadian aboriginal art in Canada.- History :...
and Daphne Odjig
Daphne Odjig
Daphne Odjig, CM, LL.D. , is an influential Canadian First Nations artist of Odawa-Potawatomi-English heritage. Her many awards include the Order of Canada and the Governor General's Award. Her painting is often characterized as Woodlands Style...
held a joint exhibition at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. It was called "Treaty Numbers 23, 287, 1171" a reference to the treaty numbers that the Canadian government gave to the indigenous groups which they had concluded treaties. From this exhibition grew a group of indigenous (Native) Canadian artists who named their selves the "Professional Native Indian Artists Association
Indian Group of Seven
The Professional Native Indian Artists Incorporation, better known as the Indian Group of Seven, was a group of professional Indian artist from Canada, founded in November 1973....
” in 1973. This is better known as the "Indian Group of Seven
Indian Group of Seven
The Professional Native Indian Artists Incorporation, better known as the Indian Group of Seven, was a group of professional Indian artist from Canada, founded in November 1973....
”, including alongside Jackson Beardy also Alex Janvier
Alex Janvier
Alex Janvier, AOE is a Native Canadian artist. As a member of the commonly referred to “Indian Group of Seven”, Janvier is a pioneer of contemporary Canadian aboriginal art in Canada.- History :...
, Norval Morrisseau
Norval Morrisseau
Norval Morrisseau, CM , also known as Copper Thunderbird, was an Aboriginal Canadian artist. Known as the "Picasso of the North", Morrisseau created works depicting the legends of his people, the cultural and political tensions between native Canadian and European traditions, his existential...
, Daphne Odjig
Daphne Odjig
Daphne Odjig, CM, LL.D. , is an influential Canadian First Nations artist of Odawa-Potawatomi-English heritage. Her many awards include the Order of Canada and the Governor General's Award. Her painting is often characterized as Woodlands Style...
, Carl Ray
Carl Ray
Carl Ray was a First Nations artist who was active on the Canadian art scene from 1969 until his passing in 1978. Considered primarily a Woodlands Style artist, he also painted European style wildlife and landscapes...
, Eddy Cobiness
Eddy Cobiness
Eddy Cobiness, was a Canadian artist. He was an Ojibwa-Indian and his art work is characterized by scenes from the life outdoors and nature. He began with realistic scenes and then evolved into more abstract work...
en Joseph Sanchez
Joseph Sanchez
Joseph M. Sanchez is an artist and museum curator.-Biography:Although born Taos Pueblo, Sanchez was raised in Whiteriver, Arizona on the White Mountain Apache Reservation, and was named by the Ojibway....
. This group combined forces to promote their work into the world of western art. They were committed to indigenous
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
control of indigenous art and to change the way the world looked to this art. A shift from an emphasis on "indigenous" to "Artistic” value.
From 1982 through 1983, Jackson Beardy was senior arts advisor to the Federal Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development now Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
The Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development is the department of the government of Canada with responsibility for policies relating to Aboriginal peoples...
. He helped to make a methodological shift from the anthropological to the aesthetic evaluation of “Native art”. He worked tirelessly to lay the institutional and activist political foundations, which would help future generation of First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
artists.
Jackson Beardy died on December 7, 1984 in Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, Manitoba to complications after a heart attack.
Art Style
Although Beardy's early work often narrates specific legends, his mature art expresses fundamental cosmological and spiritual concepts such as balance in nature, regeneration and growth, and the interdependence of all things. His distinctive graphic style is characterized by precisely defined flat areas of warm colour and curving ribbons of paint.External links
- Seventh Generation Gallery "Native Contemporary Canadian Art Gallery" in the Nederland, inclusive Jackson Beardy.
- Mural of Jackson Beardy “Peace and Harmony” in Winnipeg, Manitoba.