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Exhibitionist
Art, Literature, Film |
| Paintings • Drawings (primarily
Oil on Canvas) |
Andrea Carlson |
Andrea Carlson • Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Website
Currently exhibiting at Bockley Gallery
2123 West 21st Street, Mpls
(Click on thumbnail to see larger image.)
Binewijiid
The Ruffed Grouse's Ass |
Gagiibwaabimo
Have Eyes Swollen Shut From Crying |
Nanabozhowijiid miinawaa Bwaanag
Nanabosho's Ass & Dakota |
Noongom
Now |
Gaazhigens miinawaa Waaboozoog
Cat and Rabbits |
Manidooke
Ceremony |
Makwa
Bear |
Real |
Artist's Statement
I never cease to be amazed by the intellect of those who have gone on before
as evidenced by what has been passed down in myth and story. The current
work is inspired by the sacred stories (Aadizokaanan) of my ancestry, Anishinaabe
(Ojibwe/Chippewa). These stories are considered alive, animate, and of a
spiritual nature. As such, these paintings are contemporary portraits of
a greater tradition.
In these stories, I am drawn to that which is considered fantastic and impossible,
the catalyst in the story where the ordinary is supplanted for the extraordinary.
The stylization of characters and their surroundings is meant to signify
a shift away from the ordinary into a space where significant changes happen.
The dismissal of myth as being a lie, or the unsubstantiated product of
old wives, may serve as a device meant to uphold dominant cultural views
of truth. Although the work, in part, addresses belief systems, these paintings
are not meant to be conclusive on how a person makes meaning, explains their
world, or believes something to be true. Myth has the inherent quality of
being open-ended and metaphorical, it will not give a forthright answer,
so we are forced to think. I attempt to construct and use my paintings in
a similar fashion, posing questions and finding mystery.
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