Indigenous Art - George Littlechild

Presentation on Littlechild

Our presentation is exploring the life and art of George Littlechild. He was born to a Scottish father and Cree mother on August 16, 1958. As an infant, Littlechild was taken away by the welfare to five different homes by the age of four. At these foster homes, he was violently beaten, restricted to stay in the basement, forced to rummage for food, and experienced racism.

George later found out that his mother, Rachel Littlechild was from the Ermineskin band at Hobbema, Alberta. Eventually he discovered his family history by gathering information from provincial archives and museums. He was able to retrieve twelve photos of his family, which he used to create his artwork, ‘Family tree’ (2007). We began the presentation with this particular artwork as it has significant meaning to the artist himself. It represents his identity and heritage. The second image is a painting of his great-great-grandfather Louis Natuasis. Littlechild used these images in his paintings to respect his ancestors and share their stories to the next generations of Aboriginals. His heritage is an important subject of all his artwork.

Littlechild’s artworks are filled with vibrant colours and strong sharp structures. Our background is black since we did not want to overshadow the quality of his artwork. The presentation initially start with the facial portraits. This was to allow his work to speak for itself and set the tone for Littlechild’s work. Through out the presentation we have quotes from Littlechild, which convey his point of view of art as a means of expression.

Littlichild’s difficult childhood played an important part in shaping his artwork. Through the encouragement of his foster mother who recognized his talent, George Littlechild studied at the Red Deer College in 1984 where he received a Diploma in Art and Design and at Nova Scotia College of Art Design, Halifax, in 1988 where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. His artwork has been exhibited in Canada, U.S.A, Japan, Australia, Tasmania and Europe. Littlechild’s artwork appeals to a diverse audience through his bold and vibrant and colour choices. He believes that colours have spiritual cleansing and purifying powers. Additionally, his work often consists of collaging vintage photographs, photographs of Chiefs and representations of Plains Cree culture through horses, buffalo and tipis. In 1996, he was honoured with the British Columbia Cultural Services award. Some of his quotes we used highlight his growth mindset as he persevered and used art as an outlet to convey his messages. We included these quotes to be a form of motivation for our viewers.

We ended with Littlechild’s mix media arts which is a different style and paired it with his quote “First Nations people have different heroes than Canadian people. And our heroes are never as visible. I feel it is my responsibility as a human being to re-educate both Canadian children and First Nations kids.” This highlights Littlechild’s intentions for his paintings, as he wants to convey that First nations people are a big part of Canadian history. We ended with the quote, “I try to do the best I can.” The image disappears and leaves the quote as the focus of the screen so that it will resonate with the viewers. Throughout the presentation we have a traditional cree song playing in the background which is a part of Littlechild’s heritage and enhances the presentation.

We created this presentation to showcase how George Littlechild’s artistic display of portraits and mixed-media paintings has captured the reclamation and reconnection with his ancestral culture. We wanted to capture his drive to paint “with passion for truth, reclaiming Aboriginal history and transforming a bitter legacy of oppression into a story of redemption.” Littlechild’s work holds identity as a central theme. We wanted to illustrate that by using a subtle background and have the vibrant colours of the artwork along with the traditional Cree music to complement each other. With these choice of principles, we hope the audiences will not divert their attention.

RESOURCES:

George Littlechild (Authors) - Strong Nations. (n.d.). Retrieved February 21, 2017, from http://www.strongnations.com/gs/show.php?gs=3&gsd=1042

George Littlechild artwork from Elliott Louis Gallery. (n.d.). Retrieved February 21, 2017, from http://www.elliottlouis.com/artists/George_Littlechild.asp#detailcv

George Littlechild – Canadian First Nations Artist. (n.d.). Retrieved February 21, 2017, from http://georgelittlechild.com/about-george/

George Littlechild. (n.d.). Retrieved February 21, 2017, from http://www.alcheringa-gallery.com/george-littlechild.html

The Art of George Littlechild. (n.d.). Retrieved February 21, 2017, from http://dragonflycanada.ca/portfolio/george-littlechild/

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