Over the last 15 years, a select group of professionally trained and politically astute Canadian artists of Native ancestry has produced a compelling body of work that owes much of its power to a wry and ironic sense of humour rooted firmly in the oral tradition. More than a critical/political strategy, such humour reflects a widespread cultural and communal sensibility embodied in the mythical Native American Trickster. This book explores the influence of this comic spirit on the practice of various artists through the presentation of a ’Trickster discourse,’ that is, a body of overlapping and interrelated verbal and visual narratives by tricksters and about trickster practice.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
As illustrated by the recent Reservation X (LJ 5/1/99), Native Canadians are enjoying an especially vital art climate. Definitely disturbing and certainly immediate, this wonderful book brings together the work of some of these edgy young artists. Anthropologist and satirist Ryan (Univ. of British Columbia) celebrates the pervasive use of the old trickster humor, in this case by those who survive duress by satirizing, teasing, poking fun at, or humiliating whatever causes stress and pain. The result is the kind of modern art many find hard to handle: comic strip or graffiti, performance art or poetry, montage or assemblage, and always in-your-face, e.g., Bill Powless's "Indian Summer," a painting of an obese Indian in a bikini and umbrella beanie with a feather, eating a popsicle by the ocean. Comments range from "sick" to "this self-satisfied image of contemporary reality gently confounds the viewer and all but demolishes romantic fantasy." While this book is challenging and possibly offensive, it is a brave attempt to raise readers to new levels of consciousness. For larger public libraries or art collections with a Native American interest.AGay Neale, Southside Virginia Community Coll. Lib., Alberta
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
A lavishly illustrated book ... visually stunning ... The art in this book highlights the profound differences between our two cultures, but builds some bridges between them too.
– Vivien Hoyt Fleisher, Artfocus
Allan J. Ryan comprehensively documents the work of some of these artists, and their reintegration of the persistently humourous archetype ... there's nothing dry about this book except its wit.
– David Leach, Monday Magazine
Definitely disturbing and certainly immediate, this wonderful book brings together the work of some of these edgy young artist ... Ryan ... celebrates the pervasive use of the old trickster humor ... The result is the kind of modern art many find hard to handle: comic strip or graffiti, performance art or poetry, montage or assemblage, and always in-your-face ... While this book is challenging and possibly offensive, it is a brave attempt to raise readers to new levels of conciousness.
– Library Journal
– Vivien Hoyt Fleisher, Artfocus
Allan J. Ryan comprehensively documents the work of some of these artists, and their reintegration of the persistently humourous archetype ... there's nothing dry about this book except its wit.
– David Leach, Monday Magazine
Definitely disturbing and certainly immediate, this wonderful book brings together the work of some of these edgy young artist ... Ryan ... celebrates the pervasive use of the old trickster humor ... The result is the kind of modern art many find hard to handle: comic strip or graffiti, performance art or poetry, montage or assemblage, and always in-your-face ... While this book is challenging and possibly offensive, it is a brave attempt to raise readers to new levels of conciousness.
– Library Journal
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