NORVAL MORRISSEAU
Grade: 3+
Age: 7+
Norval Morrisseau was born in the early 1930s on the Sandy Point Lake Reserve north of Thunder Bay in Ontario Canada.
He was raised by his Grandparents and through them learned traditional Ojibwa customs, values and beliefs. It was in his youth that he received - from his Grandfather - his "mission" to share through art, all of those things he was taught to respect about Ojibwa culture.
During the 1950's, Morrisseau was hospitalized with Tuberculosis. While in hospital, he began painting and drawing his visions on birch bark and brown paper bags ... he painted visions which were uniquely his own.
Later, in the 1960's he traveled widely to bush communities in Canada and visited some northern Minnesota reservations where he met with many who today are considered knowledgeable elders, both to learn from them and to teach. He taught by painting, as well as writing.
A medicine man or shaman, Morrisseau developed a style which has since evolved and been used by many Native artists. The style is called the Eastern Woodland Style and can be seen in the works of Daphne Odjig, Carl Ray and Blake Debassige.
Objectives:
In this lesson, you will have an opportunity to look at some of the works created by Norval Morrisseau. As well, you will have the chance to create a work of art in a style much the same as Morrisseau himself.
Vocabulary:
Image - An image is essentially a picture ... something seen in a work of art. In Morrisseau's work, we see images of people and animals.
Ground - This is what the artist has created his work on ... this could be birch bark, paper, canvas or wood.
Media or Medium - This is what the artist uses to create his/her work. Paint (tempera, acrylic, watercolor, oil), pencil, crayon, conte chalk ... all are known as media.
Symbol - A symbol is a picture or image that tells a story without using words. Ask your students to think about "everyday" symbols like the pictures seen on men's and ladies washrooms, no smoking signs or the Big "M" of McDonalds. How many other symbols can you think of?
Some examples of Symbols in Morrisseau's work:
Circle - The circles in Morrisseau's work tell us about the life cycle, the sun, the moon and directions (North, South, East, West).
Lines - Spirit Lines appear a lot in Morrisseau's work, as do Energy Lines. You can see them extending from the hand or the body of a figure. Sometimes they are connected ... sometimes they are alone or isolated.
Eyes - Large eyes that see all can be found in Morrisseau's work. These eyes are a symbol of a shaman or medicine man.
X-Ray - This is a style attributed to Morrisseau. The X-Ray technique shows the interior as well as the exterior of a figure. The various parts of a body for example are expressed with different colors and lines.
Support Material:
The following links take you to images within the C.R. Campbell HomePage
A photograph of Morrisseau at work
Family Of Loons With Young
Ojibway Family
Sacred Fish
Thunderbird
The Medicine Bear
X-Ray Painting Lesson:
Before you begin painting, have look at some of Morrisseau's works. Think about what the symbols mean and how the titles help us to understand what is going on in the work. Also, discuss how the work makes you feel. Remember ... there are no wrong answers. Don't be afraid to brainstorm and share ideas and opinions because everyone will have a different way of looking at the work. The most important thing is to express how you feel about what you see, and why you fee that way ... Read through "How to Look at Art" on the KinderArt Art Speak Page.
What You Need:
- Heavy paper or cardboard (about 12" x 14" per student)
- Thick water based paint. (Acrylic is wonderful but you can also use tempera or poster paint ... just add a little white glue or flour to make the paint nice and thick)
- Paintbrushes & water
- Examples of Morrisseau's art
- Images of animals for reference
What You Do:
- Norval Morrisseau uses what is referred to ask an X-Ray technique when he paints a work of art. Not only do you see the person or animal that has been painted, but you also see the energy within the animal or person.
- Have your students choose a subject for their painting ... a fish, a bird, a turtle, etc.
- Students can then sketch the outline of their subject on their paper.
- Next, students should think about the interior of their subject - the energy and emotion inside.
- Students can then draw lines (using ink, crayons, oil sticks, oil pastels etc), colors (using paint, oil pastels, cut up paper etc.) and shapes inside the subject ... the more the better.
- Let imagination take over as the paper is filled with paint.
**You can also try this lesson using crayons or pencil crayons instead of paint
One Step Further:
- Ask your kinderartists to seek out symbols in Morrisseau's work and create a story based on what they see.
- Next, have your kinderartists create their own "symbol story". Have them tell a story on paper using absolutely no words. Then pass the symbol stories around the room to see how other students "read the work".
Other Resources:
Turtle Island
...Information on Morrisseau and other Ojibwa Artists.
Medicine Painting.
...A well designed page by Paula Giese.
KinderArt® Lesson/Activity 
