When woodcarver Ellen Neel, the first woman known to have professionally built totem poles, began creating art in the 1940s, she was operating in an artistic milieu that valued limited editions and exclusive galleries.
Amidst a society that dismissed her based on both race and gender, even the decision to call herself an artist was a social defiance.
“As a native woman of that time, with that kind of pressure around her, it makes what she did quite revolutionary,” said curator Tania Willard, who included Neel’s work in her all aboriginal art showcase Unlimited Edition, which is now up at Touchstones Nelson. “She was one of the first people to say this is our own art, our own way, for our own reasons.”
Neel’s untitled silkscreen in a wooden frame is included in the exhibition, which features a collection of aboriginal and Inuit prints on loan from the Kamloops Art Gallery, Carleton University Art Gallery and Legacy Art Galleries.
According to Willard, the show aims to “construct an art historical framework that looks at how prints by aboriginal and Inuit artists represent a drive to preserve, portray and popularize oral histories and address social inequities in the medium of printmaking.”
And though the artists may have originally sold their work on street corners and sidewalks, Willard said it’s now where it rightfully belongs: preserved in a gallery.
Featuring prints from Northwest Coast, Woodlands and Inuit artists, with a focus on the printmaking of the 1950s through the ‘70s, the exhibition showcases prints that relate to ideas of cultural story, politics of land and the beauty of indigenous aesthetics.
It features 15 artists, including Neel, Bill Reid, Kenojuak Ashevak, Daphne Odig and Carl Beam.
Unlimited Edition is Touchstones Nelson’s first all-aboriginal showcase, something Willard is proud of.
“When we think of the context that work was created in, there was always a separation between fine art and commercial art. Combine that with expectations and stereotypes of aboriginal people, and it’s no wonder they had to fight to have their work recognized.”
She believes the attention is long overdue.
“The title Unlimited Edition is spe
cifically referencing artists that didn’t do limited editions of their prints. They would paint on a burlap bag, or make a card, a poster. They weren’t following conventions,” she said.
“I’m interested in how unlimited editions were linked to ideas of accessibility and the socio-political circumstances of the artists themselves.”
Willard said if wasn’t for artists like Neel, and Chief Henry Speck, then this art form wouldn’t exist today.
“When cultures are coming out of an oppressive period, we want to celebrate our culture. We don’t want to be assimilated into the dominant narrative. Through new mediums like printmaking we can do that.”
Though she has her own creative work, Willard is increasingly becoming interested in cultivating her curatorial career. Recently she hosted an aboriginal exhibition called Beat Nation at the Vancouver Art Gallery.
“I started out as an artist, but I came into curating as another artistic medium. It’s about bringing artists together, looking at contexts and ideas.”
Touchstones is thrilled to be involved.
“This is such a great opportunity for our community to be exposed to more indigenous artwork and make connections with our local First Nations history,” said Jessica Demers, curator and programming coordinator at Touchstones Nelson.
“We are excited to offer arts-based tours of the exhibition for school groups, as well as interactive workshops in our First Nations section of the museum.”
The exhibition runs until May 10.
