C2. Themes and Influences
Specific Expectations
C2.1
describe, on the basis of research, themes in the work of some past and/or present First Nations, Métis, and Inuit artists, including artists whose body of work incorporates more than one art form (e.g., prepare and deliver a short presentation on themes explored by artists such as Rebecca Belmore, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Tomson Highway, Nadia Myre, Archer Pechawis, Teharihulen Michel Savard, Tanya Tagaq)
- How has the artist’s choice of media changed over the course of his or her career? What connection can you make between the artist’s choice of media and the theme of the work?
C2.2
describe, on the basis of research, some past and present political, socio-economic, and environmental influences on First Nations, Métis, and Inuit art making (e.g., colonization and decolonization; assimilation; missionary evangelism; historical migration and settlement patterns; rural–urban migration; the forced relocation of Inuit communities; funding or lack of funding for community-based cultural and art programs; the commodification of Inuit art by the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative; globalization; the depletion of natural resources; the European Union’s ban on the trade of all marine mammal products, including seal and whale products)
- What information can you gather about the influence of both First Nations and European cultures in Métis art works, dance, music, and/or clothing designs?
- What effect does lack of financial support for community based arts programs have on First Nations communities?
- In what ways have First Nations, Métis, and Inuit entrepreneurs influenced how traditional art forms are introduced into the global marketplace?
- How has the market economy affected the development and growth of traditional Inuit art forms?”
C2.3
describe, on the basis of research, some past and present technological and cultural influences on First Nations, Métis, and Inuit art making (e.g., printmaking technologies, photography, film and digital video, popular culture, shared and hybrid cultural contexts, the dissemination of European-designed goods, square dancing and accordion music introduced to the Arctic by Scottish whalers)
- How have advances in technology affected the choice of forms, materials, and techniques used in First Nations, Métis, and Inuit art works/productions? How have they facilitated the dissemination of art?
- While media and mainstream art circles coined the name ‘the Indian Group of Seven’ to refer to a group of First Nations artists, the artists themselves referred to their group as the Professional Native Indian Artists Incorporation. What difference is expressed by the two names? What sociocultural influences can you identify in the works of these artists?
- How did ancient Japanese printmaking traditions influence Inuit printmaking?
