Cultural Appropriation, Appreciation or Something Else?

On Oct 23rd, the Ontario Arts Council released this video ...



Within three days, The Globe & Mail published 'What Happens When Indigenous Artists repurpose Hollywood's old tricks' - by Kate Taylor.

Both posit - and then take positions - on 'Cultural Appropriation', defined by the OAC website as "the intentional or unintentional use of a people's culture or cultural expression, traditional knowledge, intellectual property or artifacts".

Lines are being drawn. Again. Lines are being crossed. Again.

Meanwhile, numerous First Nation representatives and sympathizers have gathered over the past few months for what is unquestionably the largest peaceful 'protest' against 'Settler' law & enforcement in North America today. The protest raises many unsettled issues, but primarily, the desire is to protect the waters of the Missouri river from an inevitable pipeline spill.

Fundamentally, this stand by indigenous peoples, and by those who support them, pits Earth 'citizens' against corporate 'profits'. The protest is a vivid manifestation of - and DEMAND for - the 'transition' from fossil fuels to sustainable development.

It is TIME. As the hashtag so succinctly states, #WaterIsLife .

As descendant of 'Settlers' who have been in North America since the early 1700's, I recognize my familial history, but, to be crystal clear, I am not 'guilty' of 'white privilege' just because of that association. I emerged on the planet where I did, when I did, that's just the fact.

When I was a child, raised on a farm in Southern Ontario, during the 1950's, there were moments when I could not find the right words for strong appreciative feelings for the forces of Nature ... The only 'source' were vaguely distilled and often invented 'native teachings'. A certain affinity developed for 'the native way'. Yet, as a child, I did not resonant with 'Turtle Island' anymore then I resonated with certain mythical stories from 'the Bible'.

'The Kill' by MLHolton, Oil on Board

Finding Life's Essence ~ that resonated with my Truth ~ manifest in my first 'formal' painting, painted when I was fourteen. 

It is a stylized and imaginative graphic of an 'Eskimo' (as the Inuit were 'known' back then) killing a seal, with a spear, on an ice floe. It was vivid, brutal and honest. It was not appropriation; rather, it was a 14 year old's 'statement'' recognizing the vital life-giving relationship that flows from humanity - to and from - Nature. 

Entitled 'The Kill', it stands today as my first 'formal' painting.

I had never been to the far North of this continent, but again, certain myths, stories, images and realities from that area resonated with the development of my own sense of Self.   

This occurred in much the same way that, later, I resonated with imagery, myths and religious philosophies from other parts of the world, like Buddhism and/or Fauvism.

Does my re-interpretation of these IDEAS through my own developmental prism make me a 'cultural thief'?  I do not think, or believe, so. We ALL 'borrow'. We ALL 'trade'. We ALL seek the means to express our singularity within the commonality of humanity.

Today, broadly speaking, we all KNOW that 'nationalism', per se, is a 'construct'. 

The larger IMAGE that I HOLD is of us, as humanity, (as one species of many), flying through space on a twirling life-sustaining globe in a seemingly infinite multi-universe. 

To my mind, Creators, plural, exist. Often, I ascribe attributes to these assorted 'gods': they may be male, female, animal, mineral, fish, fowl, mana, Life Force, and/or just 'the Juice'. The adjectives and pronouns vary, but the deep faith and understanding remains. 

We are a part of something Greater, and the planet is our Home.

It is thus heartening for me to now see the similarities in the indigenous Thunderbird image used in the current Standing Rock stand-off, in conjunction with a painting I did in 1991, called 'The Protector'. Both resonant because both express Truth. The similarity is not indicative of 'cultural appropriation', or even cultural appreciation, it is a personal visual creation that RESONANTS with our mutual relationship to the planet. 

No ONE group or individual 'owns' this relationship or connection to the planet.

'Protectors' - MLH Painting, 1991, & Thunderbird Woman Protest Image, 2016.

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So, in response to the rabid and increasingly racial 'Nation-alists', who are springing up from all quarters, know that I stand with - and against - all of you. 

Why? Because I have already solemnly sworn allegiance to my own mythical nation of 'Canadada'. 

I be 'canajun' in Canadada. 

All the boundaries and borders are within my own mind. And as such, I am both the perpetual 'victim' AND 'victor' ... 

... It works perfectly well for me. 

Peace. Sincerely.

p.s. And now, TVO jumps in, flaming the issue, in part. - Watch, listen and LEARN...
 http://tvo.org/video/programs/the-agenda-with-steve-paikin/the-trouble-with-cultural-appropriation 

AND - A very important message from a Humanity Elder: Chief Arvol Looking Horse - http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2016/08/26/important-message-keeper-sacred-white-buffalo-calf-pipe

...UPDATE: May, 2017 - And here's one that INFLAMES the 'boundary' IDEA again ... We're never going to get past this if there isn't a NEW kind of thinking all round ... https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XqBXDPzyLm0&feature=share

... UPDATE: Oct, 2019 ... And on it goes ... Here's a timely video that EXPLICITLY states what's next  ... “Unsettling Canada” on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/129865983?ref=em-share

A little personal essay about WHY and HOW I PAINT ...

First and foremost, I am SELF-TAUGHT, so, the ‘journey’ in and thru my ‘art world’ is very much driven by what resonates with me. I’ve gone at the whole thing in my own way, sometimes back asswards, sometimes charging full ahead. It works for me. As an example, I started to paint using oil paints when I was 14. I could not draw in the 'Beaux Art' style, but I WANTED to paint, so I did. Those early forays are pretty crude in retrospect, but they do remain ‘true’ to my evolving thoughts and feelings of that time. Oils are a robust and luxurious medium. Water-based acrylic paints are ‘weak’ in comparison.

The two ‘artistic’ components that have most influenced my development as a painter are a) the delineation of ‘form’, [see above post], and b) the use of colour.[see below post]. In ‘form’, Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky hooked me first with his superb abstract constructions, and then by his thought-provoking writings about the spiritual in art. His sense of balance, proportion and ‘object resonance’ continue to beguile to this day. I softened some of his ‘sparse’ angularity by studying the works of Americans Georgia O’Keeffe & Milton Avery and Canadians Lawren Harris & Mendelson Joe. Those four artists exhibit a generosity of spirit that is often missing from the exquisite heady tartness of Kandinsky’s paintings. In the colour department, I was profoundly moved early on by the works of the Fauves, the French Impressionists and Austrian-born Friedensreich Hundertwasser. There is such JOY in their paintings. Later, the German-American Wolf Kahn amplified my colour sense. Cumulatively, ALL these artists have influenced my own painterly evolution.

I did finally learn how to draw in the ‘realist’ manner, (...see my Pencil Portaits on this site...), because I had to when I was designing and producing Canadian Fine Furniture for 14 years during the 1980’s and early 90’s. A quarter inch miscalculation in fine furniture design can devastate a piece of furniture. Precision and accuracy are paramount in that discipline. To enhance my ‘copying’ capabilities, I self-studied the techniques outlined by Dr. Betty Edwards, in her enlightening book, ‘Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.’ The results were astounding. I continue to work at gaining a greater Mastery of the fluid connection between my Eye, Hand and Mind when I draw with a pencil. HOWEVER, I have never found that this form of ‘realism’ adequately captures the ESSENCE of what it is that I am after when I paint. So, I stay away from photographic-like ‘realism’ in that arena and focus instead on what moves me internally. My MIND fusing with my HEART is the Power behind my oil works.

Today, I paint in my own unique style, often termed, 'naive-surreal-folk-abstract' . I believe this ‘style’ (buffered by the above noted influences) is a NATURAL FRUITION of my very rooted sensibility to this spot on the planet at the end of the 20^th century and the beginning of the 21^st century.

I have been very lucky to have grown up in the Golden Horseshoe Region of Southern Ontario, Canada. I have been equally as lucky to have had early exposure to the majesty and mystery of the northern lake district known as Georgian Bay on the north shore of Lake Huron, (one of The Great Lakes situated in the heart of the North American continent.) Both those very real, very tangible natural environments, have had a HUGE impact on my evolution. They exist deep within my psyche (regardless that I lived in Toronto for 20 odd years and have quixotically travelled the world in fits and starts…). NATURE, as a result, has always been my guide, teacher and inspiration. The Natural World, here, at my doorstep, is really my ‘religion’ if you will.

The planet is a mysterious & beautiful place. And yes, I am proudly 'canajun' ...

The representative works on this site have been painted over the course of 35 years. Most of these works, and others in my inventory, are available for purchase, either as originals, or in reproduction. Please do contact me if interested. Prices range from $800 (for ‘sketches’) to $15,000 (for LARGE completed works). The median price is currently nudging $6-8,000 CDN, for framed mid-sized pieces. (Kindly note: If you buy from me, you will not be paying the 40% dealer/gallery mark-up that is customary in the ‘commercial art world’. ) I go solo. It works best for me. For now.

I hope you will enjoy my paintings. Your thoughts are always welcome.

p.s. Throughout 2009, I will be posting, alongside my pinhole and digital fine art photo works, examples of my soft & oil pastels, plus additional pencil landscape sketches. ... Might be BEST to bookmark or 'google alert' this site …I will be starting out the New Year with a selection of wacky 'loony lindsay' 'FRACTALS'...