Cree artist Kent Monkman, one of Canada’s best known artists, is recognized internationally as a credible commentator on Canada’s colonialist past, and as an authoritative voice on Indigenous issues generally. One of his seminal works “Shame and Prejudice” was featured on The Art Junkie in the past.

Have you met Miss Chief Eagle Testickle?

But there is so much more since then to explore in Monkman’s exquisite work, including the rising profile of his wondrous, gender-fluid alter ego, Miss Chief Eagle Testickle (above).

Then there are are the two monumental paintings — a diptych titled  mistikôsiwak: The Wooden Boat People — that Monkman was commissioned to create for the Great Hall of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. (Top of post: one of the paintings: Welcoming the Newcomers / below: Resurgence of the People)

Both are covered in these fascinating and revealing videos from The Met. Watch either one, or both, to get more of a feel for Monkman’s incredible talent.

VIDEO 1: Inspiration from The Met’s Collections

VIDEO 2: CBC feature on Monkman and the paintings

More on Kent Monkman at his website here.

Image at the top of this post: Kent Monkman (Cree, b. 1965). Welcoming the Newcomers, 2019. Acrylic on canvas, 132 x 264 in. (335.28 x 670.6 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Donald R. Sobey Foundation CAF Canada Project Gift, 2020. Image courtesy of the artist

This is by far the best short animation I have seen in years, the official music video for Jane Bordeaux’s ‘Ma’agalim’. A wooden doll is stuck in place and time in a forgotten, old penny arcade, revolving endlessly as the other characters move around her. Absolutely beautiful.

Jane Bordeaux website, here.

Lyrics

Translated from Hebrew

Nights turns into days
Days turn into years
And inside them I am going
Fast and in circles
Winds are blowing at me
Blowing down my neck
Everything seems too far
Oversizing me

It’s not me that’s progressing
It’s just the time that’s moving on
It’s just another passing train
It’s a further tightening rope

Sunrises sinking fast
Seasons passing more
And I am the same
while the time is cutting short

It’s fascinating to watch this unpacking of works for a major exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts, not something most of us will ever be involved in or even get to see.

The exhibition Spain and the Hispanic World at the Royal Academy of Arts in London includes masterpieces such as the priceless World Map of 1526 by Giovanni Vespucci. The show – on through April 10, 2023 – covers the rich story of Spanish art and culture from the ancient world to the early 20th century through more than 150 fascinating works.