Carl Beam’s Columbus Suite/Columbus Aajikinigan on exhibition at the Art Gallery of Sudbury

By Lisa Abel

SUDBURY— Anishinaabe artist Carl Beam (1943-1945) was born in M’Chigeeng First Nation and raised by his grandparents. Elders gave him the name “Ahkideh” from the Anishinaabe word “aakode,” which means “one who is brave.” He was sent to the Garnier Residential School in Spanish from the ages of 10 until 18. Beam then worked a variety of jobs before entering formal arts education, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Victoria and pursuing a Master’s degree at the University of Alberta. He worked in many mediums, including mixed media photo-collage, painting, ceramics, and printmaking.

Between 1989 and 1992, Carl Beam created a large body of work, “The Columbus Project,” as a re-evaluation of 500-year anniversary of Columbus’ arrival in the Americas. In Canada, the year 1992 was doubly significant as it marked 125 years of Confederation. Indigenous politicians, scholars, and artists challenged both celebrations, given the ongoing legacy of Indigenous disruption and dispossession.

The Columbus Suite (an element of the Columbus Project) is a series of 12 large-scale etchings on paper. Only 20 editions of the series were produced. Each art piece is a collage of photographs, printed in a muted colour palette of greys, purples, yellow, and sepia. The juxtaposition of images encourages the viewer to consider their possible meaning and symbolism, as an Indigenous-centred perspective on colonization.

Beam had described some of his art as “intellectual puzzles,” “interesting little games,” and “works of spiritual emancipation.” As I contemplated the artwork, I noted that some image combinations in the Columbus Suite seemed evident, like Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy.  Other etchings contained Indigenous symbols that might not be obvious to every viewer, such as the Trickster Raven, or the sea turtle in “New World,” hearkening to our understanding North America as Turtle Island, or the more obscure references to Indigenous ceremonial practices. I wondered whether the contrasting Christian imagery, such as the Pieta and Cavalry, are becoming less familiar in our increasingly secularized society. And as an Indigenous viewer, I was left questioning my own knowledge of history as I didn’t recognize all of the Indigenous leaders portrayed or know their significance. Up close, the works also revealed further cryptic messages from the artist: horizontal lines, numbers, letters, formulas, faint scribbles, paint blotches suggestive of fingerprints, and cursive text.

The artwork also considers the personal toll of colonial systems on Indigenous identity, spirituality, and ways of knowing. “Self-Portrait as John Wayne, Probably” and “Semiotic Converts” allude to the artist’s and community experiences of cultural assimilation and Christian indoctrination.

The Art Gallery of Sudbury (AGS) provided the names of each piece in English, French, and newly-translated Anishinaabemowin, as well as a brief handout. Regarding the minimalist presentation, Gallery Director Demetra Christakos noted that “we want to be very careful that we’re not directing people about what they’re seeing. … Our goal has always been to bring people into direct proximity of the artwork and to let them experience the artwork if they’re open to it. They create their own experience.”

Upstairs at the AGS is “Indisputable Realities,” the first gallery exhibition by Anishinaabe and Irish artist Joey Solomon. The artist states the paintings are “surreal depictions of the historical, and current treatment of indigenous peoples all over Canada.”

I came out of the gallery with the overall impression that the works in Carl Beam’s “Columbus Aajikinigan” endure as powerful statements of truth to power and Indigenous resistance. Indigenous artists continue to challenge the status quo, as Solomons’ stark works also address the destruction of stolen historic land, Residential Schools, pollution, MMIWG2S (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People), and religious oppression.

The first edition of Carl Beam’s Columbus Suite / Columbus Aajikinigan (1990) is on exhibition at the Art Gallery of Sudbury until July 30. Admission to the Art Gallery of Sudbury is by donation. https://artsudbury.org/en/