Copper Thunderbird
early life and inspiration norval morrisseau, also known as copper thunderbird, was a renowned indigenous canadian artist from the bingwi neyaashi anishinaabek first nation. born on march 14, 1932, in sand point ojibwe reserve near beardmore, ontario, morrisseau is widely regarded as the grandfather of contemporary indigenous art in canada. artistic style and themes morrisseau's artistic style is characterized by thick black outlines and bright colors, which he used to depict the legends of his people, cultural and political tensions between native canadian and european traditions, existentia…
The Subject Atlas
A chart of Copper Thunderbird's corpus mapped not by date but by subject. Spokes are what they painted; rings are when; and the threads between stars reveal the patrons and places that secretly connect them.
Spokes — Subject
Each arm of the atlas gathers works by what they depict: portraits, sacred scenes, mythologies, and the scientific studies. Click a spoke to swing that cluster to the top.
Rings — Career Period
Distance from the center marks time. The innermost ring is the earliest period; the outermost, the final years. Style matures as you move outward.
Threads — Shared Context
Coloured lines link works bound by the same patron, commission, or theme. Trace a context to watch related clusters light up across subjects.
