Rooted in RED
Mitakuye Oyasin, We are all related
-Ehanamani
By Lindey R. Anderson
Transart Institute
In researching the pigment red, one thing stood out and connected me directly to the pigment red ochre, the Ojibwe Muzzinabikon. A red ochre pictograph that is placed on the side of cliffs for Great Spirit to see and know. As I identified more with my own Ojibwe heritage, I found that not only red ochre was important to my ancestors but majority of the civilizations in the past. The logic of using red ochre, seems apparent, due to the vast amount available on earth, but yet it was used sacredly. This intrigues the question, Why? Why did our ancestors use the abundant resource so sparingly and was there a spiritual connection to the pigment? And if yes, does it unite us through a spiritual connection?
It has been my personal agenda to use the Ojibwe teachings as a guide to link civilizations through out history to the pigment and the unity of us through the planet Earth. This turned out to be in the form of a designed pictograph for urban landscapes, inspired by the Muzzinabikon. The symbol I have created was designed around the triangle. The triangle has a symbolic meaning in these cultures of unity. Encapsulating the meaning of red ochre to me and the meaning of the symbol I created I hope that these together naturally brings a sensation of primitive unity.
With my personal devotion to this pigment, I have started a project that will bring together the community by creating awareness to the things that link us versus keeping us apart. Rooted in RED will aspire to educate through natural pigments, Ojibwe teachings and color theory.
Rooted in RED is made up of multiple layers. First layer is the red ochre, which is the link that brings us together. The symbol or Muzzinabikon, that is rooted in the triangle. The number three and symbolism of mountains and/or cliffs. Community involvement is the third and final layer of Rooted in RED. Through workshops and community murals I hope to educate and bring a sense of oneness with the help of Ojibwe teachings. These three layers are the foundation of a project that I hope can continue to grow, evolve and include all.
RED OCHRE
Monday, September 29, 2014
Pisa, Italy
Part of my research and practice for the study of red, is to find my own source for pigments. In Italy, I was stumped, yes there are lots of red sights, but what can I use to grind down and make a pigment out of?! When at dinner in Pisa, the owner/waiter gave us a rose. I pressed it in a book and as I was ready to dry it out, I saw the process this sweet rose going through. The brilliancy that it has as it dries was magical. It will be a beautiful pigment, but it is right now a beautiful process to watch. I also have been finalizing the pigments from Greece. Todays was terra cotta found from the mountain in which I lived. It's fun to have these intriguing stories to accompany the color!
Lindey Anderson
-thislittlepigment.blogspot.com
Red ochre has become more than just a pigment to me. It has become a symbol in itself for unity throughout our history. With researching the pigment red, I was drawn to how many civilizations used red ochre in their lives, especially within my own heritage, Ojibwe Indian. This epiphany was the spark of connecting these civilizations together through an earth pigment and more specifically through the sacred use of red ochre.
An earth pigment that is and was available to majority of the world, red ochre has a way to connect us through its sacred use in art. My personal interest in how this connection was evident, and how my personal heritage contributed. Ojibwe people used red ochre to create pictographs on the cliff sides in upper midwest region of the United States according Michael Furtman’s Magic of the Rocks, a detailed book that documents all of the known pictographs in the upper midwest. These red ochre pictographs are called Muzzinabikon, which inspired me to continue to dive into the world of red ochre and start sharing the history of this pigment and its contribution to our civilizations. Through this research I intend on red ochre being a way to unify civilizations from past to present.
Hematite, red ochres real name, is found in majority of the earth. Connecting our continents together through this mineral seems irrelevant, but many civilizations used red ochre and used it for sacred artistic reasons. Maastricht-Belvedere in the Netherlands was a middle paleolithic site that uncovered remnants of red ochre. The theory is that there are “symbolic implications of body painting” within the site and soil. According to the article Use of Red Ochre by Early Neanderthals, red ochre was used by hunters and gatherers for medicinal purposes internally and externally, tanning hides and as insect repellent. The red ochre (hematite) found within this site, creates a buzz in the world of red ochre as such a level of intelligence established by this group of people is still being proven.
Not only Neanderthals but the early Greek civilization also utilized red ochre in their life. John Gage describes in Color and Culture the introduction of red ochre was introduced into the world of painting and specifically to be used for pigment in paintings. Pythagoreans primary color theory has been introduced and was taken to another level by Empedodes whom linked the primary colors (white, black, and red) to the four earth elements. He thought that mixing colors would illustrate the four elements. Using red ochre to relate heat, Greeks would use red ochre in painting and in pottery. (Gage.)
During my conversations that I have had with many people from Australia, non Aboriginal, the use of red ochre is sacred and used only in special, ceremonial purposes of painting. The stipple dot technique with the ochres, (red, yellow and brown), allow the pigment to weigh heavily in the painting as a subject.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Campagnatico, Italy
After all the books, photos documenting, articles searched and notes organized I have come up with five reds that are all the other reds ancestors! Now it's time to create the family tree. Working with the thought of which artist utilized each red to it's max potential I am developing a timeline that will reflect both. I have searched high and low for something like this and it's no where to be found, so I am going to create it. This will be
the muse for my entire research! I CANT WAIT!!!!! Starting with red ochre my days have been filled with the brilliant, earthy red.
Lindey Anderson
-thislittlepigment.blogspot.com
The beginning of red ochre for me was the literally on Sunday, October 12, 2014 in Campagnatico, Italy. When I realized that it was a part of the original five reds that I traced back through time. It was only then, did I start to research about the natural earth pigment and found a wealth of information that contributed to the research and to my personal heritage. The color red in general is very special and I correlate a lot of things to the color. My grandma’s favorite color, the color for passion, love and an exhilarating color with many shades that are based off a natural entity.
My first experience painting with red ochre was with French Luberon red ochre, crushed red rocks pigment and red dye #5. Allowing red ochre to converse with the red dye #5 and crushed red rocks pigment. Like the aboriginals in taking pride in the materials used, I wanted the red ochre pigment to take the fore front of the painting, and become the subject. This was a pivotal thought as it starts the curiosity and testing of having the pigment become the ONLY subject. Finding a way to use the pigment was important because I wanted viewers to see the basics and find value in red ochre. Working with varying techniques helps to understand the energy of the color and how it will be perceived.
My first series of work based on red ochre. Right to left: Pieced Red 12"x12" red rocks/red dye/acrylic, Red stairs 12"x16" red rocks/red dye/acrylic, Enclosed ochre 12"x12" red rocks/red dye/acrylic
Like the Ojibwe I traditionally mixed my red ochre with contemporary bear oil, which is a mix of jojoba oil and bear fat. (Furtman) Referencing and utilizing this mixture, seemed only natural to be able to really allow the red ochre to show its longevity as a pigment, specifically on rock and/stone and how the technique is applicable in todays art. Applying it to canvas was the natural first step, as I am a painter by trade, but I found myself looking for a concrete or brick wall to paint my personal Muzzinabikon on and to see if it became part of the rock. I have a huge concrete pillar in my studio and painted my first red ochre pictograph right there in my studio. The sacredness in applying Muzzinabikon changed my perception. There was magic within the pigment. I am not sure if it was due to the amount of time and energy grinding and mixing the pigments or if it was right of passage spiritually from my ancestors. I believe it was a both. Muzzinabikon were applied to the cliffs by the tribes Shaman. Their dreams were the inspiration in which they painted, a message from Great Spirit. This spiritually based message is what we see today as remnants of their conversation. (Furtman) I see the Rooted in RED Muzzinabikon to be a spiritual conversation between us all, for everyone to understand and share.
My first Muzzinabikon on my studio wall in Denver, Colorado. It still has not dried completely, it has been a year so far. I look forward to seeing how long it takes to dry and become one with the concrete.
The more I worked with the red ochre pigment, the more I wanted the pigment by itself. No structure to hold it together, but just an entity of pigment. While helping a friend make acrylic sheets, I was amazed by how perfect this seemed for trying to deduce my paintings into just pigment. I went back to my studio and tried it myself. I left the studio with my first red ochre pigment layer, and beyond thrilled with the turnout. This would be the inspiration in creating the final piece for this project during my time at Transart Institute, Miskwanagekozi, It has a red bark. Once I had sheets of red ochre all over my studio, the next question was what to do with them? I tried making 3D forms but failed to convey anything. Simultaneously to making the acrylic sheets, I was trying to saturate canvas strips in red ochre pigment and weave them into already stretched canvas. The canvas ended up not being able to support the basket weave. I abandoned that idea and moved onto the the pigment sheets, I started to weave together strips of pigment and then it made sense, I would weave together these strips of pigment and create banners of the Rooted in RED Muzzinabikon.
Top image is the first attempt to weave pigment, pigment saturated canvas woven and then stretched. The middle and bottom images are the first attempts to weave an acrylic medium and two kinds of red ochre pigment.
After that decision had been made things escalated quickly. I created a “banner” of red ochre sheets that would have the symbol woven into it, measuring 2’x6’. This was the template for the bigger installation to be shown in New York City at the winter residency for Transart Institute. Reducing a “painting” to just one pigment and removing the structure to allow the pigment by itself became an enriching form of painting and art. A way of seeing things simply and earth oriented.
Working with pigment as the only material is liberating as an artist to be able to rely on your pigment solely. I pour out Polymer and dry red ochre pigment mixed onto sheets of duralar that is primed with a layer of polymer. I have now found it easier to remove from duralar if I allow to dry 48 hours. I tried 24 hours and it came up in pieces. I also faced an issue with ratio of pigment to polymer. I started with too much pigment and the pigment sheets were flaky and dry. I reduced the amount to 1.5 tbsp of pigment to 32oz. polymer to have a consistent texture. All of these trials and tribulations allow me to understand the pigment in a whole new way. That is a collaboration of pigment, polymer and time.
The relationship with this pigment is the foundation of the entire Rooted in RED project. The project will grow and change, but the entity of red ochre in our existence will never be gone. It will continue to create a link of unity throughout the earth.
The top row of images from right to left are dry red ochre pigment and polymer unmixed, the second is mixed red ochre pigment and polymer the last is the tools I used which were my grandfathers. My paternal side of the family holds the Ojibwe heredity. The bottom images are the pigment laid out on duralar, how it looks as it comes off the duralar and finally the skin itself.
Muzzinabikon
Once I found the connection of the Ojibwe, red ochre, and the pictographs that they painted, I found myself compelled to create my own Muzzinabikon. There were design elements that I wanted to portray a simple symbolic meaning. Triangle was immediately the fist shape that I was drawn to. Triangle is a highly recognizable shape through the world. Highly associated with religion and/or the trinity from the Renaissance period, the triangle before that was associated with the number three and the connection of mind, body and soul. (Prendergast)
With its affiliation with a greater spirit, I want people to identify with the shape and triangle brings a spirituality to the overall Muzzinabikon.
I also wanted the triangles to create a mountain range and/or cliffs, because that is where the Muzzinabikon were placed. The importance of this was key as I wanted people to associate the symbol with rock cliffs. The three peaks not only signify rock peaks, but the three components of humankind, mind, body and soul. The diamond center pointing south is to signify the importance of the southern direction and the affiliation with the earth and in turn the red ochre earth source. The other three directions are apparent to include all, all directions of the world, east, west, north and south. The smaller diamond inside the larger is to bring awareness as we are only a part of a whole. As individuals together we create human civilization.
The Ojibwe people created their symbols for their Muzzinabikon through their dreams. They were coming-of-age vision quests that the Shamans would seek for knowledge and power to convey to the Great Spirit. (Furtman) With the spiritual intention on communicating I wanted the symbol to be the same way. Michelangelo Pistolettos online manifesto explains in detail how he succeeded in bringing a shape loaded with meaning to the world and convey a message that was naturally spread throughout the Earth. The infinity symbol, like the triangle is a recognizable shape that people can easily identify with and automatically want to be apart of.
The pictograph has been used by civilizations all over the world, and usually in the context of a higher being. Ojibwe painted their muzzinabikon on cliffs because they are the only thing that touches the water and the heavens at the same time. There is a sacredness to the cliff and/or mountain to many cultures describes Thomas Peacock in Ojibwe Waasa Inaabidaa. This symbolism can easily be recognized and makes the effectiveness of the Rooted in RED Muzzinabikon that much more loaded.
Once the first Muzzinabikon was painted in my studio I immediately started finding places in Berlin, Germany, where I would spend for four weeks. This would be the launch city for the Rooted in RED Muzzinabikon. I started to look at Mexican and Native American murals and through out Denver, Colorado where I live. Understanding how they initiate such heavy subject matter in a simple, artistic way. Representation of Mexican and Native cultures gives a message of what is important to communicate. Also location in which they were painted, I wanted to be able to initiate a meaning to the location, versus being a commissioned piece. Later I will understand, that you will take what you can get.
Berlin, a town infamous for its street art, would have my modern red ochre pictograph which would be a curious addition to the streets sprayed with color. Its basic shape allowed for its blending in as art amongst graffiti, but the typical aerosol design. The goal at the beginning was to try and paint legally my Muzzinabikon everywhere, so that people would start to recognize the symbol throughout the city and the curiosity would draw them to search further about the symbol and the project.
The sites that I chose in Berlin were Tempelhof Airport, Eastside Gallery and Mauerpark. I had been to these sites before and was aware of the history layered into the earth at each site.
Tempelhof Airport, Eastside Gallery and Mauerpark all had a negative context at one point. During the WWII and through out till when the Berlin wall fell. Now these spaces are open air community parks. Each space is filled with diversity and a common sense of enjoyment. It speaks volumes to the story behind the Rooted in RED Muzzinabikon, marking the area with a stamp of unity.
The Tempelhof site, was actually a petrified log in the middle of the airfield next to an abandoned airplane. The other two sites were on graffiti walls and by the time I left Berlin, they were painted over. That was not something I was expecting so quickly, but was surprised at how accepting I was of that and how I appreciated the experience that much more.
Above: Templehof site was in the middle of the airfield on a petrified log. There was other graffiti around it but mostly initials of those who have passed by. Below: The Eastside Gallery site where I was amongst thousand of artists to make a mark on the famous outdoor gallery. Below the Eastside Gallery is the Mauerpark site. This site sat next to the futbol field. A wall that separate the park and the field is a prime spot to graffiti for all ages.
The installation of these red ochre pictographs did not take me many hours, tops one hour and that includes prep time. The simplicity of this symbol amongst the detail and chaos of all the other graffiti, made you stop and look and wonder, why? Why, that red symbol in a very basic design? That is the point! I want people to see these symbols amongst chaos and wonder why so simple and why they can not stop thinking about it. People were baffled by me using a brush and paint, and surprised by my traditional painting approach. Each site in Berlin was chose based of its historical background of being a negative place in history, which has been transformed into a positive space of unity.
I desired to continue this thought process back in America but found it difficult to find such sites that would allow the Muzzinabikon and have such a rich, deep history. I found myself grasping to whatever surface I was allowed to paint on. In retrospect, I find that the symbol itself is strong enough that location is key for accessibility to the viewer, not the context of location.
People have contacted me stating they saw something that resembled my symbol. I love hearing that, because that means that people know what it looks like and find it relatable enough to identify other symbols that are similar. Triangles in a row have been identified to us humans as hills, mountains or mountain ranges. After the Berlin series, I came back to the studio finding the need to feature the Rooted in RED symbol as a pattern, such as in Ojibwe bead work or created imagery and landscapes specifically with only the symbol.
social
“...The artist of today is more than an improved camera; he is more complex, richer and wider. He is a creature on the earth and a creature within the whole, that is to say, a creature on a star among stars. Accordingly, a sense of totality has gradually entered into the artist’s conception of the natural object, whether this object be plant, animal or man, whether it be situated in the space of the house, the landscape, or the world, and the first consequence of the object as such is born.”
-Paul Klee
Way of Nature Study, 1923
Ojibwe teachings have been the structure of this project. Four Hills is a lesson on the four stages of life. Each season represents a stage within our life. Spring for youth, summer for young adulthood, fall for middle age and winter for elder and final stage of life. Four Hills story teaches that life has hills and we face challenges within each phase of life, but knowing that we can overcome with confidence. (Peacock) I felt that it was crucial to bring this teaching in as most cultures and civilizations recognize this pattern and hold standards to each. The teachings are basic enough that all people can identify with them and find trust in the unity through red ochre.
As a reflection of the Four Hills story I wanted to photograph the Rooted in RED Muzzinabikon in each season. I wanted to expose myself to a personal project that I will be able to continue throughout my life. In Andy Goldsworthy style, I created installations by using natural materials in a natural environment and documented. They no longer exist anymore, such as the Muzzinabikon in Berlin, they disappeared into the space. For just a brief moment they exude unity as all the individual parts create a whole. Bringing a literal context to the Four Hills story, each season represents a segment within the Rooted in RED project as well.
The first season that I did was Fall. Not only because it was Fall when I started the project but because I am personally on my way into Fall within the Four Hills story and found myself relating to this more. During a walk in my neighborhood, I found rich, red leaves that had fallen from its tree. I collected them and created a Rooted in RED Muzzinabikon. When I finished, I stumbled upon some brilliant yellow that continued the image into one of my mural designs for Rooted in RED (I was concurrently working on a mural in Denver).
Next, winter came in a hurry! I was debating on using red ochre in snow many times, but connotation of blood, was a hard to vision to beat, so I found myself using a paint brush and raw red ochre pigment in my Winter photograph. Applying the pigment traditionally seemed to add more context to the photograph. As winter is the final season of life, I did not want to perceive death, but a fresh new beginning in the circle of life.
The final one that is complete is spring. I photographed remnants of winter, but new growth of spring at Red Rocks Park, which has been a huge inspirational site for me. This photograph, was something, I saw my ancestors doing, creating games and or images with sticks. Although I have never found any documentation of this, I felt like it was more of a situational activity that may have occurred, versus a documented activity. I placed sticks in the shape of the Rooted in RED Muzzinabikon on the side of the mountain that was made of hematite, a different variation than red ochre, but similar with new green plant life growing with in it.
The final photograph will be that of summer. The materials will introduce themselves at an appropriate time and I will finish the final season of life. The Four Hills story was important to me because I wanted to use the Earth in a different way to approach the each stage. With reflecting deep into the project, the context of the photos represents the stages of the project as well. Summer will encapsulate the fruitfulness of the project as it really goes full speed ahead.
Above: The first season was fall, the leaves were collected from neighborhood and assembled in my back yard. I started with just the red leaves and the Rooted in RED Muzzinabikon, but soon found myself continuing the image into a sketch for a mural I had done.
Above: The second season was winter. Softly painting the dry pigment onto the surface of the snow, seemed more genuine and sacred. This also was photographed in my back yard.
Above: The final season completed was spring. Finding green earth and melting snow all in the same area was difficult up at Red Rocks National Park. The sticks were from the site as well and left there after they were photographed.
community
While I was in Berlin, I found myself aching for a way for the Rooted in RED symbol to become an entity of its own. I found that no matter what being a community oriented project, was the way to make this symbol known and its mission statement. With this enlightenment, I realized that this is only the beginning. You have to take one step at a time, and make those steps count in the journey. Below is a blogpost from my thislittlepigment.blogspot.com, This was a turning point in my artistic career and in this project. Understanding that day by day I can make a difference.
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
One year down, one year to go.
It is amazing how much one can grow in 365 days. Just finished my second Berlin residency for my MFA through Transart Institute. This residency, made it all real. I am a real artist, making real art and trying to make a real difference. I always have identified myself as a painter, to make marks that make sense or not, but to apply a pigment to a substrate. When I perform that action, is it making a difference? If I make a mark that I say means something and put confidence into it, is it making a difference? This is the lesson I have learned, EVERY mark makes a difference. Not only in the art world but in the world in general.
We as humans have lost the encouragement to make a mark. We choose instead the instant gratification of posting/reading/writing/talking about it. Evading the mark, forgetting the doing. When you actually have the intent to make the world a better place, the marks add up to create something wonderful. We are all human, we are all on the planet together, and we can make a difference. Together. When will we have confidence in being our own person, and stop conforming to a clique to justify ourselves? When will we see that the lack of knowledge is the basis of misunderstanding.
My project that I have started here in Berlin, Rooted in RED, is a social project, I am literally painting red ochre pictographs on urban landscapes. Not to deface property, but to create awareness of how we can achieve a one-ness through color, specifically red ochre. I had so many doubts and questions that I didn't know where to start. Then I realized, Rome wasn't built in a day! So I made a
'mark' and the more of these 'marks' I make, I realize it does make a difference. If we all can make a genuine mark in our life, you leave the world a better place. When you refuse to do, you are losing what life is about. If we were meant to have our own world, we would, but we don't, we share it with billions of people so every negative action you take bring everyone down. All of us. Every single one of us.
My goal isn't to preach, this isn't religious, or to campaign this isn't politics, my goal is to unite by making one mark at a time.
-Lindey Anderson
thislittlepigment.blogspot.com
This has become my mission statement in life to make one mark at a time. When I arrived back in Denver, that is exactly what I did. I started to see the community involvement as the soul source of the project. Within a few days, I had the opportunity to paint a mural on the wall at a friends house. The wall was southern facing and on a busier street, so the exposure would be great. People would have Rooted in RED in their neighborhood and that was my first mark. I did not use my traditional bear oil and red ochre pigment, but I used bright, fun colors and used the Rooted in RED symbol to create a Colorado landscape. I realized that I would need to bring in the reigns on the red ochre, as my personal contribution to the project, and yet still focusing on red ochre, bringing in other colors for people to relate to. Symbol over color for this mural.
The Xavier/Harvard mural took me 5 days to complete, and the experience in itself was rewarding. I had real estate agents, neighbors, post people and passer byes stop and talk to me about the mural, what it meant and their story that they had based off of the visual. Most of the feedback was positive, people coming to my friends house expressing their gratitude for the mural. The one little bump in the road, was a graffiti cop that sited my friends for the mural. The woman who ticketed them called my friend and said that she would waive the ticket, as she looked up the Rooted in RED blog and allowed the mural to stay, if she had not done that, we would have had 72 hours to paint over it. So all in all, it worked out, but logistics seem to always take the forefront over theory and intent.
Above: The beginning of the mural on Xavier/Harvard Street and the midpoint and the finally the finished mural. It was exciting to be interactive with the neighborhood and people passing by. They genuinely were intrigued by what it meant and by why I was doing it.
After I finished the Xavier/Harvard mural, I was ready to paint Denver Rooted in RED. Unfortunately, the city of Denver and I were not necessarily on the same page. Permits, proposals and lack of wall space, has been the biggest issue in creating a mural with the community. Still working on finding private property that the owners would relinquish outdoor wall space, Xavier/Harvard mural is the only Rooted in RED mural that has been done outside. To fulfill the desire to still paint murals, I painted one in my studio. A different sketch, using a similar color palette, this mural also focused on symbol over color.
Above: The mural sketch that inspired the mural I painted in my studio. I now have a Rooted in RED wall when I host workshops. People truly enjoy the colors why they work on red ochre art.
Once winter hit and outdoor murals were not an option, I started the Rooted in RED workshops. These workshops were to bring together the education of the Ojibwe teachings and other civilizations that used red ochre into a contemporary art context. Still using the traditional techniques and earth pigments the activities are enriched with history and basic teachings of unity. I hold the workshops in my studio, which enlivens the space. People of all ages coming together, working together to create art with previous civilizations.
December was the first workshop, in which we made a Lascaux cave inspired mural on canvas. Lascaux being one of the first areas with documented “art” painted with red ochre. Using red ochre pigment and bear oil with red ochre acrylic paint, we created our own Rooted in RED mural. They would dip their hands in the pigment and apply it to the surface, which was canvas. The comments about having the opportunity to be able to use their hands was interesting. Feeling more connected to what they were making. The mark they were making. Experiencing the sacredness of the pigment that I felt, was starting to be revealed to the participants of the workshop.
The workshop attendees were varying ages from two years old to fifty years old. Most in which were my family, my family with the Ojibwe heritage. Having them support and participate in the workshop brought a family oriented atmosphere, where we shared stories and experiences. This was important to me, not a planned part of the workshop, but an amazing side effect of family, art and tradition. My family continues to participate in every workshop, it has become an artistic avenue in which we walk together and enrich our traditions and relationship to our heritage.
Above: My wonderful, supportive family.
While we were working on the mural, we were also creating Egyptian red ochre coil pots. The Egyptians use of red ochre was important to see during the workshop, as it links the Ojibwe and the Egyptians in using red ochre in different but overall similar artistic ways. Pottery, being a staple of the arts for them, we created our own story board as a decoration on the pots. Again, using their hands and the tactility of the clay, was what people enjoyed.
After the mural was complete, some attendees helped in grinding up red rocks to make red rock pigment. They loved using the mortar and pestle to grind and the cheese cloth to filter the pigment. Both basic techniques that they had no idea about. It was amazing to see the excitement they had in creating a natural pigment.
Above: The December workshop where we focused on Egyptian vases and Lascaux cave inspired Rooted in RED mural. The mural is being stretched will hang in my studio for workshops.
The next workshop was in January, we created weavings out of paper, as I was using weaving as a technique in my work in the studio. Weaving was a basic skill in Ojibwe culture, using birch bark to weave baskets, Ojibwe found the practicality of this to ease their lives. I wanted to share this rhythmic experience with the workshop so we created woven shapes. Creating pattern and using materials found in the average home, they were to design a shape and weave a contrasting color into it. They could make any shape and then weave paper into them, they became woven Muzzinabikon There were numerous shapes and designs which made some more tedious and others easier, but as they worked with the materials it was conveyed that time and energy our ancestors had to create baskets from bark, they harvested and wove.
Above: The January workshop where we focused on weaving paper from shapes. They turned into a weaving Muzzinabikon. This is where the idea of weaving the pigment into banners came from.
The next workshop was scheduled in March and we were to be using natural brushes (tree branches) and paint to create abstract paintings, based off the constellations of the Muzzinabikon had done years ago. This workshop was cancelled due to a spring storm and is rescheduled for May.
The goal is to have a workshop once a month and continue to make a mark with the attendees and not only create art, but the conversation that will be crucial to the development and exposure of the project. I want to extend the opportunity to as many people as possible and continue to provide a place that can be open to create. Rooted in RED will become more of a presence in the greater Denver area with community murals and my own personal Muzzinabikon in the urban landscapes through out the area.
As I sit in my studio and reflect on the past two years of research, growth, dedication and passion I am excited for Rooted in RED to gain momentum. In the beginning, I didn’t understand the question why red? Why am I drawn to it? and why do I want to know more about it? I still don’t completely, but I do believe that my heritage and my conversation with it is square one. I believe that my life thus far has paved the road to curiosity. I also believe that my ancestry, my primal instinct was awakened and needed to be present . My dedication to my ancestry has given me the opportunity to understand more about myself and uniting civilizations past to create a contemporary awareness in our basic understanding of one another. As I had stated earlier making a mark each day is my mantra. I hope that my Muzzinabikon can make that mark and help symbolize unity throughout mankind spiritually. Understanding this is a community effort and together with creating art, there is potential for wonderful things to unfold.
Many state the passion that I have for this project, and it is true, I am extremely passionate. Because yes it is all about red ochre and uniting everyone through this earth pigment, but it’s also about my personal journey as an artist, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a woman and most of all a human. This is my story. This is my spirituality. This is me in conversation with the color red.
Each century new developments and ways to use our Earth pigments rise to the surface and Rooted in RED will be apart of it. With the many layers of the project, red ochre pigment, Muzzinabikon/symbol and the community I hope that the message and education of the project will be able to live on with my personal explorations through the pigment red ochre. With more understanding of Ojibwe traditions and that of other civilizations linked to red ochre, I hope to be able to encourage primitive, natural artistic techniques and to plant a seed of passion for our past and the Earth.
As I learn more about the language, lifestyle and spirituality of the Ojibwe people, I find comfort in linking other civilizations together, this time it was through red ochre. The Rooted in RED project will continue to develop and has great things planned for the year 2016. The workshops will continue but, the most important thought that I want this project to reflect is that we are all linked together, we are all one and we are all Rooted in RED.
Bibliography
Baraga, Frederic. Dictionary of the Ojibway Language, Minnesota Historical Society Press; Reprint edition (November 15, 1992)
Using the dictionary to help with the language barrier in majority of my Ojibwe books and also aiding in my learning of Algonquain. My goal is to be able to translate part of my project report into Algonquain, if not the entire report.
Furtman, Michael. Perich, Shawn. Magic of on the Rocks, Birch Portage Press (July 11, 2000)
Using Furtmans book for specific information about the Muzzinabikon in northern Minnesota. The muzzinabikon is the inspiration for the entire project, so collecting as many encounters with these red ochre pictographs is crucial to building the foundation of Rooted in RED
Gage, John. Color and Culture: Practice and Meaning from Antiquity to Abstraction, University of California Press; 1st edition (August 3, 1999) First Edition.
Along side of the Ojibwe views of red ochre and how I intend to bring awareness to the pigment, I have been reading Gages book, to fill in the holes of my research. Understanding the meaning from day one till abstraction, will collectively bring the meanings of red and its philosophy to another level of understanding the importance of this pigment.
Gale, Matthew. Paul Klee: Creative Confession and Other Writings, Tate; Act edition (May 6, 2014)
Using Klee’s essays is more helping maintain balance in the theory, philosophy and logistics of this project. His words are true and helpful when dealing in bringing something from the canvas to an object of its own.
Hardin, C.L. Danto, Arthur (foreword). Color for Philosophers: Unweaving the Rainbow, Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.; Expanded edition (January 1, 1988)
More as reference, Hardin’s book has been relative to the overall articulation of the project. Understanding the philosophy behind colors creates more depth when being able to execute the understanding of red ochre and its importance in our history and our future.
McGrath, Darrin. From Red Ochre to Black Gold. Flanker Press, June 7, 2001
have not received book, referred by contact at University of Minnesota, Duluth.
Morton, Ron. Talking Rocks: Geology and 10,000 year of Native Tradition in the Lake Superior Region. Univ. of Minnesota Press, 1 edition. September 23, 2003
Along with Magic on the Rocks this too, has help shape the root of this project. Both authors have explained multiple encounters, on how and where they Muzzinabikon were created. The paths in which the Ojibwe traveled to get to the sacred destinations.
Peacock, Thomas. Ojibwe Waasa Inaabidaa: We Look In All Directions, Minnesota Historical Society Press; 1 edition (October 15, 2009)
Peacocks book is referenced for the specific history and teachings that I am using in the project. His rendition of the Ojibwe through migration till today is reputable by the Ojibwe community and by the world of publishing. His ability to tell the story of the Ojibwe people as factual as possible has drawn me to this book, and has allowed me to have confidence in owning the subject matter.
Prendergast, Christopher. The Triangle of Representation, Columbia University Press (September 15, 2000) 0th Edition
With my symbol being made up of triangles specifically, I found it necessary to understand the representation of this symbol in parallel to the cultures through out history that utilized red ochre. Creating more of unity if possible. Having the color and shape be read by people as uniting symbol, has been based off the traditions of the usage of the triangle.
Riley, Charles A. II. Color Codes: Modern Theories of Color in Philosophy, Painting and Architecture, Literature, Music and Psychology, UPNE; Second printing edition (February 15, 1995)
Rileys insight into color in the world as a whole, is stimulating, as I have been focused on the art/spiritual side of red. This books creates again, more depth to the color that covers majority of the sense, to become fully sensual experience. It has been key in planning the final project, Miskwanagekozi, that will be installed in Berlin.
rooted in RED rough draft
Mitakuye Oyasin, We are all related
In researching the pigment red, one thing stood out and connected me directly to the pigment red ochre, the Ojibwe muzzinabikon. A red ochre pictograph that is placed on the side of cliffs for Great Spirit to see and know. As I identified more with my own Ojibwe heritage, I found that not only red ochre was important to my ancestors but majority of the civilizations in the past. The logic of using red ochre, seems apparent, due to the vast amount available on earth, but yet it was used sacredly. This intrigues the question, Why? Why did our ancestors use the abundant resource so sparingly and was there a spiritual connection to the pigment? And if yes, does it unite us through a spiritual connection?
It has been my personal agenda to use the Ojibwe teachings as a guide to link civilizations through out history to the color and the unity of us through the planet Earth. This turned out to be in the form of a designed pictograph for urban landscapes, inspired by the Muzzinabikon. The symbol I have created was designed around the triangle. The triangle has a symbolic meaning in these cultures of unity. Encapsulating the meaning of red ochre to me and the meaning of the symbol I created I hope that the symbols naturally brings a oneness with all.
With this symbol and color together, is it possible to find a gateway to uniting humans?
From my view, it is already available it is just recognition of something that ties us together versus keeping us apart.
RED OCHRE
Red ochre has become more than just pigment to me. It has become a symbol in itself for unity throughout our history. With researching the pigment red, I was drawn to how many civilizations used red ochre in their daily lives, especially within my own heritage, Ojibwe indian. This epiphany was the spark of connecting these civilizations together through an earth pigment and more specifically through the sacred use of red ochre.
an earth pigment that is and was available to majority of the world, red ochre has a way to connect us through the sacred use in art. My personal interest in how this connection was evident, but how my personal heritage contributed. Ojibwe people used red ochre to create pictographs on the cliff sides in upper midwest region of the United States. The pictographs are named Muzzinabikon, which inspired the me to continue to dive into the world of red ochre and start sharing the history of this pigment and its contribution to our civilizations. Through this research I intend on red ochre being a way unity.
Hematite, red ochres real name, is found in majority of the earth. Connecting our continents together through this mineral seems irrelevant, but the civilizations throughout time on each of these continents used red ochre and used it for sacred artistic reasons.
The burial ground of the Red woman....Neanderthals
Aboriginal use of red ochre is sacred and used only in special, ceremonial purposes of painting. The stipple dot technique with the ochres, (red, yellow and brown), allow the pigment to weigh heavily in the painting as a subject.
The first paintings I made with French Luberon red ochre were a series allowing red ochre to converse with red dye #5 and crushed red rocks pigment. Like the aboriginals and taking pride in the materials used, I wanted the red ochre pigment to take the fore front of the painting, and become the subject. This was a pivotal thought as it starts the curiosity and testing of making the pigment the ONLY subject.
Like the Ojibwe I mixed my red ochre with contemporary bear oil, which is a mix of jojoba oil and bear fat. Referencing and utilizing this mixture, seemed only natural to be able to really allow the red ochre to show its longevity as a pigment and how the technique is applicable in todays art. Applying it to canvas was the natural first step but I found myself looking for a concrete or brick wall to paint my personal Muzzinabikon on and to see it become of the rock as my ancestors did. Luckily, I have a huge concrete pillar in my studio and painted my first red ochre pictograph right there in my studio.
The red ochre became more than a pigment to me then, it was sacred now. I am not sure if it was due to the amount of time and energy grinding and mixing the pigments or if it was right of passage spiritually from my ancestors? I believe it was a both. The more I worked with the red ochre pigment, the more I wanted just the pigment to just be pigment. No structure to hold it together, but just a entity of pigment.
I was helping a friend create Christmas presents and suggested making a design in sheets of acrylic paint, creating skins of paint and stretching them of stretchers. I went back to my studio and tried it myself. I left the studio with my first red ochre pigment layer, and beyond thrilled with the turnout. Simultaneously to making acrylic skins, I was trying to saturate canvas in red ochre pigment and weave them into already stretched canvas, which did not turn out. The canvas became to billowy and would not support the basket weave. This need to weave was just as natural as to study the pigment red, it just makes sense. As my frustrations grew with weaving on canvas, I started to weave together the pigment sheets I had created. Cutting them into strips and weaving together sheets of pigment. This then turned into weaving the Rooted in Red Muzzinabikon. Things turned quickly
Working with pigment as the only material is liberating as an artist to be able to rely on your pigment solely. I pour out Polymer and dry red ochre pigment mixed onto sheets of duralar that is primed with a layer of polymer. I have now found it easier to remove from duralar if I allow to dry 48 hours. I tried 24 hours and it came up in pieces. I also faced an issue with ratio of pigment to polymer. I started with too much pigment and the pigment sheets were flaky and dry. I reduced the amount of 1.5 tbsp. of pigment to 32oz. polymer to have a consistent texture.
Having these sheets of pigment lying around my studio, was reminiscent of the hydes of animals. It was a surreal feeling working with my hands with these hyde-like sheets and creating something more. Again, I felt more natural and intuitively on point when creating these pigment weavings. It just made sense as the next step in this Rooted in RED journey.
symbol
Once I found the connection of the Ojibwe and red ochre, and the pictographs that they painted, I found myself compelled to created my own Muzzinabikon. There were design elements that I wanted to portray simplistic symbolic meanings. Triangle was immediately the fist shape that I was drawn to. I wanted them to create a mountain range and/or cliffs, because that is where the Muzzinabikon were placed. The importance of this was key as I wanted people to associated the symbol with rock cliffs. The three peaks not only signify rock peaks, but the three components of humankind, mind, body and soul. The diamond center pointing south is signify the importance of the southern direction and the affiliation with the earth and in turn red ochre earth source. The other three directions are apparent to include all, all directions of the world. The smaller diamond inside the larger is bring awareness as we are only part of a whole. As individuals we create a whole, which is the human civilization.
After the first Muzzinabikon went up, I looked immediately to finding places in Berlin, Germany, where I would spend for four weeks.
Berlin, a town infamous for its street art, my modern pictograph of red ochre would be a curious addition to the streets sprayed with color. Its basic shape allowed for its blending in as art, but as a traditional street art piece, no. People were baffled by using a brush and paint, and surprised by my traditional painting approach. Each site in Berlin was chose based of its historical background of being a negative place in history, which has been transformed into a positive space of unity. Tempelhof Airport, Eastside Gallery and Mauerpark all had a negative context at one point during the WWII and through out till 1986 when the Berlin wall fell. Now they are open air community parks. Each space is filled with diversity and a common sense of enjoyment. It speaks volumes to the story behind the Rooted in RED muzzinabikon, marking the area with a stamp of unity in a way. The Tempelhof site, was actually a petrified log in the middle of the airfield next to an abandoned airplane. The other two sites were on graffiti walls and by the time I left Berlin, they were painted over. That was not something I was expecting so quickly, but was surprised at how accepting I was of that and how I appreciated the experience that much more. The installation of these red ochre pictographs did not take me many hours, tops one hour and that includes prep time. The simplicity of this symbol amongst the detail and chaos of all the other graffiti, made you stop and look and wonder, why? Why, that red symbol in a very basic design? That is the point! I want people to see these symbols amongst chaos and wonder why so simple and why can not stop thinking about it.
Many people have contacted me stating they saw something that resembled my symbol. I love hearing that, because that means that people know what it looks like and find it relatable enough to identify other symbols that are similar. Triangles in a row have been identified to us humans as hills, mountains or mountain ranges. The pictograph has been used by civilizations all over the world, and usually in the context of a higher being. Ojibwe painted their muzzinabikon on cliffs because they are the only thing that touches the water and the heavens at the same time. There is a sacredness to the cliff and/or mountain to many cultures. This symbolism can easily be recognized and makes the effectiveness of the Rooted in RED Muzzinabikon that much more loaded.
After the Berlin series, I came back to the studio finding the need to feature the Rooted in RED symbol as a pattern, such as in Ojibwe bead work or created imagery and landscapes specifically with only the symbol. As I thought this felt natural, in the long wrong was forced and ended up re-working two paintings multiple times. The very tedious handwork is not my forte. Simplifying the symbol to sections of the symbol worked in my favor with a basic triangle stained with red ochre pigment.
social
Ojibwe teachings have been the structure of this project. Four Hills is a lesson on the four stages of life. Spring for youth, summer for young adulthood, fall for middle age and winter for elder and final stage of life. I felt that it was crucial to bring this teaching in as most cultures and civilizations recognize this pattern and hold standards to each. I wanted to photograph the Rooted in RED muzzinabikon in each season. Andy Goldsworthy-esque, they are created by using natural materials in a natural environment and documented. They no longer exist, such as the Muzzinabikon in Berlin, they disappeared into the space.
The first season that I did was fall. Not only because it was fall when I started the project but because I am personally on my way to fall and found myself relating to this more. During a walk in my neighborhood, I found rich, red leaves that had fallen from its tree. I collected them and created a Rooted in RED muzzinabikon. When I finished, I stumbled upon some brilliant yellow that I continued the image, with creating a mural sketch in leaves. (I was concurrently working on a mural in Denver).
Next winter came in a hurry! I was debating on using red ochre in snow many times, but connotation of blood, was a hard to vision to beat, so I found myself using a paint brush and raw red ochre pigment in my winter photograph. Applying the pigment traditionally seemed to add more context to the photograph. As winter is the final season of life, I did not want to perceive death, but a fresh new beginning in the circle of life.
The final one that is complete is spring. I photographed remnants of winter, but new growth of spring at Red Rocks Park, which has been a huge inspirational place for me. This photograph, was something, I saw my ancestors doing, is creating games and or images with sticks. Although I have never found any documentation of this, I felt like it was more of a situational activity that may have occurred, versus a documented activity. I inserted sticks in the shape of the Rooted in RED muzzinabikon on the side of the mountain that was made of hematite, a different variation than red ochre, but similar with new green plant life growing with in it.
The final photograph will be that of summer. The materials will introduce themselves at an appropriate time and I will finish the final season of life. The modern spin on this structural teaching, I hope will bring more awareness to the teachings of the Ojibwe and people will recognize the symbol as one of all the stages of life. That we grow and we are all at different stages, but in the end we are all alive and all connected.
community
While I was in Berlin, I found myself aching for a way for the Rooted in RED symbol to become an entity of its own. I found that no matter how hard I tried, being a community oriented project, was the way to make this symbol known and the project really have a backbone for what it is trying to convey. With this enlightenment, I realized that this is only the beginning. You have to take one step at a time, and make those steps count in the journey. Below is a blogpost from my thislittlepigment.blogspot.com, This was a turning point in my artistic career and in this project. Understanding that day by day I can make a difference.
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
One year down, one year to go.
It is amazing how much one can grow in 365 days. Just finished my second Berlin residency for my MFA through Transart Institute. This residency, made it all real. I am a real artist, making real art and trying to make a real difference. I always have identified myself as a painter, to make marks that make sense or not, but to apply a pigment to a substrate. When I perform that action, is it making a difference? If I make a mark that I say means something and put confidence into it, is it making a difference? This is the lesson I have learned, EVERY mark makes a difference. Not only in the art world but in the world in general.
We as humans have lost the encouragement to make a mark. We choose instead the instant gratification of posting/reading/writing/talking about it. Evading the mark, forgetting the doing. When you actually have the intent to make the world a better place, the marks add up to create something wonderful. We are all human, we are all on the planet together, and we can make a difference. Together. When will we have confidence in being our own person, and stop conforming to a clique to justify ourselves? When will we see that the lack of knowledge is the basis of misunderstanding.
My project that I have started here in Berlin, Rooted in RED, is a social project, I am literally painting red ochre pictographs on urban landscapes. Not to deface property, but to create awareness of how we can achieve a one-ness through color, specifically red ochre. I had so many doubts and questions that I didn't know where to start. Then I realized, Rome wasn't built in a day! So I made a
'mark' and the more of these 'marks' I make, I realize it does make a difference. If we all can make a genuine mark in our life, you leave the world a better place. When you refuse to do, you are losing what life is about. If we were meant to have our own world, we would, but we don't, we share it with billions of people so every negative action you take bring everyone down. All of us. Every single one of us.
My goal isn't to preach, this isn't religious, or to campaign this isn't politics, my goal is to unite by making one mark at a time.
This has become my mission statement in life to make one mark at a time. When I arrived back in Denver, that is exactly what I did. I started to see the community involvement as the soul source of the project. Within a few days, I had the opportunity to paint a mural on the wall at a friends house. The wall was southern facing and on a busier street, so the exposure would be great. People would have Rooted in RED in their neighborhood and that was my first mark. I did not use my traditional bear oil and red ochre pigment, but I used bright, fun colors and used the Rooted in RED symbol to create a Colorado landscape. I realized that I would need to bring in the reigns on the red ochre, as my personal contribution to the project, and yet still focusing on red ochre, bringing in other colors for people to relate to. Symbol over color for this mural.
The Xavier/Harvard mural took me 5 days to complete, and the expiernce in itself was rewarding. I had real estate agents, neighbors, post people and passer byes stop and talk to me about the mural, what it meant and their story that they had based off of the visual. Most of the feedback was positive, people coming to my friends house expressing their gratitude for the mural. The one little bump in the road, was a graffiti cop that sited my friends for the mural. The woman who ticketed them called my friend and said that she would waive the ticket, as she looked up the Rooted in RED blog and allowed the mural to stay, if she had not done that, we would have had 72 hours to paint over it. So all in all, it worked out, but logistics seem to always take the forefront over theory and intent.
After I finished the Xavier/Harvard mural, I was ready to paint Denver Rooted in RED. Unfortunately, the city of Denver and I were not necessarily on the same page. Permits, proposals and lack of wall space, has been the biggest issue in creating a mural with the community. Still working on finding private property that the owners would relinquish outdoor wall space, Xavier/Harvard mural is the only Rooted in RED mural that has been done outside. To fulfill the desire to still paint murals, I painted one in my studio. A different sketch, using a similar color palette, this mural also focused on symbol over color.
Once winter hit and outdoor murals were not an option, I started the Rooted in RED workshops. December was the first workshop, in which we made a Lascaux cave inspired mural on canvas. Using red ochre pigment and bear oil with red ochre acrylic paint, we created our own Rooted in RED mural. The workshop attendees were varying ages from two years old to fifty years old. Most in which were my family, my family with the Ojibwe heritage. Having them support and participate in the workshop brought a family oriented atmosphere, where we shared stories and experiences. After the mural was complete, some attendees helped in grinding up red rocks to make red rock pigment. They loved using the mortar and petsel to grind and the cheese cloth to filter the pigment. Both basic techniques that they had no idea about. It was amazing to see the excitement they had in creating a natural pigment.
The next workshop was in January. We worked on weavings, as I was using weaving as a technique in my work in the studio. Weaving was a basic skill in Ojibwe culture. Using birch bark to weave baskets, Ojibwe found the practicality of this to ease their lives. I wanted to share this rhythmic experience with the workshop so we created woven shapes. They could make any shape and then weave paper into them, they became woven muzzinabikon and essentially this is what sparked me to weave the Rooted in RED symbol.
The next workshop is scheduled in March and we will be using natural brushes (tree branches) and paint to create abstract paintings, based off the constellations of the Muzzinabikon done years ago. The goal is to have a workshop once a month and continue to make a mark with the attendees and not only create art, but conversation that will be crucial to the development and exposure of the project.
rooted in RED
-INTRODUCTION-
Mitakuye Oyasin, We are all related
In researching the pigment red, one thing stood out and connected me directly to the pigment red ochre, the Ojibwe muzzinabikon. A red ochre pictograph that is placed on the side of cliffs for Great Spirit to see and know. As I identified more with my own Ojibwe heritage, I found that not only red ochre was important to my ancestors but majority of the civilizations in the past. The logic of using red ochre, seems apparent, due to the vast amount available on earth, but yet it was used sacredly. This intrigues the question, Why? Why did our ancestors use the abundant resource so sparingly and was there a spiritual connection to the pigment? And if yes, does it unite us through a spiritual connection?
It has been my personal agenda to use the Ojibwe teachings as a guide to link civilizations through out history to the color and the unity of us through the planet Earth. This turned out to be in the form of a designed pictograph for urban landscapes, inspired by the Muzzinabikon. The symbol I have created was designed around the triangle. The triangle has a symbolic meaning in these cultures of unity. Encapsulating the meaning of red ochre to me and the meaning of the symbol I created I hope that the symbols naturally brings a oneness with all.
With this symbol and color together, is it possible to find a gateway to uniting humans?
From my view, it is already available it is just recognition of something that ties us together versus keeping us apart.
RED OCHRE
Red ochre has become more than just pigment to me. It has become a symbol in itself for unity throughout our history. With researching the pigment red, I was drawn to how many civilizations used red ochre in their daily lives, especially within my own heritage, Ojibwe indian. This epiphany was the spark of connecting these civilizations together through an earth pigment and more specifically through the sacred use of red ochre.
an earth pigment that is and was available to majority of the world, red ochre has a way to connect us through the sacred use in art. My personal interest in how this connection was evident, but how my personal heritage contributed. Ojibwe people used red ochre to create pictographs on the cliff sides in upper midwest region of the United States. The pictographs are named Muzzinabikon, which inspired the me to continue to dive into the world of red ochre and start sharing the history of this pigment and its contribution to our civilizations. Through this research I intend on red ochre being a way unity.
Hematite, red ochres real name, is found in majority of the earth. Connecting our continents together through this mineral seems irrelevant, but the civilizations throughout time on each of these continents used red ochre and used it for sacred artistic reasons.
The burial ground of the Red woman....neandertals
Aboriginal use of red ochre is sacred and used only in special, ceremonial purposes of painting. The stipple dot technique with the ochres, (red, yellow and brown), allow the pigment to weigh heavily in the painting as a subject.
The first paintings I made with French Luberon red ochre were a series allowing red ochre to converse with red dye #5 and crushed red rocks pigment. Like the aboriginals and taking pride in the materials used, I wanted the red ochre pigment to take the fore front of the painting, and become the subject. This was a pivotal thought as it starts the curiousity and testing of making the pigment the ONLY subject.
Like the Ojibwe I mixed my red ochre with contemporary bear oil, which is a mix of jojoba oil and bear fat. Referencing and utilizing this mixture, seemed only natural to be able to really allow the red ochre to show its longevitity as a pigment and how the techinique is applicable in todays art. Applying it to canvas was the natural first step but I found myself looking for a concrete or brick wall to paint my personal Muzzinabikon on and to see it become of the rock as my ancestors did. Luckily, I have a huge concrete pillar in my studio and painted my first red ochre pictograph right there in my studio.
The red ochre became more than a pigment to me then, it was sacred now. I am not sure if it was due to the amount of time and energy grinding and mixing the pigments or if it was right of passage spiritually from my ancestors? I believe it was a both. The more I worked with the red ochre pigment, the more I wanted just the pigment to just be pigment. No structure to hold it together, but just a enitity of pigment.
I was helping a friend create Christmas presents and suggested making a design in sheets of acrylic paint, creating skins of paint and stretching them of stretchers. I went back to my studio and tried it myself. I left the studio with my first red ochre pigment layer, and beyond thrilled with the turnout. Simoultaneously to making acrylic skins, I was trying to saturate canvas in red ochre pigment and weave them into already streched canvas, which did not turn out. The canvas became to billowy and would not support the basket weave. This need to weave was just as natural as to study the pigment red, it just makes sense. As my frustrations grew with weaving on canvas, I started to weave together the pigment sheets I had created. Cutting them into strips and weaving together sheets of pigment. This then turned into weaving the Rooted in Red Muzzinabikon. Things turned quickly
Working with pigment as the only material is liberating as an artist to be able to rely on your pigment solely. I pour out Polymer and dry red ochre pigment mixed onto sheets of duralar that is primed with a layer of polymer. I have now found it easier to remove from duralar if I allow to dry 48 hours. I tried 24 hours and it came up in pieces. I also faced an issue with ratio of pigment to polymer. I started with too much pigment and the pigment sheets were flaky and dry. I reduced the amount of 1.5 tbsp. of pigment to 32oz. polymer to have a consistent texture.
Having these sheets of pigment lying around my studio, was remenescnet of the hydes of animals. It was a surreal feeling working with my hands with these hyde-like sheets and creating something more. Again, I felt more natural and intuitively on point when creating these pigment weavings. It just made sense as the next step in this Rooted in RED journey.
symbol
Once I found the connection of the Ojibwe and red ochre, and the pictographs that they painted, I found myself compelled to created my own Muzzinabikon. There were design elements that I wanted to portray simplistic symbolic meanings. Triangle was immediately the fist shape that I was drawn to. I wanted them to create a mountain range and/or cliffs, because that is where the Muzzinabikon were placed. The importance of this was key as I wanted people to associated the symbol with rock cliffs. The three peaks not only signify rock peaks, but the three components of humankind, mind, body and soul. The diamond center pointing south is signify the importance of the southern direction and the affiliation with the earth and in turn red ochre earth source. The other three directions are apparent to include all, all directions of the world. The smaller diamond inside the larger is bring awareness as we are only part of a whole. As individuals we create a whole, which is the human civilization.
After the first Muzzinabikon went up, I looked immediately to finding places in Berlin, Germany, where I would spend for four weeks.
Berlin, a town infamous for its street art, my modern pictograph of red ochre would be a curious addition to the streets sprayed with color. Its basic shape allowed for its blending in as art, but as a traditional street art piece, no. People were baffled by using a brush and paint, and surprised by my traditional painting approach. Each site in Berlin was chose based of its historical background of being a negative place in history, which has been transformed into a positive space of unity. Tempelhof Airport, Eastside Gallery and Mauerpark all had a negative context at one point during the WWII and through out till 1986 when the Berlin wall fell. Now they are open air community parks. Each space is filled with diversity and a common sense of enjoyment. It speaks volumes to the story behind the Rooted in RED muzzinabikon, marking the area with a stamp of unity in a way. The Tempelhof site, was actually a petrified log in the middle of the airfield next to an abandoned airplane. The other two sites were on grafitti walls and by the time I left Berlin, they were painted over. That was not something I was expecting so quickly, but was surprised at how accepting I was of that and how I appreciated the experience that much more. The installation of these red ochre pictographs did not take me many hours, tops one hour and that includes prep time. The simplicity of this symbol amongst the detail and chaos of all the other grafitti, made you stop and look and wonder, why? Why, that red symbol in a very basic design? That is the point! I want people to see these symbols amongst chaos and wonder why so simple and why can not stop thinking about it.
Many people have contacted me stating they saw something that resembled my symbol. I love hearing that, because that means that people know what it looks like and find it relatable enough to identify other symbols that are similar. Triangles in a row have been identified to us humans as hills, mountains or mountain ranges. The pictograph has been used by civlizations all over the world, and usually in the context of a higher being. Ojibwe painted their muzzinabikon on cliffs because they are the only thing that touches the water and the heavens at the same time. There is a sacredness to the cliff and/or mountain to many cultures. This symbolism can easily be recognized and makes the effectiveness of the Rooted in RED Muzzinabikon that much more loaded.
After the Berlin series, I came back to the studio finding the need to feature the Rooted in RED symbol as a pattern, such as in Ojibwe bead work or created imagery and landscapes specifically with only the symbol. As I thought this felt natural, in the long wrong was forced and ended up re-working two paintings multiple times. The very tedious handwork is not my forte. Simplifiying the symbol to sections of the symbol worked in my favor with a basic triangle stained with red ochre pigment.
social
Ojibwe teachings have been the structure of this project. Four Hills is a lesson on the four stages of life. Spring for youth, summer for young adulthood, fall for middle age and winter for elder and final stage of life. I felt that it was crucial to bring this teaching in as most cultures and civilizations recognize this pattern and hold standards to each. I wanted to photograph the Rooted in RED muzzinabikon in each season. Andy Goldsworthy-esque, they are created by using natural materials in a natural enviornment and documented. They no longer exist, such as the Muzzinabikon in Berlin, they disappeared into the space.
The first season that I did was fall. Not only because it was fall when I started the project but because I am personally on my way to fall and found myself relating to this more. During a walk in my neighborhood, I found rich, red leaves that had fallen from its tree. I collected them and created a Rooted in RED muzzinabikon. When I finished, I stumbled upon some brilliant yellow that I continued the image, with creating a mural sketch in leaves. (I was concurrently working on a mural in Denver).
Next winter came in a hurry! I was debating on using red ochre in snow many times, but connotation of blood, was a hard to vision to beat, so I found myself using a paint brush and raw red ochre pigment in my winter photograph. Applying the pigment traditionally seemed to add more context to the photograph. As winter is the final season of life, I did not want to perceive death, but a fresh new beginning in the circle of life.
The final one that is complete is spring. I photographed remnants of winter, but new growth of spring at Red Rocks Park, which has been a huge inspirational place for me. This photograph, was something, I saw my ancestors doing, is creating games and or images with sticks. Although I have never found any documentation of this, I felt like it was more of a situational activity that may have occured, versus a docuemnted activity. I inserted sticks in the shape of the Rooted in RED muzzinabikon on the side of the mountain that was made of hematite, a different variation than red ochre, but similar with new green plant life growing with in it.
The final photograph will be that of summer. The materials will introduce themselves at an appropriate time and I will finish the final season of life. The modern spin on this structural teaching, I hope will bring more awareness to the teachings of the Ojibwe and people will recognize the symbol as one of all the stages of life. That we grow and we are all at different stages, but in the end we are all alive and all connected.
community
While I was in Berlin, I found myself aching for a way for the Rooted in RED symbol to become an entity of its own. I found that no matter how hard I tried, being a community oriented project, was the way to make this symbol known and the project really have a backbone for what it is trying to convey. With this enlightenment, I realized that this is only the beginning. You have to take one step at a time, and make those steps count in the journey. Below is a blogpost from my thislittlepigment.blogspot.com, This was a turning point in my artistic career and in this project. Understanding that day by day I can make a difference.
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
One year down, one year to go.
It is amazing how much one can grow in 365 days. Just finished my second Berlin residency for my MFA through Transart Institute. This residency, made it all real. I am a real artist, making real art and trying to make a real difference. I always have identified myself as a painter, to make marks that make sense or not, but to apply a pigment to a substrate. When I perform that action, is it making a difference? If I make a mark that I say means something and put confidence into it, is it making a difference? This is the lesson I have learned, EVERY mark makes a difference. Not only in the art world but in the world in general.
We as humans have lost the encouragement to make a mark. We choose instead the instant gratification of posting/reading/writing/talking about it. Evading the mark, forgetting the doing. When you actually have the intent to make the world a better place, the marks add up to create something wonderful. We are all human, we are all on the planet together, and we can make a difference. Together. When will we have confidence in being our own person, and stop conforming to a clique to justify ourselves? When will we see that the lack of knowledge is the basis of misunderstanding.
My project that I have started here in Berlin, Rooted in RED, is a social project, I am literally painting red ochre pictographs on urban landscapes. Not to deface property, but to create awareness of how we can achieve a one-ness through color, specifically red ochre. I had so many doubts and questions that I didn't know where to start. Then I realized, Rome wasn't built in a day! So I made a
'mark' and the more of these 'marks' I make, I realize it does make a difference. If we all can make a genuine mark in our life, you leave the world a better place. When you refuse to do, you are losing what life is about. If we were meant to have our own world, we would, but we don't, we share it with billions of people so every negative action you take bring everyone down. All of us. Every single one of us.
My goal isn't to preach, this isn't religious, or to campaign this isn't politics, my goal is to unite by making one mark at a time.
This has become my mission statement in life to make one mark at a time. When I arrived back in Denver, that is exactly what I did. I started to see the community involvement as the soul source of the project. Within a few days, I had the opportunity to paint a mural on the wall at a friends house. The wall was southern facing and on a busier street, so the exposure would be great. People would have Rooted in RED in their neighborhood and that was my first mark. I did not use my traditional bear oil and red ochre pigment, but I used bright, fun colors and used the Rooted in RED symbol to create a Colorado landscape. I realized that I would need to bring in the reigns on the red ochre, as my personal contribution to the project, and yet still focusing on red ochre, bringing in other colors for people to relate to. Symbol over color for this mural.
The Xavier/Harvard mural took me 5 days to complete, and the expiernce in itself was rewarding. I had real estate agents, neightbords, post people and passer byers stop and talk to me about the mural, what it meant and their story that they had based off of the visual. Most of the feedback was positive, people coming to my friends house expressing their gratitude for the mural. The one little bump in the road, was a graffiti cop that sited my friends for the mural. The woman who ticketed them called my friend and said that she would waive the ticket, as she looked up the Rooted in RED blog and allowed the mural to stay, if she had not done that, we would have had 72 hours to paint over it. So all in all, it worked out, but logistics seem to always take the forefront over theory and intent.
After I finished the Xavier/Harvard mural, I was ready to paint Denver Rooted in RED. Unfortunately, the city of Denver and I were not necessarily on the same page. Permits, proposals and lack of wall space, has been the biggest issue in creating a mural with the community. Still working on finding private property that the owners would relinquish outdoor wall space, Xavier/Harvard mural is the only Rooted in RED mural that has been done outside. To fulfill the desire to still paint murals, I painted one in my studio. A different sketch, using a similar color palette, this mural also focused on symbol over color.
Once winter hit and outdoor murals were not an option, I started the Rooted in RED workshops. December was the first workshop, in which we made a Lascaux cave inspired mural on canvas. Using red ochre pigment and bear oil with red ochre acrylic paint, we created our own Rooted in RED mural. The workshop attendees were varying ages from two years old to fifty years old. Most in which were my family, my family with the Ojibwe heritage. Having them support and participate in the workshop brought a family oriented atmosphere, where we shared stories and experiences. After the mural was complete, some attendees helped in grinding up red rocks to make red rock pigment. They loved using the mortar and petsel to grind and the cheese cloth to filter the pigment. Both basic techniques that they had no idea about. It was amazing to see the excitement they had in creating a natural pigment.
The next workshop was in January. We worked on weavings, as I was using weaving as a techinque in my work in the studio. Weaving was a basic skill in Ojibwe culture. Using birch bark to weave baskets, Ojibwe found the practicality of this to ease their lives. I wanted to share this rhymthic experience with the workshop so we created woven shapes. They could make any shape and then weave paper into them, they became woven muzzinabikon and essentially this is what sparked me to weave the Rooted in RED symbol.
The next workshop is scheduled in March and we will be using natural brushes (tree branches) and paint to create abstract paintings, based off the constellations of the Muzzinabikon done years ago. The goal is to have a workshop once a month and continue to make a mark with the attendees and not only create art, but conversation that will be crucial to the development and exposure of the project.
rooted in RED
-INTRODUCTION-
Mitakuye Oyasin, We are all related
In researching the pigment red, one thing stood out and connected me directly to the pigment red ochre, the Ojibwe muzzinabikon. A red ochre pictograph that is placed on the side of cliffs for Great Spirit to see and know. As I identified more with my own Ojibwe heritage, I found that not only red ochre was important to my ancestors but majority of the civilizations in the past. The logic of using red ochre, seems apparent, due to the vast amount available on earth, but yet it was used sacredly. This intrigues the question, Why? Why did our ancestors use the abundant resource so sparingly and was there a spiritual connection to the pigment? And if yes, does it unite us through a spiritual connection?
It has been my personal agenda to use the Ojibwe teachings as a guide to link civilizations through out history to the color and the unity of us through the planet Earth. This turned out to be in the form of a designed pictograph for urban landscapes, inspired by the Muzzinabikon. The symbol I have created was designed around the triangle. The triangle has a symbolic meaning in these cultures of unity. Encapsulating the meaning of red ochre to me and the meaning of the symbol I created I hope that the symbols naturally brings a oneness with all.
With this symbol and color together, is it possible to find a gateway to uniting humans?
From my view, it is already available it is just recognition of something that ties us together versus keeping us apart.
RED OCHRE
Red ochre has become more than just pigment to me. It has become a symbol in itself for unity throughout our history. With researching the pigment red, I was drawn to how many civilizations used red ochre in their daily lives, especially within my own heritage, Ojibwe indian. This epiphany was the spark of connecting these civilizations together through an earth pigment and more specifically through the sacred use of red ochre.
an earth pigment that is and was available to majority of the world, red ochre has a way to connect us through the sacred use in art. My personal interest in how this connection was evident, but how my personal heritage contributed. Ojibwe people used red ochre to create pictographs on the cliff sides in upper midwest region of the United States. The pictographs are named Muzzinabikon, which inspired the me to continue to dive into the world of red ochre and start sharing the history of this pigment and its contribution to our civilizations. Through this research I intend on red ochre being a way unity.
Hematite, red ochres real name, is found in majority of the earth. Connecting our continents together through this mineral seems irrelevant, but the civilizations throughout time on each of these continents used red ochre and used it for sacred artistic reasons.
The burial ground of the Red woman....neandertals
Aboriginal use of red ochre is sacred and used only in special, ceremonial purposes of painting. The stipple dot technique with the ochres, (red, yellow and brown), allow the pigment to weigh heavily in the painting as a subject.
The first paintings I made with French Luberon red ochre were a series allowing red ochre to converse with red dye #5 and crushed red rocks pigment. Like the aboriginals and taking pride in the materials used, I wanted the red ochre pigment to take the fore front of the painting, and become the subject. This was a pivotal thought as it starts the curiousity and testing of making the pigment the ONLY subject.
Like the Ojibwe I mixed my red ochre with contemporary bear oil, which is a mix of jojoba oil and bear fat. Referencing and utilizing this mixture, seemed only natural to be able to really allow the red ochre to show its longevitity as a pigment and how the techinique is applicable in todays art. Applying it to canvas was the natural first step but I found myself looking for a concrete or brick wall to paint my personal Muzzinabikon on and to see it become of the rock as my ancestors did. Luckily, I have a huge concrete pillar in my studio and painted my first red ochre pictograph right there in my studio.
The red ochre became more than a pigment to me then, it was sacred now. I am not sure if it was due to the amount of time and energy grinding and mixing the pigments or if it was right of passage spiritually from my ancestors? I believe it was a both. The more I worked with the red ochre pigment, the more I wanted just the pigment to just be pigment. No structure to hold it together, but just a enitity of pigment.
I was helping a friend create Christmas presents and suggested making a design in sheets of acrylic paint, creating skins of paint and stretching them of stretchers. I went back to my studio and tried it myself. I left the studio with my first red ochre pigment layer, and beyond thrilled with the turnout. Simoultaneously to making acrylic skins, I was trying to saturate canvas in red ochre pigment and weave them into already streched canvas, which did not turn out. The canvas became to billowy and would not support the basket weave. This need to weave was just as natural as to study the pigment red, it just makes sense. As my frustrations grew with weaving on canvas, I started to weave together the pigment sheets I had created. Cutting them into strips and weaving together sheets of pigment. This then turned into weaving the Rooted in Red Muzzinabikon. Things turned quickly
Working with pigment as the only material is liberating as an artist to be able to rely on your pigment solely. I pour out Polymer and dry red ochre pigment mixed onto sheets of duralar that is primed with a layer of polymer. I have now found it easier to remove from duralar if I allow to dry 48 hours. I tried 24 hours and it came up in pieces. I also faced an issue with ratio of pigment to polymer. I started with too much pigment and the pigment sheets were flaky and dry. I reduced the amount of 1.5 tbsp. of pigment to 32oz. polymer to have a consistent texture.
Having these sheets of pigment lying around my studio, was remenescnet of the hydes of animals. It was a surreal feeling working with my hands with these hyde-like sheets and creating something more. Again, I felt more natural and intuitively on point when creating these pigment weavings. It just made sense as the next step in this Rooted in RED journey.
symbol
Once I found the connection of the Ojibwe and red ochre, and the pictographs that they painted, I found myself compelled to created my own Muzzinabikon. There were design elements that I wanted to portray simplistic symbolic meanings. Triangle was immediately the fist shape that I was drawn to. I wanted them to create a mountain range and/or cliffs, because that is where the Muzzinabikon were placed. The importance of this was key as I wanted people to associated the symbol with rock cliffs. The three peaks not only signify rock peaks, but the three components of humankind, mind, body and soul. The diamond center pointing south is signify the importance of the southern direction and the affiliation with the earth and in turn red ochre earth source. The other three directions are apparent to include all, all directions of the world. The smaller diamond inside the larger is bring awareness as we are only part of a whole. As individuals we create a whole, which is the human civilization.
After the first Muzzinabikon went up, I looked immediately to finding places in Berlin, Germany, where I would spend for four weeks.
Berlin, a town infamous for its street art, my modern pictograph of red ochre would be a curious addition to the streets sprayed with color. Its basic shape allowed for its blending in as art, but as a traditional street art piece, no. People were baffled by using a brush and paint, and surprised by my traditional painting approach. Each site in Berlin was chose based of its historical background of being a negative place in history, which has been transformed into a positive space of unity. Tempelhof Airport, Eastside Gallery and Mauerpark all had a negative context at one point during the WWII and through out till 1986 when the Berlin wall fell. Now they are open air community parks. Each space is filled with diversity and a common sense of enjoyment. It speaks volumes to the story behind the Rooted in RED muzzinabikon, marking the area with a stamp of unity in a way. The Tempelhof site, was actually a petrified log in the middle of the airfield next to an abandoned airplane. The other two sites were on grafitti walls and by the time I left Berlin, they were painted over. That was not something I was expecting so quickly, but was surprised at how accepting I was of that and how I appreciated the experience that much more. The installation of these red ochre pictographs did not take me many hours, tops one hour and that includes prep time. The simplicity of this symbol amongst the detail and chaos of all the other grafitti, made you stop and look and wonder, why? Why, that red symbol in a very basic design? That is the point! I want people to see these symbols amongst chaos and wonder why so simple and why can not stop thinking about it.
Many people have contacted me stating they saw something that resembled my symbol. I love hearing that, because that means that people know what it looks like and find it relatable enough to identify other symbols that are similar. Triangles in a row have been identified to us humans as hills, mountains or mountain ranges. The pictograph has been used by civlizations all over the world, and usually in the context of a higher being. Ojibwe painted their muzzinabikon on cliffs because they are the only thing that touches the water and the heavens at the same time. There is a sacredness to the cliff and/or mountain to many cultures. This symbolism can easily be recognized and makes the effectiveness of the Rooted in RED Muzzinabikon that much more loaded.
After the Berlin series, I came back to the studio finding the need to feature the Rooted in RED symbol as a pattern, such as in Ojibwe bead work or created imagery and landscapes specifically with only the symbol. As I thought this felt natural, in the long wrong was forced and ended up re-working two paintings multiple times. The very tedious handwork is not my forte. Simplifiying the symbol to sections of the symbol worked in my favor with a basic triangle stained with red ochre pigment.
social
Ojibwe teachings have been the structure of this project. Four Hills is a lesson on the four stages of life. Spring for youth, summer for young adulthood, fall for middle age and winter for elder and final stage of life. I felt that it was crucial to bring this teaching in as most cultures and civilizations recognize this pattern and hold standards to each. I wanted to photograph the Rooted in RED muzzinabikon in each season. Andy Goldsworthy-esque, they are created by using natural materials in a natural enviornment and documented. They no longer exist, such as the Muzzinabikon in Berlin, they disappeared into the space.
The first season that I did was fall. Not only because it was fall when I started the project but because I am personally on my way to fall and found myself relating to this more. During a walk in my neighborhood, I found rich, red leaves that had fallen from its tree. I collected them and created a Rooted in RED muzzinabikon. When I finished, I stumbled upon some brilliant yellow that I continued the image, with creating a mural sketch in leaves. (I was concurrently working on a mural in Denver).
Next winter came in a hurry! I was debating on using red ochre in snow many times, but connotation of blood, was a hard to vision to beat, so I found myself using a paint brush and raw red ochre pigment in my winter photograph. Applying the pigment traditionally seemed to add more context to the photograph. As winter is the final season of life, I did not want to perceive death, but a fresh new beginning in the circle of life.
The final one that is complete is spring. I photographed remnants of winter, but new growth of spring at Red Rocks Park, which has been a huge inspirational place for me. This photograph, was something, I saw my ancestors doing, is creating games and or images with sticks. Although I have never found any documentation of this, I felt like it was more of a situational activity that may have occured, versus a docuemnted activity. I inserted sticks in the shape of the Rooted in RED muzzinabikon on the side of the mountain that was made of hematite, a different variation than red ochre, but similar with new green plant life growing with in it.
The final photograph will be that of summer. The materials will introduce themselves at an appropriate time and I will finish the final season of life. The modern spin on this structural teaching, I hope will bring more awareness to the teachings of the Ojibwe and people will recognize the symbol as one of all the stages of life. That we grow and we are all at different stages, but in the end we are all alive and all connected.
community
While I was in Berlin, I found myself aching for a way for the Rooted in RED symbol to become an entity of its own. I found that no matter how hard I tried, being a community oriented project, was the way to make this symbol known and the project really have a backbone for what it is trying to convey. With this enlightenment, I realized that this is only the beginning. You have to take one step at a time, and make those steps count in the journey. Below is a blogpost from my thislittlepigment.blogspot.com, This was a turning point in my artistic career and in this project. Understanding that day by day I can make a difference.
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
One year down, one year to go.
It is amazing how much one can grow in 365 days. Just finished my second Berlin residency for my MFA through Transart Institute. This residency, made it all real. I am a real artist, making real art and trying to make a real difference. I always have identified myself as a painter, to make marks that make sense or not, but to apply a pigment to a substrate. When I perform that action, is it making a difference? If I make a mark that I say means something and put confidence into it, is it making a difference? This is the lesson I have learned, EVERY mark makes a difference. Not only in the art world but in the world in general.
We as humans have lost the encouragement to make a mark. We choose instead the instant gratification of posting/reading/writing/talking about it. Evading the mark, forgetting the doing. When you actually have the intent to make the world a better place, the marks add up to create something wonderful. We are all human, we are all on the planet together, and we can make a difference. Together. When will we have confidence in being our own person, and stop conforming to a clique to justify ourselves? When will we see that the lack of knowledge is the basis of misunderstanding.
My project that I have started here in Berlin, Rooted in RED, is a social project, I am literally painting red ochre pictographs on urban landscapes. Not to deface property, but to create awareness of how we can achieve a one-ness through color, specifically red ochre. I had so many doubts and questions that I didn't know where to start. Then I realized, Rome wasn't built in a day! So I made a
'mark' and the more of these 'marks' I make, I realize it does make a difference. If we all can make a genuine mark in our life, you leave the world a better place. When you refuse to do, you are losing what life is about. If we were meant to have our own world, we would, but we don't, we share it with billions of people so every negative action you take bring everyone down. All of us. Every single one of us.
My goal isn't to preach, this isn't religious, or to campaign this isn't politics, my goal is to unite by making one mark at a time.
This has become my mission statement in life to make one mark at a time. When I arrived back in Denver, that is exactly what I did. I started to see the community involvement as the soul source of the project. Within a few days, I had the opportunity to paint a mural on the wall at a friends house. The wall was southern facing and on a busier street, so the exposure would be great. People would have Rooted in RED in their neighborhood and that was my first mark. I did not use my traditional bear oil and red ochre pigment, but I used bright, fun colors and used the Rooted in RED symbol to create a Colorado landscape. I realized that I would need to bring in the reigns on the red ochre, as my personal contribution to the project, and yet still focusing on red ochre, bringing in other colors for people to relate to. Symbol over color for this mural.
The Xavier/Harvard mural took me 5 days to complete, and the expiernce in itself was rewarding. I had real estate agents, neightbords, post people and passer byers stop and talk to me about the mural, what it meant and their story that they had based off of the visual. Most of the feedback was positive, people coming to my friends house expressing their gratitude for the mural. The one little bump in the road, was a graffiti cop that sited my friends for the mural. The woman who ticketed them called my friend and said that she would waive the ticket, as she looked up the Rooted in RED blog and allowed the mural to stay, if she had not done that, we would have had 72 hours to paint over it. So all in all, it worked out, but logistics seem to always take the forefront over theory and intent.
After I finished the Xavier/Harvard mural, I was ready to paint Denver Rooted in RED. Unfortunately, the city of Denver and I were not necessarily on the same page. Permits, proposals and lack of wall space, has been the biggest issue in creating a mural with the community. Still working on finding private property that the owners would relinquish outdoor wall space, Xavier/Harvard mural is the only Rooted in RED mural that has been done outside. To fulfill the desire to still paint murals, I painted one in my studio. A different sketch, using a similar color palette, this mural also focused on symbol over color.
Once winter hit and outdoor murals were not an option, I started the Rooted in RED workshops. December was the first workshop, in which we made a Lascaux cave inspired mural on canvas. Using red ochre pigment and bear oil with red ochre acrylic paint, we created our own Rooted in RED mural. The workshop attendees were varying ages from two years old to fifty years old. Most in which were my family, my family with the Ojibwe heritage. Having them support and participate in the workshop brought a family oriented atmosphere, where we shared stories and experiences. After the mural was complete, some attendees helped in grinding up red rocks to make red rock pigment. They loved using the mortar and petsel to grind and the cheese cloth to filter the pigment. Both basic techniques that they had no idea about. It was amazing to see the excitement they had in creating a natural pigment.
The next workshop was in January. We worked on weavings, as I was using weaving as a techinque in my work in the studio. Weaving was a basic skill in Ojibwe culture. Using birch bark to weave baskets, Ojibwe found the practicality of this to ease their lives. I wanted to share this rhymthic experience with the workshop so we created woven shapes. They could make any shape and then weave paper into them, they became woven muzzinabikon and essentially this is what sparked me to weave the Rooted in RED symbol.
The next workshop is scheduled in March and we will be using natural brushes (tree branches) and paint to create abstract paintings, based off the constellations of the Muzzinabikon done years ago. The goal is to have a workshop once a month and continue to make a mark with the attendees and not only create art, but conversation that will be crucial to the development and exposure of the project.
Lindey Anderson
Transart MFA Project Report
Outline, Introduction and Bibliography
Thesis Statement: Does or can red ochre pigment unite humans past, present and future?
As a natural pigment and resource to humans, red ochre is used for art, spiritual and practical purposes through out history and contemporary uses.
Introduction
Mitakuye Oyasin, We are all related
In researching the pigment red, one thing stood out and connected me directly to the pigment red ochre, the Ojibwe muzzinabikon. A red ochre pictograph that is placed on the side of cliffs for Great Spirit to see and know. As I identified more with my own Ojibwe heritage, I found that not only red ochre was important to my ancestors but majority of the civilizations in the past. The logic of using red ochre, seems apparent, due to the vast amount available on earth, but yet it was used sacredly. This intrigues the question, Why? Why did our ancestors use the abundant resource so sparingly and was there a spiritual connection to the pigment? And if yes, does it unite us through a spiritual connection?
It has been my personal agenda to use the Ojibwe teachings as a guide to link civilizations through out history to the color and the unity of us through the planet Earth. This turned out to be in the form of a designed pictograph for urban landscapes, inspired by the Muzzinabikon. The symbol I have created was designed around the triangle. The triangle has a symbolic meaning in these cultures of unity. Encapsulating the meaning of red ochre to me and the meaning of the symbol I created I hope that the symbols naturally brings a oneness with all.
With this symbol and color together, is it possible to find a gateway to uniting humans?
From my view, it is already available it is just recognition of something that ties us together versus keeping us apart. Joining with the community, especially the youth, I found it to be back bone of successful awareness. The more dialogue occurs while they create with red ochre, the more the community understands and have now participated in this new thought. That is the main goal of this project is to reveal a new way of perception that connects humans together.
- Red ochre: an earth element hematite used throughout history as a pigment to create pictographs and burial ceremonies.
- My journey with red ochre....will use entries from my blogs.
- Location-map of red ochre through the world
- Cultures using red ochre; Ojibwe, Egyptians, Neandertals, Greek, African and Aboriginal. (examples and oral stories)
- Contemporary uses of red ochre
- maps/photo examples that I have collected will be inserted.
II. Symbol (muzzinabikon) A symbol I created based off of Ojibwe teachings using triangles a universal symbol.
A. meaning of symbol to me
B. history of triangle and why I chose to use it- relations to other cultures
C. significance of applying it like a pictograph or graffiti
D. sketches, photos and graphs will be inserted
III. Spiritual/Social: Ojibwe teachings and philosophy that we unite through earth and we are all related.
- Four Season teachings; we each go through four phases of life.
1.photography series
- Red Contract- migration of Ojibwe through the Northern states;
- Muzzinabikon- red ochre pictographs. What the pictographs symbolize, the constellations that are portrayed, significance
- photos documentation of art created based of constellations and maps will be inserted
- Community: Significance of involving the community, especially the youth into celebrating what brings us together.
- Commurals- Community murals
1.Xavier/Harvard mural
2.New mural opportunities----will be done by submission of final paper.
3. photo and journal entires will be inserted.
- Rooted in RED workshops
1.Monthly documentation
2.curriculum
3.reflection of workshops
4. photo and testimonials from workshop will be inserted.
- Miskwanagekozi- Final Project to be installed in Berlin at Uferstudios.
- importance of pigment the only medium
- importance of weaving
- what the installation creates- panels and why
- Final documentation of project will be inserted and published
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Baraga, Frederic. Dictionary of the Ojibway Language, Minnesota Historical Society Press; Reprint edition (November 15, 1992)
Using the dictionary to help with the language barrier in majority of my Ojibwe books and also aiding in my learning of Algonquain. My goal is to be able to translate part of my project report into Algonquain, if not the entire report.
Furtman, Michael. Perich, Shawn. Magic of on the Rocks, Birch Portage Press (July 11, 2000)
Using Furtmans book for specific information about the Muzzinabikon in northern Minnesota. The muzzinabikon is the inspiration for the entire project, so collecting as many encounters with these red ochre pictographs is crucial to building the foundation of Rooted in RED
Gage, John. Color and Culture: Practice and Meaning from Antiquity to Abstraction, University of California Press; 1st edition (August 3, 1999) First Edition.
Along side of the Ojibwe views of red ochre and how I intend to bring awareness to the pigment, I have been reading Gages book, to fill in the holes of my research. Understanding the meaning from day one till abstraction, will collectively bring the meanings of red and its philosophy to another level of understanding the importance of this pigment.
Gale, Matthew. Paul Klee: Creative Confession and Other Writings, Tate; Act edition (May 6, 2014)
Using Klee’s essays is more helping maintain balance in the theory, philosophy and logistics of this project. His words are true and helpful when dealing in bringing something from the canvas to an object of its own.
Hardin, C.L. Danto, Arthur (foreword). Color for Philosophers: Unweaving the Rainbow, Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.; Expanded edition (January 1, 1988)
More as reference, Hardin’s book has been relative to the overall articulation of the project. Understanding the philosophy behind colors creates more depth when being able to execute the understanding of red ochre and its importance in our history and our future.
McGrath, Darrin. From Red Ochre to Black Gold. Flanker Press, June 7, 2001
have not received book, referred by contact at University of Minnesota, Duluth.
Morton, Ron. Talking Rocks: Geology and 10,000 year of Native Tradition in the Lake Superior Region. Univ. of Minnesota Press, 1 edition. September 23, 2003
Along with Magic on the Rocks this too, has help shape the root of this project. Both authors have explained multiple encounters, on how and where they Muzzinabikon were created. The paths in which the Ojibwe traveled to get to the sacred destinations.
Peacock, Thomas. Ojibwe Waasa Inaabidaa: We Look In All Directions, Minnesota Historical Society Press; 1 edition (October 15, 2009)
Peacocks book is referenced for the specific history and teachings that I am using in the project. His rendition of the Ojibwe through migration till today is reputable by the Ojibwe community and by the world of publishing. His ability to tell the story of the Ojibwe people as factual as possible has drawn me to this book, and has allowed me to have confidence in owning the subject matter.
Prendergast, Christopher. The Triangle of Representation, Columbia University Press (September 15, 2000) 0th Edition
With my symbol being made up of triangles specifically, I found it necessary to understand the representation of this symbol in parallel to the cultures through out history that utilized red ochre. Creating more of unity if possible. Having the color and shape be read by people as uniting symbol, has been based off the traditions of the usage of the triangle.
Riley, Charles A. II. Color Codes: Modern Theories of Color in Philosophy, Painting and Architecture, Literature, Music and Psychology, UPNE; Second printing edition (February 15, 1995)
Rileys insight into color in the world as a whole, is stimulating, as I have been focused on the art/spiritual side of red. This books creates again, more depth to the color that covers majority of the sense, to become fully sensual experience. It has been key in planning the final project, Miskwanagekozi, that will be installed in Berlin.
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