Sue Coleman

Last updated

Sue Coleman
Born
Susan J Knott

1947 (age 74–75)
Colchester, Essex England
EducationColchester County High with a distinction from Cambridge University for her art.
Known for Painting, watercolour, landscape Wildlife
StyleIndigenous art
AwardsSilver Teal Award (1994)
Website Sue Coleman

Sue Coleman (born March 1947) is a Wildlife painter from England who moved to Vancouver Island, in Canada in 1967. Coleman is known for her watercolour paintings in which she uses a controversial Indigenous art style. [1] She also paints west-coast scenes, wildlife, and landscapes. Coleman has written and illustrated seven books.

Contents

Career

Always willing to share her experiences, Sue has contributed to many foundations and helped raise funds for conservation and preservation of the wilderness and the wildlife inhabitants. One of her pieces called "Sansum Point" raised $15,000.00 towards protecting the land from development.

In the 1980s, Coleman began to study the West Coast First Nation's style of art work. She traveled coastal Alaska, BC and into Washington State, comparing legends and different art styles. Her goal was to find similarities and the common identifying combination of shapes that represented the different forms of wildlife in the region. Her mission; to document and explain, in a visual form, the dominant features within the indigenous art; such as a curved beak for an eagle or straight one for a raven. This simplification was to make it easily understandable to non-indigenous and visitors alike.

An accumulation of eight years of study is presented in the book "An Artist Vision"; a collection of her earlier pieces.

Traveling on a two-week trip to Alaska, Sue befriended Martine Reid, and on return to BC visited the noted artist Bill Reid. His stories and advice proved invaluable in her understanding of the life lines and greatly influenced her later work. After studying Indigenous art, she began to paint very distinctive Watercolor paintings considered interpretations of Indigenous art. [2] [3]

Controversy

Coleman's style is often referred to as a reflection of Indigenous art work. Some people were confused, and mistakenly believed that her paintings were done by an Indigenous artist. Although Sue considered this a compliment to her skill as an artist, she always claimed to be an English emigrant. Her work has been referred to by some as Cultural appropriations or Knockoffs of Indigenous artwork. [1]

Coleman once described herself as a "translator" of Indigenous art forms which drew criticism. Prominent Indigenous artists George Littlechild, Roy Henry Vickers and Richard Hunt signed an open letter critical of Coleman's appropriation of Indigenous art. Over the years Coleman's art style has changed. During an interview with CBC, Coleman said she is beginning to do art in a completely different style, introducing some of her own Celtic roots. [4]

From the onset of her career Sue, proud of her roots, has never claimed to be indigenous, although the opportunity to become adopted was offered to her. Feeling that it may cause confusion and would betray her own roots, Sue refused the offer. However, due to recent misunderstandings, she now prominently displays her status as a "Non aboriginal Canadian artist". [5]

Awards

"Silver Teal Award" (1994). Presented by Ducks Unlimited in British Columbia [6]

Books

Personal

Coleman is from Colchester, Essex England. In 1967, she married Canadian Dan Coleman (whom she met in high school while Dan lived with his mother in Colchester), and she lives in Cowichan Bay. Coleman was trained as a pastry chef but began painting in the 1980s. [14] Coleman works to promote environmental conservation. [15] [16]

See also

Related Research Articles

The Haida are one of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Their national territories lie along the west coast of Canada and include parts of south east Alaska. Haida mythology is an indigenous religion that can be described as a nature religion, drawing on the natural world, seasonal patterns, events and objects for questions that the Haida pantheon provides explanations for. Haida mythology is also considered animistic for the breadth of the Haida pantheon in imbuing daily events with Sǥā'na qeda's.

Emily Carr Canadian artist and writer (1871-1945)

Emily Carr was a Canadian artist and writer who was inspired by the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. One of the painters in Canada to adopt a Modernist and Post-Impressionist style, Carr did not receive widespread recognition for her work until she changed her subject matter from Aboriginal themes to landscapes — forest scenes in particular, evoking primeval grandeur. As a writer Carr was one of the earliest chroniclers of life in British Columbia. The Canadian Encyclopedia describes her as a "Canadian icon".

Cowichan Bay

Cowichan Bay is a bay and community located on the east coast of southern Vancouver Island near Duncan, in British Columbia. The mouth of the Cowichan River is near Cowichan Bay. Mount Tzouhalem and its hiking trails and ecological reserve stands to the north. The bay is known for its fishing and scenic value. The area's main industries are fishing and tourism.

Northwest Coast art

Northwest Coast art is the term commonly applied to a style of art created primarily by artists from Tlingit, Haida, Heiltsuk, Nuxalk, Tsimshian, Kwakwaka'wakw, Nuu-chah-nulth and other First Nations and Native American tribes of the Northwest Coast of North America, from pre-European-contact times up to the present.

Appropriation (art) Use of pre-existing objects or images with little or no transformation applied to them

Appropriation in art is the use of pre-existing objects or images with little or no transformation applied to them. The use of appropriation has played a significant role in the history of the arts. In the visual arts, to appropriate means to properly adopt, borrow, recycle or sample aspects of human-made visual culture. Notable in this respect are the Readymades of Marcel Duchamp.

Bill Routley is a Canadian politician who served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 39th and 40th Parliament of British Columbia, from 2009 to 2017. As a member of the BC New Democratic Party, he was elected to represent the riding of Cowichan Valley in the 2009 provincial election and re-elected in the 2013 election. In both parliaments his NDP formed the official opposition and Routley acted as their deputy critic on issues relating to forests and natural resource operations.

Kent Monkman Canadian artist

Kent Monkman is a Canadian First Nations artist of Cree ancestry. He is a member of the Fisher River band situated in Manitoba's Interlake Region. He is both a visual as well as performance artist, working in a variety of media such as painting, film/video, and installation. In the early 2000s, Monkman developed his gender-fluid alter ego, Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, who has since appeared in many of his works. He has had many solo exhibitions at museums and galleries in Canada, the United States, and Europe. He has achieved international recognition for his colourful and richly detailed combining of disparate genre conventions, and for his recasting of historical narrative.

Unity Bainbridge Canadian artist and writer (1916–2017)

Unity Bainbridge was a Canadian artist and writer of poetry inspired by the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast and its landscape.

Dorothy Grant is an Indigenous fashion designer whose works have gained public recognition as expressions of living Haida culture.

Judy Chartrand is a Cree artist from Manitoba, Canada. She is an artist who grew up in the Downtown Eastside neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia. Her works frequently confronts issues of postcolonialism, Indigenous feminism, socio-economic inequity and Indigenous knowledge expressed through the mediums of ceramics, found objects, archival photography and traditional Indigenous techniques of beadwork, moose hair tufting and quillwork.

Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun is a Cowichan/Syilx First Nations contemporary artist from Canada. His paintings employ elements of Northwest Coast formline design and Surrealism to explore issues as environmentalism, land ownership, and Canada's treatment of First Nations peoples.

Marianne Nicolson

Marianne Nicolson is a Dzawada’enuxw visual artist whose work explores the margins at which public access to First Nations artifacts clashes with the preservation of indigenous cultural knowledge.

Corrine Hunt, also known as Nugwam Gelatleg'lees, is a Kwakwaka'wakw/Tlingit artist, carver, jeweller and designer based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Alison (Bremner) Marks is a Tlingit artist and Tlingit language advocate. Her work – which includes digital art, painting, sculpture, and other media – has explored the intersection of native art and digital culture. She also creates traditional artworks for her community in Alaska that are used for potlatches and other ceremonies. Marks was raised in southeast Alaska.

Margaret Peterson was an American painter of abstract art and known for creating a style that was highly influenced by the art of the Indigenous peoples of North America.

Skeena Reece is a Canadian First Nations artist whose multi-disciplinary practice includes such genres as performance art, "sacred clowning," songwriting, and video art. Reece is of Cree, Tsimshian, Gitksan, and Métis descent.

Merritt Johnson is an American contemporary artist, often centering her work on Native American themes.

Kung Jaadee is a traditional Haida storyteller, singer, drummer, teacher, and children's book author from the village of Old Massett, Haida Gwaii in Northern British Columbia, Canada.

Dulcie Foo Fat is a British-born Canadian landscape painter, based in Calgary, Alberta.

Michaela Goade is an American illustrator. A member of the Tlingit and Haida tribes, she is known for her work on picture books about Indigenous people. She won the 2021 Caldecott Medal for her illustrations in We Are Water Protectors and is the first Indigenous artist to receive the award.

References

  1. 1 2 Sterritt, Angela (25 October 2017). "Non-Indigenous B.C. artist defends work despite calls for authenticity". CBC/Radio-Canada. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  2. ↑ Clarke, Nick. "PAINTINGS AND PRINTS BY SUE COLEMAN". mycowichanvalleynow. Vista. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  3. ↑ BAINAS, LEXI (18 October 2019). "Lexi Bainas Column: Visions artists readying for weekend Cobble Hill show; CVAC lunchtime speakers". Cowichan Valley Citizen. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  4. ↑ "Open letter accuses non-Indigenous artist of cultural appropriation". CBC/Radio-Canada. 8 December 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  5. ↑ "Sue Coleman". Facebook. Facebook. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  6. ↑ "Sue Coleman Biography". suecoleman. Sue Coleman. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  7. ↑ Coleman, Sue (1 June 1989). An Artist's Vision (1st ed.). Summerwild Productions. ISBN   978-0969280743.
  8. ↑ Coleman, Sue (1992). Artist at Large in the Queen Charlotte Islands. ICY Publications. ISBN   978-0969641407.
  9. ↑ Coleman, Sue (30 November 1993). Artist at Large along the South Coast of Alaska (1st ed.). ICY publications. ISBN   978-0969641414.
  10. ↑ Coleman, Sue (10 November 1997). Biggle Foo Meets Stinky. ICY publications. ISBN   978-0969641438.
  11. ↑ Coleman, Sue (10 November 1997). Biggle Foo Becomes a Legend. ICY Publications. ISBN   978-0969641445.
  12. ↑ Coleman, Sue (12 July 2013). Return of the Raven. Victoria, BC, Canada: FriesenPress. ISBN   978-1460206799.
  13. ↑ Coleman, Sue (2015). The Trumpeter Swan (1st ed.). Vancouver, BC: Pacific Music Industry Association. ISBN   9780994832108.
  14. ↑ Cooper, Veronica (7 June 2017). "Your Country, Your Story: artist Sue Coleman tells her Canadian story". CHEK Media. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  15. ↑ "Sue Coleman to show in Sooke". Sooke News and Black Press Group Ltd. 28 August 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  16. ↑ Jones H., Robert. "Coleman Sue". abcbookworld. BC BookWorld. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.