Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Morning Star

If I had to pick a favourite work of art in the National Capital Region, it would be Morning Star by Alex Janvier, the massive mural that is beneath the dome at the Canadian Museum of History. The artist, of Dene Suline and Saulteaux descent, is a Canadian First Nations artist who painted this mural in 1993, with the assistance of one of his sons. It's three levels up as the museum is designed, but seven stories up by convention. Morning Star is an abstract, colourful work that incorporates his cultural background and use of circles, symbols, and representation. Mr. Janvier is still painting today from his home near Cold Lake, Alberta, where a gallery in his name exhibits his work, and at present, he is the subject of a major retrospective at the National Gallery of Canada. This mural is there in part, as a visual projection of filmed images, since it's obviously not possible to move the painting itself over there. I will be showing you some of his works from there in a few days. Check out the Museum link for some more details about the work.

Coming out of the Museum's temporary exhibits, I looked up at Morning Star, and decided to use the staircase and the windows to frame shots of the art. 

35 comments:

  1. Wow! That one is super nice. I love peaceful I feel when I look at it. Very, very cool.

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  2. This is one of my all top art you have shown.
    Fabulous is not even close to how I feel about this artwork.
    I will be looking up more about this artist.
    The angles you shot the photos from make this even more interesting.
    Thank You so much for posting this.

    cheers, parsnip

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  3. That's really beautiful! Spectacular.

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  4. This is really unique. Beautiful, William!

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  5. Totally stunning. There is something about the colors that really add to such an impressive mural.

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  6. @Whisk: it cheers me up to see it.

    @Parsnip: I always love seeing it.

    @Linda: it is!

    @Linda: I agree.

    @Marleen: definitely.

    @Marianne: thank you.

    @Francisco: thanks.

    @Lauren: it is richly colourful.

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  7. That is one Very impressive piece of art

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  8. That's really fantastic, William !

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  9. Morning Star is fabulous William, in design and by choice of colours, they work so well together. Mr Janvier is a super talented artist.

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  10. I can see why it would be a favorite. It's gorgeous! I think it would quickly become my favorite too.

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  11. What I like most are the muted colors, and the lightness of the mural, as well as the various icons. Quite beautiful.

    Re your comment on Ocala: No, it's knot!

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  12. That painting would catch your eye for a while. It's not just the size that would take your time but the shapes and colors and what they tell you.

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  13. @Bill: very much so!

    @Karl: it is!

    @Grace: the retrospective was great to see too, seeing the evolution of his style over time. He's amazingly colourful in his style.

    @Sharon: it seems to always have a way of cheering me up, even on bad days.

    @Lowell: usually modern art tends to be hit and miss for me, but his style really appeals to me.

    @Red: fortunately you can sit down on the ground floor in very comfortable chairs and just gaze up at it.

    @Mike: it really is.

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  14. I agree with you about the MORNING STAR.
    Great work!

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  15. What an unique and beautiful piece of work.

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  16. it reminds me of what you would see out of a kaleidoscope? lovely patterns or colors. ( ;

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  17. Great shots, William, you've shown this wonderful piece of art before, but never as good as this time, I think.

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  18. The colors of this art work is spectacular. It does remind me of
    when I was a kid. I got that Kaleidoscope with the pieces of plastic or glass that showed something of this sort you have up.

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  19. @Stefan: it is indeed.

    @Gunn: that's how I feel!

    @Bill: it's a marvel to see.

    @RedPat: it is, yes.

    @Beth: yes, I can see that.

    @Jan: I decided to be a bit experimental.

    @Carolann: yes, that does remind me of those things.

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  20. This reminds me of the beautiful Kaleidoscopes of my childhood. I've seen what the put out now and they do not compare. This is great.

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  21. This is stunning and memorable. I think you may have shown this before? It certainly bears repeating and I really like some of the angles you've used here.

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  22. This is my favorite, too! I enjoy its beauty in every photo you have posted :-)

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  23. @Revrunner: it is!

    @Mari: I agree.

    @Kay: yes, I like showing it from time to time.

    @Catalyst: it definitely is.

    @Tamago: it is dazzling.

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  24. It would be my first choice, too. I love the use of color!

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