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CANADIAN LANDSCAPES/ PAYSAGES CANADIENS
Indigenous legends, spirituality and symbolism combined with his own imag¬
ination, which he links with his visions of the past and the future.
From among his many drawings and paintings perhaps the most contro¬
versial is Indians’ Summer (1984) (see Figure 1). The black-and-white poster of
the painting was used to promote an exhibition of Indian art in the summer
of 1985 (Ryan 5). The figure in the painting is a heavyset Indigenous bather
whom Powless saw on Manitoulin Island during the summer of 1984, where
he was creating murals for the Spirit of Sharing Native Arts festival (Ryan 6).
The piece shows a middle-aged Indigenous male figure seated on a bench with
the sea and a large expanse of sky in the background. The figure has a “Bud¬
dha-like physique” (Ryan 6). The painting shows “too much exposed Indigenous
flesh” (Ryan 9). The artist confronts and startles the viewer with an “up-close
and intimate portrait of a massive, bronze, red man, who seems at risk of
turning deep orange or salmon pink in the blazing sun. The notion of sunburn
on such a grand scale seems rather absurd” (Ryan 8). The idea that the indi¬
vidual seems to savour the moment is highlighted by the man’s eyes which
“seem closed in sleep or deep reflection” (Ryan 6-7). Still, his small, rather
ridiculous umbrella headdress with a solitary feather seems incapable of shad¬
ing his eyes. The long black hair, strong masculine facial features and the
solitary feather attached to his umbrella are stereotypical images that connect
him to his Indigenous heritage, hence his Indianness. From his right ear a
“single pendant disc, the size of a quarter, dangles” (7). His right-hand rests
on his thigh and holds a double Popsicle, as a “symbol of summer refreshment,
a Popsicle is, perhaps, more family-friendly than a can of beer” (Ryan 7).
The first drawing, which the artist later reworked into the painting, was
given the title “Keeping Cool,” which, according to Ryan, shows that “within
the Western art historical tradition, naming a work of art signals a degree of
conceptual completion” (8); and with reference to “certain Aboriginal traditions,
a similar act of naming is believed to breathe life into a subject, thereby bring¬
ing it into existence” (8). When Powless reworked the pencil drawing into a
painting, he changed the title, as well, to “Indians’ Summer,” which gives the
work greater focus and “invites a range of interpretative readings” (Ryan 11).
But the title “Indians’ Summer,” says Ryan, “functions much like a land claim,
only in a temporal sphere, putting a new twist on the notion of ‘Indian time’
and a different spin on the concept of ‘time sharing” (11). The figure depicted
in the painting is certainly an Indian since Powless uses the general stereotypes
(long black hair, strong facial features, feather) jokingly, but with “respect and
obvious affection, imbuing him with a positive life-force and a wry sense of
humour” (Ryan 8). The work, however, rejects the romanticized notion of the
Indian and through the stereotypical allusions manages to contest it and
illustrate self-deprecating humour at its best.
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