Adrian Stimson: Maanipokaa’iini is published in association with the first-ever survey of the work of the Siksika Nation artist Adrian Stimson, on view at Remai Modern from April 2 to September 5, 2022. This book provides critical insight into the artist’s methodological approach across a diverse range of media. Tarah Hogue’s curatorial essay considers the grounding of Stimson’s practice in the energetic lifeworld of the Siksikaitsitapi from his early paintings to the new work created for the exhibition. Adrian Stimson and Dr. Ernie Walker’s dynamic conversation explores their shared affinity for bison at the intersection of art and science. Erin Sutherland’s essay traces Stimson’s methodology of “start with a tickle, give a slap, then finish with a hug” across multiple performances. Tess Allas and Joseph Pugliese’s text speaks to Stimson’s powerful visual and material testimony on the impacts of the residential school system. Designed by Sébastien Aubin and with a welcome from Wanuskewin Elder Mary Lee, the publication reflects Stimson’s commitment to the transformational capacities of Indigenous knowledge and artistic practice.

Adrian Stimson (b. 1964) is a member of the Siksika (Blackfoot) Nation in southern Alberta. Across installation, painting, photography, video, performance and public art, Stimson’s works re-signify colonial history using both humour and counter-memory. Stimson has exhibited widely across Canada and internationally. He has a BFA with distinction from the Alberta College of Art and Design and an MFA from the University of Saskatchewan. Stimson participated in the Canadian Forces Artist Program, which sent him to Afghanistan. Stimson received a Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts in 2018 and a REVEAL Indigenous Arts Award from the Hnatyshyn Foundation in 2017. He was also awarded the Blackfoot Visual Arts Award in 2009, the Alberta Centennial Medal in 2005 and the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in 2003. His work is held in public and private collections including The British Museum, London; Campbelltown Arts Centre; Montreal Museum of Fine Arts; Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto; MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina and Remai Modern, Saskatoon, among others.

Format: Hardback
Number of pages: 140
Publication date: 2022-10-22

Imprint: 500
Measures approx: 8" x 10" x 1"

ISBN: 978-1-896359-96-0

Table of Contents:

Foreword, Aileen Burns and Johan Lundh, page 4

Gifts from Wanuskewin, Elder Mary Lee, page 8

Cyclical returns and transformations in the art of Adrian Stimson, Tarah Hogue, page 10

A conversation about Iini, Tarah Hogue, Adrian Stimson and Ernie Walker, page 18

Adrian Stimson: Methodologies of Performance, Erin Sutherland, page 26

Wake Up: Adrian Stimson's Cry from the Heart, Tess Allas and Joseph Pugliese, page 34

Selected Performances, page 44

Plates, page 86

List of Works, page 128

Biographies, page 132

Acknowledgments, page 136

Excerpt from the book:

“Across Stimson’s practice, the cyclical movements of destruction and renewal are intimately bound. The decimation of the great bison herds, the displacement and starvation of Indigenous peoples, and the assimilative abuses of the residential school system were all part of a settler teleology that figures time as linear and the demise of Indigenous and Buffalo Nations as an inevitable consequence of “ progress.” But in the Blackfoot lifeworld, rather than progression, balance is key, and that requires attending to all one is in relation with. In his practice, Stimson strives for balance as a truth-teller and a Trickster who tips the colonial scales in his favour. In Maanipokaa’iini, he is once again renewed—both wilder and wiser—and ready for the next revolution” (Tarah Hogue, page 16)

Publication Partners:

Remai Modern is a new museum of modern and contemporary art in Saskatoon, on Treaty 6 Territory and the Traditional Homeland of the Métis. Remai Modern presents and collects local and international modern and contemporary art that connects, inspires and challenges diverse audiences through equitable and accessible programs.

The museum aims to be a welcoming and inclusive public gathering place where we recognize the past, engage with the present, and envision new futures together through art. Open since October 2017, Remai Modern is the largest contemporary art museum in western Canada.

Art Metropole is a non-profit visual arts centre with a focus on contemporary art in formats predisposed to circulation and dissemination: artists’ books and art publications, video, audio, electronic media and multiples. Art Metropole distributes works through its space at 896 College Street in Toronto, pop-up and satellite locations and online.