Biography of Kent Monkman Artist

Biography of Kent Monkman Artist

Biography of Kent Monkman Artist

Introduction

Kent Monkman is a Canadian born artist and filmmaker. He was born in1965 in Ontario and rose to become one of the most successful and influential artists of all times. Kent was of mixed descent, and this influenced his art pieces and perception of the world. His career as an artist began at an early age, and this explains his interest in commercial art at the age of 17. Kent studied in Sheridan College, Banff Centre for the Arts, Sundane Institute in Los Angeles among other Canadian and American Institutions (“BIOGRAPHY — Kent Monkman” n.p). After his education, Kent worked as a set and costume designer before settling as a full-time artist.

Artistic Influence

Kent was Cree but grew up in Manitoba, and this led to feelings of alienation. As a member of the indigenous population, Kent was dispossessed and alienated by the First Nations culture and beliefs. His art is provocative because it elicits emotions and intervention for art from different regions of the world and borrows from the various periods of the European and American history. Kent’s art is a reflection of his childhood experiences as it explores colonization, loss, and historical and contemporary experiences of the indigenous people.  As an artist, Kent uses different media to showcase his art, and they include painting and films. His attraction to romanticism is associated with the artists Edward Church and Thomas Cole who painted the 19^th-century landscapes on romance (“BIOGRAPHY — Kent Monkman” n.p). Also, the romanticization and idealization of First Nations culture and life were of interest to Kent who drew inspiration from Cornelius Krieghoff and other artists of the time. Kent’s interest in art was inspired by his art mentors and admirers as well as his experiences as an indigenous citizen of Canada.

Artistic Style

Kent’s artwork is described as traditional because his techniques and performance are a reflection of the indigenous heritage. Also, as part of the indigenous alienation, Kent’s work focuses on the national history and gay rights. As part of his artistic expression, Kent adopts an alter ego, Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, which enables him to take a trickster’s persona. The alter ego allows him to overcome human perception, judgment, and expectations. Kent is inspired by an American Painter who uses art to project sympathy to the indigenous people using art. His paintings and alter ego are used comically to recreate the Canadian landscape and different narratives within the culture. Kent’s representation of homosexuality was humorous. The First Nations culture was suppressive, and homosexuality was unacceptable in society (Bingham par 4). Thus, his utilization of humor and irony exposes the level of white dominance to the indigenous population.

Moreover, Kent’s unique style involves the disruption of Hollywood and other western stereotypes in film and illustrates the indigenous experience in Canada. Kent’s silent film, Shooting Geronimo, is a recreation of the colonial history and experiences of the indigenous people. He rewrites and restages the past, different landscapes as part of reliving history. Colonial perceptions shape the aboriginal philosophies (Scudeler 24). For example, the indigenous dance was perceived as threatening to the colonialist and its reenactment is a recollection of the past and a way of changing the overall judgment on the indigenous culture.

Key Images

An overview of Canadian history indicates that the indigenous communities faced great oppression and other acts of injustice. The Sixties Scoop was an action by the colonialists to adopt aboriginal children. The removal of indigenous children from their parents was an act of oppression; thus, Kent’s art piece, The Scream, illustrates the removal of children in Canada. The Scream is meant to illustrate the emotional devastation the indigenous families faced during the forced removal (McGillis par 7). Thus, Kent’s art represents the different issues affecting the indigenous population.

Figure 1: The Scream

Another piece of art is Lot’s Wife, which Kent uses to portray the effects of family dispossession to him. Also, the art piece is a reflection of Christian values and the aspect of “two-spirits” of humanity. The piece is a metaphor as it uses the biblical illustration of Lot and his family to portray the effect of the white culture and belief on the indigenous population. The indigenous people were compared to the Biblical Canaanites who were subjected to mass destruction due to their waywardness. The cause of destruction is God’s wrath over gayism and other sexual sins, and Lot’s wife acted in defiance thus turned into a pillar of salt. The element of “two-spiritness” in Kent’s world is illustrated through historical experiences and his perception of gender and sexuality (Scudeler27). The painting illustrates the looming uncertainty in the lives of the indigenous communities and the influence of Christianity to his art.

Figure 2: Lot’s Wife

Message and Cause behind Kent’s Paintings

Kent’s paintings are part of his expose on Canadian history and his life experiences as a Swampy Cree and of mixed sexuality. The indigenous communities and leaders were part of the historical injustices such as land dispossession and other colonial acts. The Subjugation of Truth painting indicates the value of truth to the colonial masters in Canada. The characters in the art are chained to show the level of oppression and their inability to influence the decisions made at the panel. The painting contains figures such as Cree Chiefs Poundmaker and Big Bear. These two are under duress to sign land treaties meant to “save their tribes.” The painting is subjugation of truth since the chiefs are coerced to sign, and Kent uses humor to represent his sensitive topic in the history of Canada and the indigenous people. The comic aspect is illustrated by Kent’s alter ego, Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, in the portrait on the wall disguised as Queen Victoria (McGillis par 3). The message in the painting is the constant oppression of the indigenous leaders; the suppression of their voices into giving up their ancestral land. The inclusion of Miss Chief Eagle Testickle is Kent’s bid to include the original voice into the negotiation

Figure 3: Subjugation of Truth

Kent’s painting, The Daddies, is a recreation of the 1884 Fathers of Confederation art by Robert Harris. The picture represents an essential meeting by the British delegates in North America, and its focus was to settle the terms for the confederation. The confederation was a significant part of colonialism in Canada, and its deliberations affected the indigenous communities negatively. In the painting, Kent’s alter ego, Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, takes center stage among the delegates. The portrait of Miss Chief Eagle Testickle is naked and dressed in high heels. The picture is meant to subvert the authentic portrayal of the convention and introduces the aspect of queerness as part of Canadian history (Whyte par 7). Thus, Kent’s paintings represent the historical issues and personal touch to the element of culture.

Figure4: The Daddies as a recreation of the Fathers of Confederation (1884)

The 150 Canadian Celebrations

               The 150 anniversary of Canada was marked by historical, artistic, and other cultural events that sought to illustrate the evolution of the nation and the indigenous communities in Canada. An art exhibition that marked Kent’s involvement in the celebration duped Shame and Prejudice: A Story of Resilience sought to illustrate Canada, its history, and the experiences before the confederation. The exhibition was meant to recreate real and imagined events in Canada to expose the level of suffering, shame, and prejudice that the indigenous communities underwent before independence (Whyte par 7). The 150 celebration of Canada was a significant time for the nation and the indigenous population since it highlighted the historical narratives and injustices. Moreover, Kent’s stories and art did not fit into the national narrative and essence of the celebration. However, he was determined to create space for his art and its representation through visual images and comic. His exhibition was presented at the University of Toronto, and it was a provocative representation of Canadian nationalism, the aboriginal experiences, and the tragic past (Everett-Green par 3). Thus, the involvement of Kent in the 150 celebrations was a means of rooting out the myths and showing the truth about indigenous experiences. 

Kent’s Work and Current Contemporary Indigenous Experience, the Impact of Colonization, and the Relationship between Indigenous Communities and Colonizing Powers

Kent’s art, paintings, and films have been recognized internationally as they satirically and comically bring historical narratives to life. The Canadian story is bitter, and the life and experiences of Kent as a Swampy Cree and queer sexuality represent the indigenous history and experiences. His art influences contemporary indigenous experiences by exposing the uniqueness of culture and traditions. Also, the art ironically discloses the actions of the colonizer thus affecting the colonial philosophies in the world (McGillis par 3). The contemporary influence in Kent’s artwork is evident in history and gender topics that are fluid in most societies. The inclusion of urban aspects in the art brings about a shift in worldviews.

Moreover, Kent’s work focused on themes such as colonization and its effect on the community. Christianity was part of the colonial influences and it helped to shape the traditional landscape and history of Canada. Thus, his art focuses on challenging the stereotypic images painted by the Europeans.  The art’s satirical element was an act of mockery to the subjective perception and narrative of the indigenous population. Thus, Kent’s artwork exposes the impact of colonization on the indigenous communities, for example, The Subjugation of Truth is an act of oppression (Whyte par 7). Also, the artwork seeks to reveal the nature of the relationship between indigenous communities and colonizing powers.

Conclusion

               Kent’s art brings a contemporary outlook to Canadian history and indigenous experiences. He utilizes art, painting, and film among other forms of theatricals to communicate his feelings towards past and present indigenous experiences. Also, he uses art to castigate the colonialists’ ideologies and subjective view of the indigenous population. Kent’s art is provocative and often involves the alter ego, Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, to introduce satire in his work. There are a variety of art pieces, paintings, and exhibitions targeted towards indigenous experiences. For example, The Scream illustrates the separation of children from their aboriginal parents, which was a colonialist method of assimilating their culture into the indigenous communities.

Works Cited

Bingham, Rusell. “Kent Monkman.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2013, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/kent-monkman.

“BIOGRAPHY — Kent Monkman.” Kent Monkman, www.kentmonkman.com/biography.

Everett-Green, Robert. “Kent Monkman: A Trickster with a Cause Crashes Canada’s 150th Birthday party.” The Globe and Mail, 12 Nov. 2017, www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/canada-150/kent-monkman-shame-and-prejudice/article33515775/.

McGillis, Ian. “Kent Monkman’s Irreverent Art Turns the Canadian Narrative on Its Head.” Montreal Gazette, 14 Feb. 2019, montrealgazette.com/entertainment/local-arts/kent-monkmans-irreverent-art-turns-the-canadian-narrative-on-its-head.

Scudeler, June. “Indians on Top”: Kent Monkman’s Sovereign Erotics.” American Indian Culture and Research Journal, vol. 39, no. 4, 2015, pp. 19-32.
https://sophia.smith.edu/indians-in-art-museums/wp-content/uploads/sites/241/2018/04/Indians-on-Top.pdf

Whyte, Murray. “Kent Monkman Fills in the Blanks in Canadian History.” Thestar.com, 22 Jan. 2017, www.thestar.com/entertainment/visualarts/2017/01/22/kent-monkman-fills-in-historys-blanks-with-humour-and-horror.html.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tired of Guidelines or Lack Time to Work on Your Paper, Get Original Custom Research Paper Writing Service

Thecustomwriting.com research paper writing service has saved thousands of students from stressful college life. Writing a custom research paper may be challenging, considering it has to be plagiarism-free. And it is better not to do your project than to hand in plagiarized work or hurriedly complete it if you do not have time.

Academic integrity is so vital that you may get a suspension or an expulsion because of a copy-pasted work. Writing a custom research paper requires research and writing skills to produce original content. Here are essential things to know about getting the best and legit assignments help websites.

Perfection is vital

Every website will promise you that they produce high-quality work. However, you put your money for your end-of-semester paper only to get a pass. You must learn how to identify the best writing service before committing.

Thecustomwriting.com produces quality content at all times. Rather than a quality promise, quality assurance is what you should consider before hiring a research writer. Best writing services are reliable. You don't want to partner with a cheap research paper writing service that will deliver poorly written essays hours after the due date.

Quality writers are part of the best writing service. A company that has untrained writers will fail you. Before committing, ensure that the people who will write your paper are academicians and professionals. It would help if you had a writer who will be prompt to respond to your questions and follow instructions. Writers who do not fear to ask for clarification where they don't understand are the best for you.

Beware of Scammers Posing to Provide Custom Research Paper Writing Service

It may take time and effort to find a legit custom research paper writing service. Most of the websites claiming to offer writing service trades your paper with another student. For example, if you order your paper today to submit it next week, you may find that another student has already handed over the same document.

Your money is gone, you have no paper to submit, and the deadline is in two hours. You can only sit and cook up some stories for your lecturer. Otherwise, wait for a penalty or suspension.

Others will give you half-baked papers in the name of cheap essays. Apart from reselling your paper, some companies will offer you copy-pasted work. If you don't have tools such as Turnitin or Copyscape to check plagiarism, you may find yourself in the dean's office explaining why you copied your work from the internet word-to-word.

We offer one of the best research paper writing services in the USA and the U.K.

You won’t regret choosing Thecustomwriting.com to handle your research. Your project is an essential part of your academic work. It determines whether you will move on to the next semester or if your name will appear on the graduation list. Do not gamble your education by hiring any cheap essay writing website you find on the internet. Look for a custom research paper writing service reviews before commit.

Avoid scandals by hiring Thecustomwriting.com. Count yourself lucky if you are reading this article. You are in the right direction in finding the writing service for your paper. Though many websites could have frustrated you, Thecustomwriting.com is committed to providing you with reliable service for your paper.

Thecustomwriting.com offers quality services at affordable prices, and they deliver your work on time. They have native English writers that write your paper using the correct language.

Plagiarism Free Custom Research Paper Writing Service

Our writers understand the seriousness of writing plagiarized papers. Every institution has regulations that govern how a research project is conducted. Universities and colleges take plagiarism as gross misconduct. The best writing services are those that will deliver plagiarism-free papers.

Plagiarism involves, among others, copying a published work and delivering it to your lecturer as your own without acknowledging the sources.

Another way your work can be plagiarized is the failure to include the source of your content in a research paper. If you are using someone's thought, you need to include a reference and in-text citations to show that you are using another scholars' worker.

It's a gross mistake to write a five-page paper without a single source unless the paper's nature does not require you to rely on any sources. Here are some tips our writers use to avoid accidental plagiarism:

Cite direct quotes, statistics, and paraphrased content.

Ensure that all in-text citations are included in the biography and vice versa.

Directly quoting not more than 2% of the paper, if quoting is necessary (some papers are exempted from this rule, especially literature).

Stick to high authority, scholarly sources. Our writers will hardly paraphrase content from third party blogs and other questionable sites.

Consider Buying A Custom Research Paper from Thecustomwriting.Com

Consider hiring an expert essay writer if you are not sure about your capabilities. Referencing and citations can be challenging, especially if you try to do it for the first time. It's even harder when your lecturer asks you to use a hard referencing style. For example, Harvard requires you to include page numbers, dates, and the author's name in the text. If you have several papers with a strict deadline, you should consider hiring a custom research paper writing service to help you work on your essays.

However, ensure the website you want to hire offers legit writing service. A good website should at least charge for its services. You will find many websites willing to provide you with free services. No one is that idle to sit and write a paper for free. Sites that provide free or cheap services hooks you when you least expect.

Also, consider the price of writing a paper. Though cheap essays are of low quality, other sites may have inflated prices for their rate, making you needlessly break your bank.

Thecustomwriting.com understands the need for a fair and reasonable price for most students. We know that most students need service, but they do not have enough resources. We, therefore, offer quality service that you can afford.

Benefits of using custom research paper writing service

If this is your first time considering using a custom writing service, the first thing is to know why taking such an action is the best. Choosing Thecustomwriting.com ensures professional writers handle your paper. Letting a qualified person handle your project can boost your grade. You cannot afford to fail in the upcoming end-of-semester project. In any case, your progress to the next level will be determined by how well you perform in your essay.

Thecustomwriting.com ensures the timely delivery of your work. The good thing about legit essay writers is that they can write your essay within the shortest time possible, with one page taking up to one hour at most. It doesn't matter what time you want your work done: Thecustomwriting.com is always ready for a task.

We will give you a paper written explicitly for you. We will ensure that your paper is not delivered to someone else.

Come to think of this; if five of your classmates decide to order an essay for the same class, five writers will be assigned to work on different papers instead of paraphrasing one paper and sending it to five of you.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Do subject specialist writers handle my research paper?

It's our responsibility to ensure that someone from your field handles your paper. Our company has enough writers from every discipline. We provide only a research writer qualified in your subject to handle your paper. After placing an order, the first step is to screen the question and requirement and match it with the best writer. The less qualified writer has a college diploma, and they only handle high school papers. All other writers are bachelor, masters, and PhD degree holders.

Are your researchers qualified enough to know the core of the research?

We commit to quality content. We understand that failure to deliver quality service will result in the loss of clients. Therefore, we only hire qualified writers who have an in-depth understanding of your paper. Whether you want quantitative research done using Chi-square or qualitative research, Thecustomwriting.com’s writers will comfortably handle any discipline or type of paper. Besides, we offer research paper service from college to PhD. Therefore, we cannot afford to have unqualified writers. Our researchers take every instruction keenly when writing your essay.

Should I worry about order placement?

There is nothing to worry about placing your order. Our platform has a simple, user-friendly interface that enables you to navigate to different functionalities with ease. We offer quality custom research paper writing services; thus, you don't have to worry about getting value for your money. Besides, you can track your order's progress. Our system progressively send you email notifications regarding every stage of your orders' progress; thus, you don't even have to log in to track down your order. You will also see the progress on the dashboard when you log in. Moreover, our support team will contact you when the writer needs any clarification.

Can I have direct communication with the writer after the order placement?

Our system is designed in such a way that it allows you to communicate with your writer directly. We understand the need to clarify things yourself to the writer. Furthermore, our support team is available 24 hours to ensure that urgent matters are communicated swiftly with the writer.

Will I get any discount on recommendation?

The answer is yes. We value your efforts and trust to recommend us to your friends. We will offer you a discount on your next order if a client mentions your email when placing an order.

What guarantees should customers look for?

We have a written list of what we guarantee our clients in our terms. We guarantee the quality, confidentiality, free revision, original content, and timely delivery. We also guarantee money-back if, in the unlikely event, you are not happy with the quality of the paper.

What makes a reliable writing company?

It's easy to know a reputable company. First, they are transparent about their services. They offer multiple methods of communication and have qualified writers. Most importantly, they deliver your work on time, deliver original content, and honour what they have guaranteed.

Why should customers not opt for cheap essay writing services?

Cheap essay services will only waste your time. They have foreign writers who will produce plagiarized content full of grammar errors. You will waste your precious time waiting for a paper that you can't give your lecturer.

Is buying essays online safe?

It's safe to buy your essay if you take the right precaution. Before putting your money on a strange site, explore the website to see whether you will get customer reviews. They will help you make the right decision.

How do I hire someone to write an essay for me?

These are common questions with most clients. It's effortless to get a professional writer. The first step is to identify a custom research paper writing service that is legit and sign up. After that, they will guide you on how to place your order and get a writer. Some companies will allow you to choose a writer for yourself or choose a writer for you.

What types of writing services can I order online?

Our website offers a variety of legit essay services. We provide any academic assistance, including research projects, assignments, and admission letters. Visit our website to see what each service entails.

What benefits and additional features do Thecustomwriting.com services offer?

We offer several free services to our customers. We offer free revision, a discount on your first order, and free pages such as references and cover pages. Also, we have a quality control department that ensures that all papers are of high quality before delivering them to you.

Do websites maintain your privacy? Are orders secured?

Your privacy is our top priority. You will be recognized by your I.D. assigned to you after signup instead of your name. The only person who can access your account is you or anyone else you give your password. Your payment is through a third party. Therefore, your personal information will never reach our site without your consent.

What are the pros of ordering from custom writing services?

You get quality papers. We have writers with decades of experience delivering quality papers worth the client's money and much more. We understand your power to influence our progress. Your paper will be delivered on time and written by professional writers.

Hire a professional writer

Now that you know what to look for when considering the custom research paper writing services, it's time to try us. Sign up and get a discount on your first order. You don't have to worry about quality, timely delivery, and price. We know they are essential to you. Use promo code ‘2021’ and claim a 15% discount on your first order.