Métis painter to create 400 works for LRT bridge
Pedestrian path will tell long, rich history of the Edmonton area, writes Fish Griwkowsky.
David Garneau originally thought 100 paintings would do to adorn the ceiling of Tawatinâ Bridge’s walkway — but the Métis artist is on a mission: tell as many stories as possible. So now it’s 400. A spiral of cranes, schools of fish, ancient pots and a beaver with the familiar Hudson’s Bay Company colours long ago borrowed from the locals — these are just a few of the bold images that will snake along the $65-million LRT bridge’s pedestrian path, three metres above our heads as we cross the river — a crossing people have been undertaking since before recorded history.
The $295,000 commission — the vast majority of which will go to production, materials, installation and conservation — is part of the Edmonton Arts Council’s program, which assigns one per cent of qualifying capital project budgets to new public art, chosen by independent jury.
A speaker and painter who’s shown widely nationally and internationally, it’s Garneau’s first public art commission. Even before he won the project, he knew he had a massive responsibility to honour local history.
Born in Edmonton, about to turn 55, Garneau lived in the city until he was 17. The oldest of five siblings, he used to toboggan and build forts in the river valley.
Now an associate professor at the University of Regina, you already know the Métis artist’s last name. The Old Strathcona neighbourhood honours his great-great-grandfather Laurent Garneau, the former Manitoba Métis rebel and Hudson’s Bay employee who, like so many, came here to make a new life.
All these considerations root the artist, but he’s already begun consulting local elders and indigenous storytellers from whom he’s drawing symbolism — including Cree, Dene, Dakota, Blackfoot and others — which will also include modern icons (City Hall, for example) amid depictions of the animals here before any of us.
Fittingly, his paintings, ranging in size from five centimetres to 2.5 metres, will metaphorically bridge these myriad worlds along a span 200 metres long by three metres wide.
Grouped by elements, many of the pieces painted on Diabond (two sheets of aluminum with a plastic core) will have double meanings. A silhouette of a pot depicts the land on which the berries were picked, for instance.
Rather than posting a written legend, Garneau will share the meanings traditionally, with spoken-word stories that guides can pass along.
Q You came from here and you’re dropping new roots which might outlast you.
A If we look out this window, it’s the Garneau Tree from 1874. There’s a plaque, but I love that that tree will keep propagating. This is my hometown. Coming back here I feel melancholic because I’d love to live here. The art comes from here. Q Can you talk about connecting with regional elders? A The city’s process is amazing, it’s not to be underestimated. It’s being copied in other places, a game-changer. They brought us together so we could do a proper job, get their support — their advice — and earn trust. I’m collecting stories. I’ll be making a website in a couple weeks where people can add their ideas. Q What was an important
moment for you growing up here?
A The Edmonton Art Gallery and the downtown library were my beacons. I saw a Joe Fafard show in ’76 or so at EAG and started making figures of the Boyle Street street guys. I showed them at Bear Claw Gallery. I was 18 or so. A reporter from the Journal came in and she says, “And you’re Métis?” And I’m like, “Whaaat?” “You’re a descendent of Laurent Garneau, aren’t you? You’re showing at an aboriginal gallery!” It was a shock! I go to my dad, and he says, “Yeah!” Q Has your family history come up in the process?
A When things were really heated over Batoche (late 1800s), they were really worried there’d be a general uprising. The Canadian government came looking for (Laurent Garneau) because he was known as a sympathizer. They ended up charging him with treason — and he had 12 kids! Chief Papaschase was his good friend and took that whole family in. Years later, he heard Chief Papaschase was ailing, he brought him out to St. Paul and gave him a cabin for his golden years. So what’s cool is (the current) Chief Papaschase says, “We know your dad, so we’re friends now.” He and Jerry Saddleback and other elders, of course, I’m talking to about this bridge. It’s a way of cementing that relationship between Papaschase people and Garneau family, but also the larger community we all represent in terms of Edmonton, and all our mixed heritage.
Q How many have you finished so far?
A (Laughs) About 10. But I have two years — and I’ve heard bridges can take a little longer than scheduled around here?