Stories that move you aren’t written with the ending understood before hand but you walk into them not knowing what the journey is going to be. It will take time and it pulls you in or even like a movie you overlooked them in some way.
Today we think of stories in a more human sense but in recent projects I took time out to revisit other creators that were able to convey simple ideas that in turn made me revisit so much of what I thought I knew. Daniel Koren about a park bench video and following the value of Indy comedy shorts.
It inspired me to revisit the print that I had made for the Chehalis tribe in form of a carving. A Story call Coyote brothers and the Grandson of Dog.
The Story is long and intriguing. It was a treasure to sit with the elders panel for that year and learn about the push and pul of perceived power of a ring. What drew me in what, why dog. Nobody talks about dogs. It’s always wolf or eagle. They aren’t noble characters in most points of view. The I remembered the first story pole I carved with a team of artists where the coyote was an idea elders were asking for and ultimately let go.
These are characters without a voice much the way Native perspective is misunderstood or frowned upon.
At both times of those crossroads I walked away knowing there is something to all this. After all why are dogs so close to us in our homes all over the world. Our companions and comforts, riding in the car, walking or running, getting us out to walk them is a need they have and even on planes, but let’s not go there.
In this hard time I am happy to know that so many shelters have taken dogs in. At the same time knowing much support is going to our reservations.
I like to think that we don’t overlook stories but there is power in looking at motivations to move them forward. There is an idea that is accepted as tradition over stories. Stories happen around us all the time. It’s the observation of them that drive us to make art in the first place.
Overlooking the City study from Ari Sigglin’s self portraits
This print show I worked on in collaboration with Andrea Grant came about in need to tell stories from a view that is from what those things are from a modern Native perspective. In that it took many people that have shaped my life ups and downs. In those relationships we all have in common being dog owners. Some more than others. Regardless this was a need for me to get out of my comfort zone and write when I’m too tired to carve but need to get something out. Walking the dog as it were.
We’re bombarded by news about bad things and I wrap myself in that like a blanket sometimes and it is suffocating. It’s made me think about the bird songs in the morning walk, the raccoons that venture out in the day, the coyotes that went onto the streets in Los Angeles.
Circling back I think of that journey the dogs we love in our homes had to break from the pack and endure a hard transition. One of trust that the two feet we stand on would rely on the love of four legs and in some cases, three. These images were inspired by a remix of many things. Jimmy Page playing his guitar at the Kingdome, Marlon Brando’s interview on a talk show where he was mocked for concerns over Native rights. Sirius Black, Jeff Buckley , Bret Weinstein, Rocket Raccoon and Tom Waits.
You might notice the list is all male but I believe this necessary because a man can’t speak on the behalf of women. It’s not my place. It is not to say I’m not moved by the story lines that are written. It’s not my story to tell really. We make lemonade from lemons as artists. As a man, I’m told we are dogs or at least that’s what I hear with a general broad stroke of nuances.
The story of Black dog is losing many battles and be willing to walk into the fire literally. To come from a wolf line, run with coyotes but in the end approach a fire on the river made by humans. Seeking warmth when all that was at the back was a cold moonlight and howling wind at the back.
During all this i was inspired to paint again with true muse. Not for anything other than to learn from the journey of painting things that are more complex than I’ll ever understand and it’s not my place to even pretend. I can walk to the fire like a black dog and sit by a fire and listen even if I don’t understand.
I think about that video often from above and how comedy and tragedy intertwine. We could complain all day or we could laugh all day but I find myself in between trying to find the bridge, be a dog at odds with leaving my natural instinct behind searching for a new story. Today we lose ourselves in fantasy and movies relating to characters and scripts written to draw us in. Not question the story that is our life. The time is now and we have it for a brief moment. We are all animals after-all.
I recall my friend yelling at his dog so harshly for something of a small incident. I felt compelled to remind him “a dogs life isn’t a long one. are you going to lose yourself over something so small with a love so big? Like scolding a child for something all the same if you knew they wouldn’t live past your lifetime”? I was shrugged off but later on it came back to me and he gave me this inspiration I put into words.
When I was a child I remember when our dog bit my brother when was too young to know not to tease him over food. He was a stray from the river and knew a different life. Now that I’m older looking back I see something I didn’t understand. It took years to pass but that dog looked out for us until his dying days and it took time, patience and love. Protected us from predators on the riverbank remembering his wolf ancestry for us.
Perhaps the most biographical piece I’ve painted is just a remix of these ideas but I’d like to think of that video putting words into my dog from the river as this…
I walked a long way to get here to arrive at this place. A dog that evolved to love you even if the coyotes took my arm. I still believe in love and I’ll sit by the fire with you if you light a fire and sit under the moon next to you with my head in your lap. I’ll listen even if I don’t understand what you’re saying. If you see me as a dog I’ll love you forever.