Alex Janvier - Morning Star

Morning Star

At the river end of the Grand Hall of the Canadian Museum of Civilization is a dome rising seven stories above the granite floor. Nineteen metres (62 feet) in diameter, the dome is adorned with Alex Janvier's striking abstract painting Morning Star. With the assistance of his son Dean, Janvier began painting in June 1993 and finished in September the same year. Morning Star covers 418 square metres (4,500 square feet).

The title Morning Star refers to the morning star as a guide or a means of finding direction. Each of the four distinct areas of colour in the outside ring represents a period in Native history:

"In the yellow quadrant, a balance of colour and shape reflects a time when the First Peoples were in harmony with nature, with the Great Spirit, and with each other. However, also represented in this yellow area is the arrival of Columbus in 1492, which changed the world of the First Peoples forever.

In the blue quadrant, a lack of decoration signifies the weakness of Native culture, overwhelmed by European culture. According to Janvier, the more Christianized Native people became, the more they turned to organic, flowing designs and the less they produced geometric designs.

The red quadrant depicts a time of revival and a new optimism. Struggle and disenchantment give way to a new determination on the part of First Peoples to take charge of their own future.

The last quadrant, white to link back to the white centre of Morning Star, portrays healing, renewed self-respect, reconciliation and restructuring - a return to a state of harmony. It represents the period following the point at which Janvier created Morning Star."