Carl Beam - Legacy

Legacy

Carl Beam was the first artist of Native ancestry to have his work purchased by the National Gallery of Canada as contemporary art (1986), thus opening the door for a generation of Native artists to enter. "Despite Beam's reluctance to be defined as a "Native Artist", his art deals with the struggles of his people." Beam brought an innovative approach to all the media he worked in. "Technically Beam is regarded as an innovator for his intentional blurring of diverse art practises, thereby enabling certain methodologies and techniques to acquire new contexts. His innovative techniques, in fact, have been emulated by a new generation of artists-Native and not." "He evolved his own unique techniques as needed in photo-etching and photo based painting, to name a few, and his passionate discourse on all things political and practical inspired many people." A major retrospective of his work, mounted by the National Gallery of Canada, is on exhibition, having started October 22, 2010, thus recognizing Beam as one of Canada's most important artists. The exhibition is curated by Greg A. Hill, Audain Curator and Head of the Department of Indigenous Art, and is accompanied by a catalogue with essays by Ann Beam, Greg Hill, Gerald McMaster, Virginia Eichhorn, and Alan Corbiere with Crystal Migwans, including paintings, photo-based collage works, constructions, ceramics and videos.