“In these six panels, Morrisseau melds his early experiences with his later adherence to Eckankar teachings. The work not only records Morrisseau’s shifting vision of spirituality and his personal growth as an artist, but also charts his personal transformation into Copper Thunderbird, the spirit name he received in a healing ceremony and used as his signature. As the background colour of the panels becomes increasingly more copper, eclipsing the yellow ground in the first two panels, Morrisseau visually transforms: he is a young man embarking on a spiritual and artistic journey in panel one; a wing emerges in panel two; and a claw appears in panel three. By the fourth panel, the background has become entirely copper and two claws and a shamanic hairstyle signal the artist’s evolution. In the final panel, Morrisseau’s transformation is complete: he has become Copper Thunderbird. The intense colour and elaborate decorative elements in his changing headdress and regalia unite as Thunderbird, making this personal work a beautiful narrative conflation of self and artistic style.” — Carmen Robertson, excerpted from Norval Morrisseau: Life & Work
Art & Influence
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Installation view of all six panels of Norval Morrisseau, Man Changing into Thunderbird, 1977, at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto.