March 8, 2005 - Carl Beam

Artist Carl Beam receives Governor General’s Award for art. Carl Beam was born the eldest of nine children on the West Bay First Nations (later to be renamed M'chigeeng) reserve on Manitoulin Island, Ontario on May 24, 1943. Although his white father was killed during World War II, his Ojibway maternal grandfather took a significant interest in his upbringing. In his late 20s, Beam followed in his artist mother’s footsteps by studying at the Kootenay School of Art before further studies at the University of Victoria and then graduate studies at the University of Alberta. His art has been described as telling stories on canvas, with references to time and use of cultural markers. While his art included aboriginal and European culture and commentary, Beam never wanted to be pinned down by labels. He said, “My work is not made for Indian people, but for thinking people. In the global and evolutionary scheme, the difference between people is negligible.” Beam’s work was featured in galleries across Canada. When the National Gallery purchased The North American Iceberg, the first work by an aboriginal artist in almost six decades, Beam stood out and renewed the interest in aboriginal artistry. Years earlier, Beam and his first wife had five children. Then in 1979 Beam met his second wife Ann in Toronto and they had a daughter Anong. After time in the United States, they ended up back in Ontario and eventually back in M’Chigeeng. On March 8, 2005 the Canada Council announced that Beam was the winner of the Governor General’s Award for the Visual and Media Arts. At the ceremony he was very ill, suffering from the effects of diabetes. On July 30, 2005 Beam died at the age of 62. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.