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Antoine Mountain, Dene Artist |
These are the words of my late grandfather, my life-long role model, mentor and artistic inspiration par excellence... I come from a long line of artists. Even in my own family we often meet up at these art shows and share our Dene visions with the world at large. In my mother's words we are ' following in her trail'... Although the painting that I do now is relatively new to our Northern Dene culture the ideas I have and the abilities required to do it follow an ancient Native tradition. Our people lived close to the land and so we artists still draw our inspiration from a deep well of spiritual rebirth... Mother Nature herself is the greatest of all artists. Every day is an artistic masterpiece woven into the fabric of our lives. We must learn to appreciate this and to try to reproduce this grace into our everyday lives, and not only artistically... Most of my work are landscapes, which speak of our First Nations' abiding love of this land. I don't consciously limit myself to a specific market nor attempt a commercial product. People usually point to a deep-rooted spiritualism is my work, which underlies my beliefs in our ceremonials and customs and traditional ways... For instance I believe that these images we use are very powerful onto themselves and so will not mix it with the use of drugs and/or alcohol... I try to encourage a positive message, too... It has taken awhile for me to make my living entirely with my artwork, and part of this dream of mine involves working with the youth in the schools, for which I am always available... And finally, please feel free to contact me with any ideas, suggestions, and or projects that I may become involved with... Masi, thank you... Time-Based Media CourseFinal Project |
"If you have a dream you have to work at it,
every day, to make it come true... Once this dream comes true for you
it is yours, and no-one can take it away from you, for you alone have worked for it..."(Peter Mountain, Sr., Dene Elder) |
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Antoine Mountain |
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670 Dufferin Street |
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Toronto, ON |
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M6K 2B5 |
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Canada |
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