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Collection / Artists

Carl Beam

M'Chigeeng First Nations, (1943–2005)

Carl Beam was born in West Bay on Manitoulin Island in 1943. His formal studies of art began at the Kootenay School of Art in British Columbia in 1971, and he transferred to the University of Victoria in 1973. Beam received his MFA at the University of Alberta in Edmonton in 1976. In his training, he was influenced by artists Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg for their collaging of images from popular culture and expressive handling of paint and printing, as well as Andy Warhol for his use of photo-silkscreen processes.

Beam employs a range of media, including painting, printmaking, and sculpture. The collage and photo-transfer techniques he often uses allow him to visually bring together subjects and events from different historical moments that he infuses with political commentary. His contemporary artmaking strategies serve and empower his engagement with the struggle of Indigenous Peoples in the late 20th century.

Artist Work(s)

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