An Indigenous Research Perspective on Sámi Visual Artist Nils-Aslak Valkeapää (PDF)
Abstract:
This article examines artworks by Sámi artist Nils-Aslak Valkeapää from the mid-1970s to the end of the 1990s through a new, innovative approach. Traditional art history methods are used and theories from art historians Ernst Gombrich and Erwin Panofsky are combined with Indigenous and Sámi research. Valkeapää wanted to create Sámi imagery, taking inspiration from prehistoric rock carvings, the patterns on the magic drums of Sámi shamans, early Sámi artist Johan Turi’s paintings, and Sámi handicrafts.
Keywords: Sámi visual art, illustration, Sámi research, Indigenous research, art history, Nils-Aslak Valkeapää, Johan Turi
Volume 2019 / Issue 2