Who Is This Naked Man Confronting the Canadian Founding Daddies?

Canada was officially born on July 1, 1867.

The Canadian government commissioned Robert Harris, a prominent Canadian artist, to paint 'The Fathers of Confederation'. Unfortunately, the painting was destroyed in the 1916 parliamentary fire.

The scene was recreated by another artist Rex Woods in 1968 when thirty-seven Founding Fathers of Canada met at the Charlottetown Conference.

But this painting grabbed eyeballs in 2016 when a Cree Canadian artist Kent Monkman created his version and called it The Daddies.

Not only did the painting scandalize the bureaucrats but it created a sensation in the North American art world.

'An androgynous character sitting nakedly on a Hudson Bay striped sheet. He wears a pair of black stilettos, adorns dangle earrings and offers an awkward dance gesture.'

So, do the same questions tickle your brain?

Who is this gender-ambiguous character sitting nakedly right in front of the Founding Fathers of Canada?

Well, hold that thought and we'll come to it in a bit.

Before that, let's discuss the premises of this painting. It goes back to the gut-wrenching and white-washed stories of colonialism in Canada, which was exactly like the US.

• The properties of the indigenous population were confiscated and they became homeless.

• The indigenous children were forcefully admitted to residential schools. They were prohibited to practise their own beliefs and were culturally assimilated.

• The indigenous women were sterilized, their fallopian tubes were taken out and this was justified by the ideology of Eugenics.

• Mass incarceration began and it is actually an ongoing issue between Indigenous peoples and Canada's legal system where they are overrepresented within Canada's prison population.

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1. The Scream

Monkman's 2017 painting, The Scream depicts one such chaotic scene. The children are snatched from their mothers by Catholic priests. The mothers are held back by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP or Mounties).

The scene narrates the cultural genocide of the indigenous children who were admitted to residential schools.

This painting spread like a wildfire when the unmarked graves were discovered in Kamloops, British Columbia, in May 2021.

Monkman dedicates this painting to his grandmother who was a survivor of the residential school system and spoke about her traumatic experience while she was on her deathbed.

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2. Seeing Red

This painting depicts the same effeminate persona that we left while discussing the gender-ambiguous character against the Founding Fathers.

Let's unravel this.

This is the artist's gender-fluid and time-traveling alter ego - Miss Chief Testickle, who is indigenous and obviously embraces female energies.

This artwork shows Miss Chief wearing a red blingy bodysuit and confronting a bull. The surroundings are tense and the artist brings in surrealistic elements too. There's even an indigenous totem pole (that symbolizes cultural beliefs and clan lineages) being repurposed as a utility pole. Did you notice a naked man with horns flying over the ground?

The bull resembles Picasso's dying bull.

Does this symbolize an open resistance by Miss Chief against the misogynist male (Picasso)?

Let me know.

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3. The Subjugation of Truth

This painting throws light on the beginning of the period - the incarceration of the indigenous population.

Here chief Poundmaker and Big Bear, powerful figures in the Cree community who played pivotal roles in defending their people, are interrogated by the authorities, the Catholic church and the RCMP. All while the Queen portrait oversees this all.

Although they are subjugated by the colonizers, they appear to be strong-willed and fearless. The title aptly justifies the image.

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4. Le Petit

This image takes us from the parliament setting to an urban setting.

And what do we see? The disfigured images of nude women near a beer bar. The women resemble the butchered female nudes by Picasso.

But why the angels? To protect the indigenous community from extinction?

This artwork speaks volumes against the violence and murders of indigenous women.

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5. The Daddies

This painting inspires a jaw-dropping moment. Its subtle cheekiness makes me firmly believe that art is a powerful medium to trigger awareness and activism in society.

Miss Chief unapologetically confronts the founding daddies.

But why did Monkman choose his doppelganger as an androgynous?

According to an interview with the Huffington Post in 2014, Monkman's alter ego was inspired by the nineteenth-century American artist George Catlin, who sometimes painted himself into his portraits of Native Americans. "I wanted to create an artistic persona that could rival that of Catlin," said Monkman. "So [Miss Chief] was created to reverse the gaze. She looks back at the European settlers."

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Lastly

Kent Monkman draws these historical events on canvas to ask his viewer not to be just the audience, but a messenger to carry their outrage and grief to the greater world.

Monkman uses these art history metaphors to talk about the compression of his culture.

And Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, for Monkman, is a symbol of resilience.

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Which is your favorite painting by Monkman and why? Leave them in the comments.

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References -

1. Canada's Dark History, Kent Monkman and the RCMP

2. Canadian painter Kent Monkman's process, from inspiration to final painting

3. Kent Monkman Confronts History

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Here's the link to my free e-book Beyond Beautiful - 25 Paintings You Should Not Miss