An Interpretation of the forged art genre, its spirit, purpose and symbols.

This painting is dated in paint on the front "79", a year when Brian Marion and Ritchie Sinclair witnessed Morrisseau's production and "style' of painting.
 
I chose to use this painting to interpret this genre of talismanic art because it appears to encompass this style's symbolic language in one epic painting. It is among the best of this artist's work.

MAKER'S WATCH - 60"x 84", 1979 Forged Norval Morrisseau

This Genre of fake Norval Morrisseaus is a complete style of art. It is the prolific output of an artist other than Norval. This "artist", in stealing the identity of another soul to use for his own purposes, perpetrates a grave crime. In Spiritual terms it is possession. This person has mirrored Norval Morrisseau's fruition while leeching on to his name, his reputation, his spirit, his market and in the end, his waking conciousness.

Can you imagine your life's work of beautifying the world poisoned with such a toxic spirit? He was forced to "watch" it all happen while frozen in time. Its beyond imagination.

 
This style of art utilizes the energy of the "lower astral plane", a place Norval himself left far behind. Norval's painting career has always been about beautifying the world with balance, connectivity, beauty, colour and love. Legends of power with their attending symbology were also a part of his journey but "snakes" knew their place in a Morrisseau painting. There has always been the mark of a master of "love" in any authentic Morrisseau work of art.

Love has never been the goal of the artist who painted the "Maker's Watch". I have studied this artist's work and I've seen multiple paintings by this forger with my own eyes, many as large as 30ft x 12 ft. In my judgement this artist's work is truely powerful yet what is the nature of the energy that is empowering these paintings?"

A symbolic commonality of the paintings of this "artist" is entrapment. An underground or underwater theme prevails. Creatures emerge out of rock from all directions. Strange, cold aboriginal heads join the emergence. When I look at this work its like a nighmare. The colours vibrate into the lower octaves of sombre stone. Their is no love here, yet there is power. Talismanic Power. Shamanic power. There is no joy here, yet there is action.

Instead of giving energy to people the way authentic Norval Morrisseaus do, those that are subject to this art open themselves up to black magic, which sucks the life out of the living. Like a black hole it draws one's spirit down into the underworld and chaos.

Interpretation

The Maker's Watch painting shows Norval, to the upper left with a bird on his head symbolizing his "third eye" status. The other three "watchers" are his Thunderbird School apprentices. Through a portal, or window, they witness the unfolding drama. Floating in a canoe on a sea of desire the forgers enjoy their freedom from the "underground", lifted by their dirty deed.

One forger is praising the sun, a sight only seen because of leeching on to the Spirit of the Copper Thunderbird pictured floating above the canoe. The thunderbird's wings show three small feathers which symbolize the three forger painters. The fourth larger, deeper colour feather symbolizes the "man behind the curtain". This person is also represented by the large bird that sits on the canoe supervising the artists and giving them instructions. Just think of "the penguin" from the Batman movie.

Underwater we see four fish that represent the emotions of the four Thunderbird School representatives. Four Stars which dot a yellow sky just beyond the "window" also represent the school. A fifth large fish symbolic of the emotions of the forgers attracts attention. At the bottom of the canvass is a creature with a mouth like a crocodile. It is the foundational energy of this painting. The artists calls this creature a bear though certainly not a medicine bear as Norval painted.

The upper portion is dominated by serpents. Though there is a window on the world the whole vision takes place underground.The painting as a whole is a stream of consiousness artwork. This person is channeling dark energy from an ancient well.

MAKER'S WATCH - 60"x 84", 1979 Forged Norval Morrisseau