In The Light Of A Campfire, People And Wolf As Original Brothers/Sisters
In John Potter's painting, 'A Private Conversation,' the artist shares the Anishinaabe origin story of how Creator told humans and wolves their fates were forever intertwined
Potter's painting, "A Private Conversation," is part of a series of works intended to reveal the ancient stories rooted in aboriginal oral traditions, which speak to the unbreakable relationships between people and wildlife. Image courtesy John Potter
by Mountain Journal
At Mountain Journal, as our readers know, we salute the role that fine art can play in elevating public awareness.
From the storytelling evident in pictographs, petroglyphs, indigenous pottery and ledger art to the paintings by Thomas Moran which helped convince Congress to set aside Yellowstone as the world's first national park—and in innumerable other examples—the arts cause us to stop and reflect.
And so it is the case with this piece by nature artist John Potter, whose work is part of permanent museum collections and hangs on the wall of homes and offices. Potter, once nominated for Pulitzer Prize as a newspaper cartoonist while working for the Billings Gazette, is today also a popular MoJo cartoonist.
When Potter isn't haven't fun with a little satire and lampoonery, he is at work in his Red Lodge, Montana studio completing commissions and readying new paintings for the busy summer-autumn stretch of gallery openings and museum art shows.
The piece you see before you here is titled "A Private Conversation" and it involves one of Potter's favorite motifs—the way that the human relationship with wildlife figures into the oral traditions and wisdom of indigenous culture. Last January, Potter delivered an opening prayer at MoJo's public event, "Night of the Wolves," held at the Ellen Theater in Bozeman. Back in the 1990s, he and friend Scott Frazier were part of an honoring ceremony held in the Lamar Valley to welcome gray wolves back to Yellowstone following a 60-year absence.
Of "A Private Conversation," an oil measuring 16 X 20, Potter writes:
"This commissioned painting is a representation of the relationship between 'Original Man' (the first Anishinaabe, Farther of our People) and Maa' lingan (Wolf).
Creator told us that we—human and wolf—were the first Brothers that either of us would ever have, and that we were to travel the Earth together, at Creator's direction, and give names to all the Plants and growing things, the Swimmers and Crawlers, and to all the Winged and the Four-leggeds. They were also told to give names to all the mountains, grasslands, rivers, lakes, and streams—to all places on Earth.
When they had completed their task, Creator told them that they must separate, and give rise to their own Families, Clans, Peoples and Ceremonies—and that these should remain separate. But they should always remember and honor their original relationship as Brothers— remember that they will be forever joined in Spirit—and because of that, know that WHATEVER HAPPENS TO ONE, WILL HAPPEN TO THE OTHER."
To see more of Potter's fine art, click here. And keep checking in at MoJo to see his latest cartoons when they surface which explore the interactions between humans, wildlife and the land.
