Winter Count: embracing the cold = Compte d'hiver : au cœur du froid

Abstract

"Winter Count draws inspiration from the Plains First Nations practices of recording significant events each winter, a visual reminder that helps structure histories and traditions passed down to future generations. This handsome volume explores how winter has long shaped Indigenous, Canadian settler, and northern European art, uniting different cultural perspectives through such diverse topics as storytelling, effects of light, physical adaptation, and community and isolation. Presenting a selection of works spanning from the early 19th century to the present day -- including artists such as Kenojuak Ashevak, J.E.H. MacDonald, Claude Monet, Kent Monkman, Megan Musseau, and Jin-me Yoon -- Winter Count features approximately 170 plates, along with illustrated essays by curators from the National Gallery of Canada. The result is a book that invites readers to see winter anew -- not as a season to be endured, but as a source of invention, connection, and mutual respect across time and place" -- Provided by publisher.

Contents

Coldness and warmth, darkness and light: Indigenous reflections on winter = Froidure et chaleur, obscurité et lumière: Réflexions autochtones sur l'hiver / Wahsontiio Cross and/et Jocelyn Piirainen -- Embracing winter: The settlers' experience = Au coeur de l'hiver: Le regard allochtone / Katerina Atanassova -- In pursuit of winter: Painting the season = À la quête de l'hiver: Une saison en peintures / Anabelle Kienle Ponka.