Arthur Shilling had a message for his home community: There’s beauty in being alive, but death is always close by.
It’s the philosophy he lived by as he recovered from heart surgery in 1976. The Rama artist died a decade later.
This can be seen in the several works on display at the Orillia Museum of Art and History (OMAH), as part of an exhibition that opened June 2 and runs until Aug. 19. An opening ceremony will take place Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m.
The exhibition originated in Peterborough and has travelled to Thunder Bay, Windsor and Barrie, and is ending its journey in Orillia.
“I think it’s significant (for Orillia),” said Ninette Gyorody, executive director of OMAH. “It’s important we were able to bring this exhibition to his home community, where his sons and brother still produce art.”
The works on display were produced by Shilling from 1976 to 1986 and signify a period of incredible creativity, she said.
In the late 1970s, Shilling began working on the Ojibway Dream series in which he explored the struggles of being Indigenous in contemporary society, the importance of the Ojibway traditional past, and the connections between expressionism and Ojibway visual culture.
Part of this is a 30-foot mural — The Beauty of Our People — in which Shilling reveals the beauty and richness of Indigenous peoples in the contemporary world while not forgetting their history and struggles.
“I think it’s spectacular,” said Helen Macdonald, of Niagara Falls, who was visiting her cousin in town and stopped by OMAH. “Before I came, my cousin had explained the mural with the happy faces fading into the sad faces.”
Seeing it was a whole different experience, she said.
“When I saw it, it really spoke to me, with the bright colours and symbols interspersed in it,” said Macdonald, who was a teacher in Orillia during the mid-1950s.
Back then, talking about Indigenous peoples and their experiences was unheard of, she said.
“I think it’s important that he portrayed the situation of the Indigenous peoples,” said Macdonald. “I think this will move people.”
As Gyorody worked with William Kingfisher, the curator of the show, she said she learned a lot about Shilling’s life and works.
“I got to hear nuggets of stories,” she said, adding that’s what visitors will get to hear during the curatorial tour planned for Friday. “I learned about Arthur’s style, transformation of his works and about his dreams and where he was as an artist before his heart surgery.”
One such story Gyorody shared, without taking away from the tour, was how the portraits of Shilling and his wife are treated in the exhibition.
“The self-portrait of Arthur and Millie, his wife, have travelled to each venue and they’re always hung together at a closer proximity to each other than other works,” said Gyorody.
Those interested in taking part in Friday's curatorial tour, which begins at 12:30 p.m., should call the museum in advance to register. The cost is $5 for OMAH members and $10 for non-members.
For more information about the exhibition, visit orilliamuseum.org or call 705-326-2159.
