Uploaded February 2021 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
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Dempsey Bob is a 2021 winner of the Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts. Directed by Storm Carroll.
A co-production of the Canada Council for the Arts and Skeena River Media. A presentation of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Independent Media Arts Alliance.
The Canada Council for the Arts is a federal, arm's-length Crown corporation created by an Act of Parliament in 1957 (Canada Council for the Arts Act) "to foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts."
For more information, visit: en.ggarts.ca
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Transcript:
I was close to nature, close to the Eagles and the Ravens and the animals.
They inspired me and they still do, and I find that, in nature, everything is there.
We’re just blind, that’s why we don’t see it. Because to be good at sculpture, you have to know the animals. You have to know how they look. You have to know how they fly. You need to draw them and express it, to express it. You have to know the wolf. And what I find, too, is this place gives me the time to do my art and do it properly and be creative. And I’m creative here, that’s all that matters. I realize that wherever you live affects the way you are as an artist.
Because you are bombarded by images all day, all the time. I find that living in nature, or close to nature… it’s peaceful, it’s calming, it’s healing, actually. The passion, my own passion and hard work. And now, I understand how important it is to our culture, because culture is what makes us human, culture is what makes us Tlingit, culture is what makes us Tsimshian, culture is what makes us Haida. People don’t understand that even in Northwest coast art, it evolves, and it changes. Somebody asked me if I still use stone tools. I’d starve with those. What I told him was that I came on a jet plane, I didn’t come on the canoe, so… my life is different. Talent is cheap—it’s the dedication that’s costly, and it’s the hard work. As an artist, you’ve got to live up to your potential, or try to, and do what you could really do, use what you know. That’s what I’m trying to do. I want to do the best work I can do. Because I realize that, in the end, that’s all that matters. So many things are going to be remembered. You’ve got to do some great work if you can.
Connect with us on social media:
Canada Council for the Arts
Instagram - instagram.com/canada.council
Facebook - facebook.com/canadacouncil
Twitter - twitter.com/CanadaCouncil
LinkedIn - linkedin.com/company/canada-council-for-the-arts
Website - canadacouncil.ca
Art Bank
Instagram - instagram.com/artbank_banquedart
Facebook - facebook.com/CCartbank
YouTube - youtube.com/watch?v=x9fGIx7hZYk
Website - artbank.ca
CCUNESCO - Canadian Commission for UNESCO
Instagram - instagram.com/ccunesco
Twitter - twitter.com/CCUNESCO
LinkedIn - linkedin.com/company/canadian-commission-for-unesco
Website - en.ccunesco.ca
Please like this video and subscribe to support the arts in Canada.
Dempsey Bob is a 2021 winner of the Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts. Directed by Storm Carroll.
A co-production of the Canada Council for the Arts and Skeena River Media. A presentation of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Independent Media Arts Alliance.
The Canada Council for the Arts is a federal, arm's-length Crown corporation created by an Act of Parliament in 1957 (Canada Council for the Arts Act) "to foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts."
For more information, visit: en.ggarts.ca
****
Transcript:
I was close to nature, close to the Eagles and the Ravens and the animals.
They inspired me and they still do, and I find that, in nature, everything is there.
We’re just blind, that’s why we don’t see it. Because to be good at sculpture, you have to know the animals. You have to know how they look. You have to know how they fly. You need to draw them and express it, to express it. You have to know the wolf. And what I find, too, is this place gives me the time to do my art and do it properly and be creative. And I’m creative here, that’s all that matters. I realize that wherever you live affects the way you are as an artist.
Because you are bombarded by images all day, all the time. I find that living in nature, or close to nature… it’s peaceful, it’s calming, it’s healing, actually. The passion, my own passion and hard work. And now, I understand how important it is to our culture, because culture is what makes us human, culture is what makes us Tlingit, culture is what makes us Tsimshian, culture is what makes us Haida. People don’t understand that even in Northwest coast art, it evolves, and it changes. Somebody asked me if I still use stone tools. I’d starve with those. What I told him was that I came on a jet plane, I didn’t come on the canoe, so… my life is different. Talent is cheap—it’s the dedication that’s costly, and it’s the hard work. As an artist, you’ve got to live up to your potential, or try to, and do what you could really do, use what you know. That’s what I’m trying to do. I want to do the best work I can do. Because I realize that, in the end, that’s all that matters. So many things are going to be remembered. You’ve got to do some great work if you can.
Connect with us on social media:
Canada Council for the Arts
Instagram - instagram.com/canada.council
Facebook - facebook.com/canadacouncil
Twitter - twitter.com/CanadaCouncil
LinkedIn - linkedin.com/company/canada-council-for-the-arts
Website - canadacouncil.ca
Art Bank
Instagram - instagram.com/artbank_banquedart
Facebook - facebook.com/CCartbank
YouTube - youtube.com/watch?v=x9fGIx7hZYk
Website - artbank.ca
CCUNESCO - Canadian Commission for UNESCO
Instagram - instagram.com/ccunesco
Twitter - twitter.com/CCUNESCO
LinkedIn - linkedin.com/company/canadian-commission-for-unesco
Website - en.ccunesco.ca
