The Atelier 2011

Kent Monkman’s photograph, The Atelier, seems to have emerged spontaneously, yet is so clearly the product of careful staging and the marshalling of props and characters. I wonder, what's Monkman trying to get at with this image? Here he is in his studio as his alter-ego, Miss Chief Eagle Testickle – a gender-fluid, time-traveling being who's disrupting conventional art history. I like the way he's placed himself in the tradition of the artist's atelier, but with a queer, Indigenous twist. He's kind of saying, 'Hey, we've always been here, and we're not going anywhere.' Look at the painting on the easel, the sketches pinned to the wall, and the landscape seen through the window – a layered interrogation of culture, history, and representation. Monkman is in dialogue with artists from the past, challenging the stories they told and offering new ones. Painting is never done in isolation. It’s an ongoing conversation with those who came before us.