Maracle, Clifford Lloyd

  • From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: See full biography at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford_Maracle
  • Wiki Biography:
    • Clifford Lloyd Maracle (1944–1996) was a Canadian Indigenous artist from the Mohawk Nation, Tyendinaga Reserve near Deseronto, Ontario. Both a painter and a sculptor, he was best known for his depictions of the plight of urban Indians in the 1970s. Maracle did not rely on traditional motifs but rather established himself as a leader of a new expressionistic style among First Nations artists.
    • Clifford Maracle was born in 1944 on the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory Indian Reserve, Ontario, Canada. Maracle came from a large family of 10 children but his father left the family when the children were young. His mother received pressure from social workers who believed a single mother could not successfully raise the children; eventually, they left the reserve to avoid the conflicts. These events may have contributed to Maracle’s strong feelings towards the injustices and prejudices his people endured.
    • Maracle expressed himself (as did other Canadian modernist painters such as Carl Beam and Robert Houle) as an individual sometimes using identifiable native imagery and sometimes not, making irrelevant the debate of “authentically Indian”  Maracle was influenced by the American artist Fritz Scholder. Maracle moved beyond the notion that all native artists draw their subjects from myth and legends and showed works based on political issues and ideas. By challenging the stereotypes of “Indian Art”, Maracle found new ways of presenting the political moment by making audiences aware of the complex realities of aboriginal life. In 1984 he attached his Canadian Indian identity card to his painting “Changing Reserve” as a response to the poor conditions in Canadian Indian reserves.
      Figure 2 – “An Early Morning Climb” painting by Clifford Maracle.
    • Many of Maracle’s works were kinetic, depicting native dancers, historical events, animals, athletes. Maracle’s dark humor is brought to light in his painting entitled “The Plight of the Urban Indian”. It depicts three figures standing together: one has a gaping mouth with white teeth that glare out, another appears sombre with a drooping head, while the third appears complacent. 
  • Fourth Great Grandson of United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=833
  • Find a GRAVE: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/251747391/clifford_lloyd-maracle