Gordon Coons: Gidibaajimomin / We Tell Stories

Gordon Coons is an artist and educator originally from Wisconsin and now living and working in Minneapolis, MN and is an enrolled member of the Lac Courte Oreilles Tribe of Wisconsin. Coons is a self-taught artist working in a variety of mediums including linoleum block prints, paintings, pen and ink drawings, sculpture, and prints created from cedar smoke and gold leaf. His colorful works are considered to be in the Woodland Style of art inspired by regional Ojibwa rock paintings, petroglyphs, historic birch bark drawings, and oral traditions. His works portray his unique view of traditional Native stories. His choice of bright colors have geographic and seasonal meanings and his use of bold outlines and interconnecting lines indicate modes of communication, power, and connection.

Coons notes “Woodland Art style images are not a religion but a way of life. Stories of the images were told during the time when the Ojibwa people would gather in lodges during the season of snow. The stories are for teaching your role in the community and on how to participate in the Ojibwa community.”

The Ojibwa word Gidibaajimomin translates to “we tell stories” and teaching, sharing and storytelling are an important part of his artistic practice.