Carl Beam
(1943–)
(–2005)
Three Graveside Figures
Artist(s)
Date
1984
Object Type
print
Medium
etching on paper
Edition
AP
Dimensions
116.00 x 76.00 cm
Collections
York University Art Collection
Accession
A1987.007
A trio of ghostly figures, derived from a historic photograph of three unidentified Indigenous people, wear western dress and stand at a graveside.
As with much of Beam's print work, the image is heavily layered and liberally uses phototransfers. These three figures appear in numerous other prints, witnesses to the colonialist history of Canada. Four colour blocks appear on the lower edge of the print, with pictographs and the words "1984 Reason will win." Perhaps this references the 450 anniversary of Cartier's arrival in North America, and the hope that the colonial legacy that arrival instigated would soon fade. Alas, the phrase is crossed out, suggesting a less hopeful interpretation.
