The Scream by Kent Monkman

1. Kent Monkman
A project by Laura D.

2. Biography
– Kent Monkman is born in 1995 in Ontario,
Canada. He was raised in Manitoba, primarily
in Winnipeg but also on various reserves in the
northern part of the province.
– He is a Canadian First Nations interdisciplinary
visual artist of Cree, English and Irish descent.
Monkman is a member of the Fisher River
band which is a Cree First Nations reservation
located in Manitoba’s Interlake Region.

3. Biography
– Known for his rather provocative interventions into Western
European and American art history, Kent Monkman is among the
most talented and successful artists of his generation.
– He voices his thoughts on a plethora of captivating topics such as
colonization, the complexities of historic and contemporary
Indigenous, Canada’s history and the way it has been recorded,
sexuality, loss and relisilience. Kent Monkman’s visually appealing
art depicts inverted narratives of Indigenous/European settler
interactions.
– Furthermore, Monkman explores the theme of homosexuality and
its potrayal. He views homosexuality as something that is
accepted, even valued in Native American culture, but which he
also believes was suppressed by discriminatory Judeo-Christian
beliefs.
– Moreover, Miss Cheaf Eagle Testickle, Monkman’s time-travelling,
shape-shifting, gender fluid alter ego, is often featured in his
artwork. He says that she is a figure who could live inside the
work and look at the Europeans. She reverses the gaze.
Monkman enjoys letting her rampage through art history.
Expelling the Vices, 2014

4. Biography
– Kent Monkman’s thoughts are conveyed
through paintings (often mural-sized),
performance, installation, film and video.
– His work has been exhibited throughout North
America, France and Tokyo.

5. The Scream
In my opinion, this is one of Kent Monkman’s most moving paintings.
“The Scream” (2017) was inspired by and named after Edvard Munch’s iconic and
renowned painting, “The Scream” (1893). Kent Monkman’s version is part of the
“Shame and Prejudice” exhibition marking Canada’s 150th birthday.
“The Scream”, by Edvard Munch

6. The Scream : historical context
– In 1876, the Canadian government enacted The Indian Act which was a policy of
aggressive assimilation towards Indigenous people. More than 150 000 First
Nation and Métis children were taken from their parents, removed from their
homes and put in residential schools to learn Christian values. The children who
attended these schools were poorly treated; they were beaten up, raped and
prohibited from speaking their native language.
– The Scream illustrates the moment these children were taken away by
Mounties as well as priests and nuns.

7. The Scream: Analysis
– In the center of the painting, an indigenous mother is being held back by two Mountie officers. The officers are restraining
her by her blue dress, dark hair and limbs as she desperately tries reaching for her child who is being taken away by a
priest. All around her, mothers are in despair, children are being taken, and three teenagers seem to be running away.
– Kent Monkman has chosen to not represent these indigenous figures in a stereotypical manner. The children and mothers
appear to be dressed in modern day clothing. According to me, this is a symbol of the ongoingness of the injustice that
modern day Native Americans must still face. Although residential schools have not persisted, the inequalities that Native
Americans must still go through surface in other ways and circumstances (for example, the incident of Joyce Echaquan).
– In addition, Kent Monkman has painted two crows. Crows may symbolize several different things but are often
associated with bad luck, death and bad omen. These two crows may symbolize the atrocity of what is
happening to these Indigenous families and the dark truth that lies behind the residential schools that await
the children.
– Needless to say, The Scream depicts the history of colonial violence and its horror. Monkman presents the
mothers’ and children’s anguish in a realistic and raw fashion. The trauma conveyed in the original Munch
painting is presented in a distorted way which characterized Munch’s expressionist art. Kent Monkman choses
to express his people’s emotional, traumatic experience with realistic art.
– The Scream showcases how Indigenous traditions were eradicated, as children who were put in residential
schools were assimilated. These children were no longer able to pass down traditions nor their native
languages, as they had been forgotten overtime.

8. The Scream: Analysis
– According to me, Kent Monkman’s painting does not explicitly represent what it is like
being an Indigenous person in a present day context, but is a prime example of
intergenerational trauma.
– Indeed, Kent Monkman is born in 1995 and therefore was not alive when Indigenous
children were placed in residential schools. Although Monkman has never had to go to
a residential school, his grandmother was placed in one in Brandon, Manitoba. The
trauma has certainly been passed down and carried across to the younger generations
so that the horror of it all may never be forgotten. Kent Monkman painted The
Scream to spread awareness of Canada’s dark history. “Once the work enters the
museums, it becomes part of the canon of art history,” he says. “That’s when it
becomes harder to ignore and turn away from”.
– Also, ever since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released 94 “Calls to Action”
in 2015 (a report on the legacy of assimilation and residential schools), Canada has
taken a closer look at how it treats its Indigenous population. Kent Monkman hopes
that his artwork can contribute to the reconciliatory work that is being done.

9. The Scream: Analysis
– Furthermore, Kent Monkman wishes to use his painting for
educational purposes. This dark era in history is barely, even
never, taught in schools. Kent Monkman himself says that he
knew little about this topic as it was never spoken of in
classrooms. This lack of information transmission has resulted
in several people not knowing much about this subject. Indeed,
Tommy Orange clearly mentions this problem in his novel
There, There. This theme is brought up when Rob tells Dene
Oxendene about Gertrude Stein’s quote “There is no there
there”. Rob throws this quote around without knowing the
entire depth of it, as he is not fully educated nor aware of the
awful indigenous past.

10. “The tragedy of it all will be unspeakable, the fact we’ve
been fighting for decades to be recognized as a present-
tense people, modern and relevant, alive only to die in the
grass wearing feathers.” -Tommy Orange
Kent Monkman’s painting, The Scream, has spread awareness.
We must now continue to speak up, raise awareness and
educate. The modern day indigenous population is NOT alive
only to die in the grass wearing feathers.

11. Sources
– Bingham, R. (2019). Kent Monkman. B. Graves (dir.), The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica
Canada. https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/index.php/en/article/kent-monkman
– D.L. (2018). A lesson in Canadian history, courtesy of Kent Monkman. The Economist.
https://www.economist.com/prospero/2018/12/06/a-lesson-in-canadian-history-courtesy-of-
kent-monkman
– McGillis, I. (2019). Kent Monkman’s irreverent art turns the Canadian narrative on its head.
Montreal Gazette. https://montrealgazette.com/entertainment/local-arts/kent-monkmans-
irreverent-art-turns-the-canadian-narrative-on-its-head/wcm/2a8a5ce8-c5bb-43ec-a702-
10281f5c5368/amp/
– Monkman, K. (2020). Kent Monkman. KentMonkman.com. https://www.kentmonkman.com

12. Images
– https://nowtoronto.com/culture/art-and-design/kent-monkman-solo-show-to-open-in-toronto-in-
august
– https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/visualarts/2015/02/20/kent-monkman-revisionist-history-
spiked-heels-and-all.html?rf
– http://www.mcgilltribune.com/a-e/kent-monkman-02192019/
– https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/19/arts/design/kent-monkman-metropolitan-museum.html
– https://www.mcgill.ca/dise/research/facultyresearchprojects/zhigwe-monkman-scream
– https://www.overstockart.com/painting/the-scream
– https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/residential-school-interactive-map-beyond-94-1.4693413
– https://www.ipswichcatholic.com/raising-awareness-of-our-values/
– https://www.saoshawa.ca/lets-talk-together-as-family/