Artist Spotlight: Monica Gilles-BringsYellow

As an emerging Indigenous woman artist, Montana-based Monica Gilles-BringsYellow shares more about her evolving practice, the importance of storytelling in her work, and her process in her largest commission to date for Montage Big Sky in a conversation with Art & Curatorial Coordinator Mariana Rivera.

Mariana Rivera:

It'd be really interesting if you could share how your work is influenced by your heritage and personal background. And what are those important dialogs or considerations that you want to offer to the viewers?

Monica Gilles-BringsYellow:

I'm from Montana, I’m born and raised here, and I'm also an Indigenous woman. Montana is big, and so you end up all over Montana and you measure distance in time and not in miles. So to visit family, we're going to different places to see different people, and we're being told stories as we're growing up in my family about the connection between people in place and really powerful stories that are passed down. Stories that we're considered important.

Very quickly, as I was growing up, I started to get the sense that the things that I was being told as being important weren't necessarily being told to anybody else, and they weren't really acknowledged in broader society. I remember, especially when I was younger in like middle school and elementary school, just really having that kind of juxtaposition between, “Oh, I know everything about everything. I know a lot about Mountain Chief, and I'm sitting in class and none of you guys know even what tribe he's from.”

Comes Running, Blackfoot/Sarcee or Siksika woman

So in my art, I found a way to kind of incorporate portraiture of Indigenous people, specifically Indigenous women – usually Indigenous women – and I get to pick and choose what stories I want to tell and how I want to tell them. Because I really like being able to share that history in that background and use my paintings as a conversation starter to give information and bring back to the forefront these important people and their history and their lives. And also give them names, you know, and share what I know.

That's really exciting, I really like doing that. I'll go in and I'll see like old pictures and usually they have the catalog system where it's like BA195 or something like that in like libraries. And then I will look at them and try and cross-reference and then I'm like, “Oh no, that's Sam Resurrection. That's my husband's great, great uncle. And this is the greatest photo ever!”

Agnes, Flathead Reservation

Dusty Dress, Kalispel / Pend d’Oreille woman

Mariana:

Wow, that's amazing. Do you find that happening a lot where you kind of make those connections that aren't publicly out there, but that from your knowledge of history and heritage, you are aware of that more than what is publicly out there?

Monica:

I think so. I usually look in tribes that are in Montana when I look into archives to try and find the reference photos. I'm looking specifically because I'm trying to find how people fit now. And I also have lots of relatives that are able to identify who the people are. And then I also have lots of friends from different tribes that are also able to say, “Oh, that's my great great aunt, that's Shorty Whitegrass” or something like that. That's my favorite thing when I figure out who the people are. And if I'm related to them, it's like bonus points.

Mariana:

Yeah, that's like a detective and an artist at the same time.

Monica:

It’s like a little puzzle that only I know how to solve.

Mariana:

You kind of place these figures in a sort of floating abstract background where you do have some references to nature with the mountainscapes, and the way that you use markers and rest and mingle things. You're very good at using this mixed media and this specific incorporation of these materials like resin and gold flakes. Is there a particular reason why you're drawn to these mediums or what do you feel like they bring on to the viewer?

Monica:

They're adding more layers to the puzzle and the process. I really like incorporating gold. It’s kind of a throwback to when people would make paintings in like the Byzantine era and they would have, you know, the gold halos. And I just I've always liked that level of opulence. I don't normally do subtle very well. I just liked the way that resin and gold automatically pop. And they're very vibrant, vibrant even when they're the background.

Mariana:

That's really interesting that you mentioned the connection between your use of gold flakes and how gold has been used throughout art history. It's interesting that you're incorporating gold that was more commonly used in art history for religious figures or very prominent figures in Renaissance art. You're kind of reclaiming that and using it to highlight other types of figures, other types of dialogs. So it's like it's a connection that's not purposely made, but that is kind of reclaiming material for a different type of purpose.

Monica:

It's kind of my way of saying like these things are also sacred when they normally don't get that type of respect.

Monica in front of her piece featuring Frances Dunmore recording Mountain Chief, Blackfeet

Mariana:

It must be so moving and just special to see yourself represented in art. I know there are a lot of contemporary emerging artists that are really reflecting on their identity and their heritage from many ways: Indigenous, Latin, Asian. Really, I think we're in a moment of self-reflection and that's really captured in art and it's a really proud moment when you see an artwork that not only speaks to your culture but, in your instance, literally to your family, how much more personal can that get?

Monica:

Yeah. I think it's really important to see representation. A lot of times, like we were [saying] earlier, certain people are just left out of the history and it's like, well, obviously they're there, but they're not highlighted as being important. For me, that's an opportunity to give them the respect they deserve. That's kind of my intention of saying, “We're also important here.”

Mariana:

We were really interested in your work because you’re local and your work really helps to tell a very special, unique and important story of what is local to the space and the project. So you created a stunning work of an abstracted view of Spanish Peaks. Can you share a little bit about your experience and your process?

Monica’s untitled commission now featured in the lobby of Montage Big Sky in Big Sky, Montana

Monica:

So this commission I'm really proud of because it's actually the biggest painting that I've made to date. I learned a lot in the process of going a lot bigger because most of my paintings are about the size of like, you know, you could fit them in your lap. So to then take an image and to make it more like life-like was something that required a lot of planning and a lot of logistical processes that I haven't had to deal with before, just because it is so large and because I use different materials. It wasn't like I could just go out and buy a canvas and then get it stretched. I had to make sure that I had a wood panel and have it built so that it could support the resin. And then I had to buy all the Yupo paper, I think, in the United States, and then put inks over the top. So that was actually pretty exciting, and I learned a lot from just doing those things.

With my focus, like I said earlier, I don't really do subtle very well. I really like shapes and colors that are bold and that are very vibrant. And so I was looking at the Spanish Peaks and I was really just trying to investigate what mountain and what landscapes I was drawn to more. And so I liked Lone Mountain and I just liked the idea that it is kind of like separate over here. I really honed in on that mountain being the most striking, and then started to study what features make this Lone Mountain [specifically] and then trying to put that together. Usually, when I do landscapes, they are very abstract. They don't usually involve things like, you know, trees, houses, or even wildflowers for the most part. I might throw one in there just to see. Really it's just the mountain standing alone as itself and honoring that profile.

Mariana:

I really hope that you keep going back to tell these stories and keep growing your work and experimenting with new materials or different sizes or objects or different compositions. I'm really excited that we got to commission your work at this beginning phase of your career where you're discovering yourself as an artist. And our clients are very lucky to have a work by you at this stage also. We're excited to see how your career develops, and we will definitely be applauding you from the stands as you keep going and observing where your journey takes you.

This transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.

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