The Daddies 2016

Kent Monkman made this incredible history painting, The Daddies, where he re-imagines Canada’s Fathers of Confederation. It’s an oil painting, so already we know that Monkman’s working within a loaded tradition, thinking about how pictures get made, and what they mean. Look how he's handled the paint, especially in the red curtain, and the red carpet - there’s a juicy thickness, a real sense of the materiality of the medium. The daddies themselves seem stiff and a bit trapped in their dark suits, compared to the lusciousness of the reds. Then your eye travels to the figure of Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, who is the artist's alter ego, who lounges in the foreground. She throws the whole scene off, makes you rethink everything. Monkman is like a contemporary version of Goya, or maybe Manet. The way he’s using painting to question power, to upset the status quo, is part of a long, ongoing conversation in art. It reminds us that art isn't about answers, it’s about asking complex questions.