Jim Denomie, beloved Ojibwe artist who used humor to confront serious issues, dies at 66

A year ago artist Jim Denomie stood at 38th Street and Chicago Avenue, gazing up at "Toppled Monuments," his painting-turned-billboard that loomed over the south Minneapolis corner where George Floyd's life was cut short.

Denomie had paired a reimagined scene from "The Wizard of Oz" with text that read: "All Mothers Were Summoned When George Floyd Called Out for His Momma."

The surreal landscape included a Native man in a feathered headdress, sitting in a lawn chair, drink in hand, in front of a Statue of Liberty that had collapsed onto her back. "This wolf chasing the two rabbits in the background, that's police brutality," he told a reporter.

https://www.startribune.com/jim-denomie-beloved-ojibwe-artist-who-used-humor-to-confront-serious-issues-dies-at-66/600151739/