The Selfish Pursuit of Artistic Truth

🎨Selfishness often gets a bad rap. It’s branded as greedy, thoughtless, a trait best left on the villain’s shelf. But peel away the stigma, and you’ll find that in art, selfishness can be revolutionary—especially when it’s paired with vision, vulnerability, and integrity. Take the Group of Seven: A.Y. Jackson and Lawren Harris didn’t have their fame handed to them, even though Harris had wealth from the Massey-Harris fortune. They worked hard, committed deeply, and “selfishly” pursued an unshakable idea—that Canadian landscapes deserved their own voice in art. 

🎨By rejecting European traditions, they carved out space for a uniquely Canadian aesthetic. Their boundaries weren’t barriers—they were a declaration: We paint what we believe. Contrast that with the Indian Group of Seven (Professional Native Indian Artists Inc.). These artists—Norval Morrisseau, Daphne Odjig, Alex Janvier, and others—had no silver platter, no institutional warmth. What they had was fierce resolve. Their “selfishness” wasn’t about ego—it was survival. They refused to be typecast as cultural artifacts and instead demanded recognition as contemporary creators. They built their own galleries, funded their own shows, and shaped a legacy that fought erasure with artistic defiance. 

🎨And then there’s Jack Bush. Trapped in the commercial art world for decades, he suffered anxiety and depression. He longed for a life of emotional honesty—one where color, not corporate briefs, spoke for him. Inspired by the Group of Seven and later mentored by Clement Greenberg, Bush “selfishly” chose abstraction, ditching safety for soul. His art didn’t chase trends—it chased feeling. And in doing so, it soared internationally. 

🎨Mindful selfishness, the kind that: Defies conformity to pursue personal truth. Sets boundaries that guard mental, emotional, and cultural health. Turns pain into inspiration. Gives others permission to be unapologetically themselves. Yes, privilege played a role. Yes, systemic barriers shaped outcomes. But at the core, each story is a testament to how “selfish” choices—when made with integrity—can spark transformation in not just the artist, but the world they paint...


🍁US: Art Show & Tell, of a Point of Order, add a little ice cream, my just reward. A young woman, lingering with a tattooed crowd in downtown Edmonton near the library, complimented my artwork. After finishing my rapidly melting ice cream in the 24°C heat, I walked over to her gang to show the backside, titled Disorder. Suddenly, a young man lunged at me. "Get the f*** away from here!" he snapped. Before I could react, the group's matriarch—Mama Tattoo—spoke up. "I like your painting," she said, her voice steady. The young man’s demeanor shifted. He looked at the artwork again, his expression softening. "That's an amazing piece of art," he admitted...
2025, HOMME MADE -DUNDEE LAW

🍁US. XLife: 🎨 Virgil Abloh: Selfishness as Permission Virgil’s mantra—“Life is so short you can’t waste even a day subscribing to what someone thinks you can do versus knowing what you can do”—is the distilled essence of mindful selfishness. His career was a refusal to be boxed in: architect, DJ, fashion designer, furniture maker, cultural theorist. Each pivot was “selfish” in the best sense—he pursued what felt true, not what was expected. Like Canada’s Group of Seven, Indian Seven Inc., and Jack Bush, he rejected inherited traditions while freely subscribing to others as sources of study and remix. Abloh broke from rigid definitions of “high fashion.” He blurred streetwear and couture, insisting that sneakers and hoodies could sit alongside tailored suits on the runway. His selfishness wasn’t greed—it was a boundary-breaking declaration: We wear what we believe.
Virgil Abloh was an architect of urgency. Trained in engineering and architecture, he carried those disciplines into fashion, reshaping streetwear into high art. As founder of Off-White and later artistic director of Louis Vuitton menswear, he broke barriers as the first African-American to hold such a role in a French luxury house. His mantra—don’t waste a day—was not just advice but a way of living, a reminder that every gesture, every stitch, every act of creation could be a witness to the times. Abloh’s vision inspires me to treat fashion as activism, to give away LISTEN Label shirts and caps as offerings of belief, not commodities.
Left Stage, Exit Right, 
Free from Artifice
🍁US, Painter’s Notes – November 27, 2025 This cartoon, created in 2018 and later inscribed with my website address, became a wearable editorial statement during my time in the Alberta Legislature public gallery. In 2019, that shirt was banned from all buildings on the legislature grounds, a restriction imposed by the Sergeant-at-Arms. The ban held until 2021, when the same official lifted it with a handshake and a promise: I could wear it again, so long as it remained covered while seated in the public gallery. Today, I returned to the assembly wearing that same cartoon—concealed beneath an Oil Kings jersey—as a ceremonial nod to the historic agreement signed between Premier Danielle Smith and Prime Minister Mark Carney. The moment felt like a full-circle witness: a cartoon born of division now worn in quiet celebration of a deal that promises national unity through energy cooperation. Signed in Calgary, the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) commits Alberta and Ottawa to jointly pursue a new, privately-financed oil pipeline to the West Coast. The proposed pipeline would carry one million barrels per day of low-emission Alberta bitumen to Asian markets, bypassing U.S. export routes and expanding Canada’s global energy reach. This agreement marks a rare alignment between provincial and federal leadership, bridging years of tension over energy policy, environmental regulation, and regional autonomy. It includes provisions for:

Indigenous co-ownership, supported by federal and provincial loan guarantees.

Carbon pricing reform, with Alberta agreeing to raise its industrial carbon levy to $130/tonne by April 2026.

Strategic port access, with potential amendments to the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act to enable bitumen exports from British Columbia.

Joint investment in carbon capture infrastructure, including the Pathways Plus initiative.

Commitments to net-zero by 2050, with methane reductions of 75% below 2014 levels by 2035.

Premier Smith called it “a new starting point for nation building.” Prime Minister Carney described it as “a pragmatic path to global energy leadership.” While opposition remains—particularly from B.C. Premier David Eby and coastal First Nations—the agreement signals a shift toward cooperative federalism in Canada’s energy future.
The title of Virgil Abloh’s artwork on the top floor of the MCA Chicago’s Figures of Speech 2019, exhibition was “Church & State.” This piece served as a conceptual anchor for the show’s final gallery, where Abloh explored the tension between commercial branding and political messaging.
"I don’t believe in boundaries"
Virgil Abloh
Birds of a Feather Art Project
Faith - Democracy - Nature
“Pick your mentors and understand what makes their work tick.” Virgil Abloh. Photo, MCA, Figures of Speech, Chicago Exporing, July 2019.
Faith - Democracy - Nature
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