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Inuit Art
Below is information about Inuit Art and our
people, the Inuit. I've added this information to help give a better idea to Inuit Art collectors and Inuit Art
enthusiasts who would like to learn more about the history of Inuit art. It has become an international
fine art and a major contemporary art discipline and learning about how it came to be that way, who started and brought
it to the highest level, and how it enables our people to earn a living and provide for our families. Including myself,
there are many Inuit living up north and in the south who's primary & sole income is through our peoples
art. There are so many more people now, and growing fast, who are getting "The Bug" to begin
purchasing and collecting Inuit Art. It can be difficult to get information on Inuit Art. Even
full time Inuit artists like myself don't have all the answers. So, I have created this link so that when
you purchase your work, either from me in my gallery here or from other Inuit Art Galleries, you will have a much better
understanding, a greater knowledge, and an appreciation for either full time artists like myself, or part time/spare time
artists, and how we come to create (our inspirations), work to pass our history and culture on, and how we work to provide
for our families. The materials are gathered from Indian & Northern (Inuit) Affairs Canada (www.ainc-inac.gc.ca) who have some of the most thorough, accurate, well researched & documented, information on Inuit Art. If
you have any questions for me, please don't hesitate to contact me to ask or even to provide any feedback. Nakurmiik/Thank You/Merci for taking interest in my work and my peoples
work!
Prehistoric Arctic Art
Canada's Arctic has been inhabited by humans for at least 4,000
years. The first people currently known to have produced a significant amount of figurative art belonged to the Dorset culture
(1600 years ago). The objects they carved from bone, ivory and wood included birds, bears and other land and sea animals,
human figures, masks and maskettes, and face clusters. It is believed that these works had a definite magic or religious intent,
and that they were worn as amulets or used in shamanic rituals.
The people of the Thule culture
(ancestors of today's Inuit) migrated from northern Alaska around 1,000 years ago and drove or wiped out the earlier Dorset
inhabitants. Thule art was based on Alaskan prototypes; it included some human and animal figures, but consisted primarily
of the graphic embellishment of utilitarian objects such as combs, needle cases, harpoon toggles and gaming pieces. The decorative
or figurative incised markings on these objects do not seem to have had any religious significance. Inuit Sculpture in Recent Times
A colder climate disrupted the Thule culture in the 16th century, about the
same time as contact with the European peoples began. Inuit began to barter with whalers, missionaries and other foreigners.
Carvings of animals, as well as replicas of tools and western-style objects, most often fashioned from ivory, became common
trade goods. The first few centuries of European contact are usually referred to as the Historic Period.
The contemporary period of Inuit art began in the late 1940s. When the federal
government recognized the potential economic benefit to the Inuit, it actively encouraged the development and promotion of
Inuit sculpture. Early development of Inuit art was greatly assisted by the Hudson's Bay Company and the Canadian Handicrafts
Guild. Inuit-owned cooperatives were established in the 1950s and 60s in most Arctic communities, as well as art marketing
agencies in southern Canada. As well as providing much needed income in isolated Arctic villages, Inuit sculpture has achieved
an international reputation as a major contemporary art form.
Imagery and Styles
At first glance, Inuit sculpture may seem to be a relatively homogeneous
art form but, in fact, its subject matter and styles are richly varied. The Inuit population (about 56,000 in 2002) is widely
distributed across Canada's north, so that each of the 30 or so art-producing communities has developed its regional styles
with their favourite subjects and distinctive sculptural styles.
The themes of Arctic wildlife, and traditional
Inuit hunting and family scenes are still popular but spirit figures, and mythological and shamanic images also abound. Styles
range from naturalism or decorative stylization to minimal abstraction, and from brutal expressionism to whimsical surrealism.
The personal styles of individual artists are readily identifiable by avid collectors and patrons of Inuit art. Regional Styles
With the exception of Baker Lake, the major Inuit sculpture producing settlements, mostly
ranging in population from a few hundred to 1,000 people, dot the Canadian Arctic coastline. While each community has its
own style, certain regional characteristics are apparent.
The sculpture of Arctic Québec (Nouveau Québec
/ Nunavik) tends to be naturalistic, and is often narrative in nature. Animals and realistic hunting scenes, as well as legends
and stories, are favoured subjects. The predominantly grey stones are generally blackened and polished, then incised.
Artists from southern Baffin Island work in a variety of stone
types. These sculptors seem to view the stone as a challenge, working against it and fashioning intricate, delicate and dramatic
pieces with flair. Elegant or humorous animals are popular subjects.
The sculpture of the Central Arctic varies
from a kind of expressive realism to surrealism, with a focus on spiritual or shamanic themes. Facial features are often exaggerated
with intricate inlaid details. Stone and whalebone are popular mediums for Central Arctic carvers.
The Keewatin
stones are grey to black in colour and hard. Artists use this stone as an expressive element in their work. Details are few,
and many works are not highly polished. Human subjects, especially family scenes, predominate. Naturalistic animal and hunting themes typify the art from the northern Baffin
Island, the Western Arctic and the Labrador regions. Methods and Materials
Stone has replaced ivory as the most popular carving material in contemporary
Inuit art. This has led not only to a greater variety of colours and forms, but also to the larger size of many modern Inuit
sculptures. Ancient weathered whalebone is another popular carving material, but international restrictions on its use and
that of ivory have resulted in a decline in their use. Caribou antler and musk-ox horn are also carved when available. Many
works combine two or more of these materials; for example, antler or ivory is often used as inlay in stone sculptures.
Although the generic term "soapstone" is
commonly used, this is a bit misleading. Soapstone, a soft talc steatite, is not used nearly as much as the harder serpentine,
serpentinite, siltstone, argillite, dolomite, quartz and other types. Stone is the most versatile carving material because
it can be worked to almost any size and shape. Its colours range from rather dull grey to luscious, almost semi-precious greens,
whites, blue-greens, and blacks. Ivory, whalebone, antler and horn are more restrictive, but Inuit sculptors have nevertheless
managed to take advantage of their naturally occurring shapes to produce a seemingly endless variety of forms and subjects.
Materials are often in short supply, and artists must
travel great distances overland or by boat to quarry quantities of good quality stone. Once the materials are obtained, carving
proceeds in a fairly straightforward manner. The necessary skills, perfected in the fashioning of traditional implements,
have been passed down through generations of Inuit. Most sculptures are still produced with hand tools, although a growing
number of artists use small power tools as well. Saws, axes and adzes, hammers and chisels are used for the initial roughing
out stages of a carving. Files, rasps and, finally, steel wool and sandpaper are utilized for fine work and finishing. Penknives
or nails may be used for detailed incising.
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