Inuit art

Inuit art refers to artwork produced by Inuit, that is, the people of the Arctic sometimes known as Eskimos. Historically their preferred medium was ivory, but since 1945 prints and figurative soapstone carvings have also become popular.

The Pre-Dorset and Dorset cultures

Around 4000 BCE nomads known as the Pre-Dorset or the Arctic small tool tradition (ASTT) crossed over the Bering Strait from Siberia into Alaska, the Canadian Arctic, Greenland, and Newfoundland. Very little remains of them, and only a few preserved artifacts carved in ivory could be considered works of art. The Dorset culture, which became culturally distinct around 600 BCE, produced a significant amount of figurative art in the mediums of ivory, bone, antler, and on rare occasion stone. Subjects included birds, bears, walruses, seals, and human figures, as well as remarkably small masks. The Dorsets depicted bears and other animals in ivory with lines indicating their skeletal system incised on the surface of the ivory; bears in such a style are known as "flying bears" [Hessel & Hessel 1998: 12–13] . These items had a magical or religious significance, and were either worn as amulets to ward off evil spirits, or used in shamanic rituals.

The Thule culture

Around 1000 CE, the people of the Thule culture, ancestors of today's Inuit, migrated from northern Alaska and either displaced or slaughtered the earlier Dorset inhabitants. Thule art had a definite Alaskan influence, and included utilitarian objects such as combs, buttons, needle cases, cooking pots, ornate spears and harpoons. The graphic decorations incised on them were purely ornamental, bearing no religious significance, but to make the objects used in everyday life appealing.

All of the Inuit utensils, tools and weapons were made by hand from natural materials: stone, bone, ivory, antler, and animal hides. Nomadic people could take very little else with them besides the tools of their daily living; non-utilitarian objects were also carved in miniature so that they could be carried around or worn, such as delicate earrings, dance masks, amulets, fetish figures, and intricate combs and figures which were used to tell legends and objectify their mythology and oral history.

Historic period

In the 16th century the Inuit began to barter with European whalers, missionaries and other visitors to the North for tea, weapons or alcohol. Items previously produced as decorative tools or shamanic amulets, such as carvings of animals and hunting or camping scenes, became trade commodities. Inuit artists also began producing ivory miniatures specifically as trade goods, to decorate European rifles, tools, boats, and musical instruments. Cribbage boards and carved walrus and narwhal tusks were intended for the whalers. Missionaries encouraged the use of Christian imagery, which was accepted to a limited extent.

ince 1945

As the Inuit settled into communities in the late 1940s, their carvings became larger, and the requests to produce them as artwork increased. The Government of Canada recognized the potential economic benefit of commercial art to the isolated Arctic communities, and encouraged the development and promotion of Inuit sculpture. This encouragement was initially heavy-handed, as is most clearly shown by the pamphlet "Eskimo Handicrafts", circulated among Inuit communities in the early 1950s. Intended to provide inspiration to Inuit sculptors, this pamphlet depicted artifacts in the collection of the Canadian Museum of Civilization; many of the objects pictured, such as totem poles, were not germane to Inuit culture.

James Houston, the author of "Eskimo Handicrafts", was later sent to Baffin Island to collect specimens of Inuit sculpture. During his stay there, he introduced printmaking to the artists' repertoire. Figures of animals and hunters, family scenes, and mythological imagery became popular. By the 1960s, co-operatives were set up in most Inuit communities, and the Inuit art market began to flourish. Since the early 1950s, when Inuit art had a "primitive" or naïve look, some Inuit artists have adopted a polished style rooted in naturalism. Other artists, such as John Pangnark, have developed a style that is highly abstract. Both styles are generally used to depict traditonal beliefs or animals.

Inuit continue to carve pieces entirely by hand. Power tools are occasionally used, but most artists prefer to use an axe and file, as this gives them more control over the stone. The final stage of carving is the polishing, which is done with several grades of waterproof sandpaper, and hours and hours of rubbing. The most common material is now steatite, or soapstone, either deposits from the Arctic, which range from black to light green in color, or orange-red imports from Brazil.

The Winnipeg Art Gallery in Winnipeg, Manitoba claims to have the largest collection of contemporary Inuit art in the world, as does the Museum of Inuit Art in Toronto, Ontario.

Notable Inuit artists

*Kenojuak Ashevak
*Ohito Ashoona
*Pitseolak Ashoona
*Tanya Tagaq Gillis
*Osuitok Ipeelee
*Helen Kalvak
*Simeonie Keenainak
*Floyd Kuptana
*Jessie Oonark
*John Pangnark
*David Ruben Piqtoukun
*Peter Pitseolak
*Annie Pootoogook
*Pudlo Pudlat
*Andrew Qappik
*Irene Avaalaaqiaq Tiktaalaaq
*Simon Tookoome

ee also

* Masks among Eskimo peoples
* Shamanism among Eskimo peoples

External links

* [http://www.freespiritgallery.ca/inuitartgalleries.htm Inuit art galleries] A list of galleries with permanent collections
* [http://www.wag.mb.ca/htmlfiles/COLLECTION/inuit.asp Winnipeg Art Gallery Inuit Art Collection]
* [http://www.civilisations.ca/tresors/art_inuit/inarte.html The Canadian Museum of Civilization - Historic Inuit Art]
** [http://www.civilization.ca/archeo/paleoesq/peexheng.html Gallery of Dorset culture art from the Canadian Museum of Civilization]
* [http://www.miagallery.ca Museum of Inuit Art] Gallery in Toronto
* [http://www.inuitartsociety.com Inuit Art Society] A club for collectors and enthusiasts
*
* [http://www.eskimoart.com/faq.html Eskimo Art Gallery] Shop in Toronto with informative website

ources

References

*cite book |title=Canadian Inuit Sculpture |publisher=Indian Affairs and Northern Development |location=Canada publication |isbn=0-662-59936-5 |url=http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/art/inuit/cis2002_e.html
*cite book |last=Hessel |first=Ingo |coauthors=Hessel, Dieter |others=foreword by George Swinton |title=Inuit Art. An introduction |publisher=British Museum Press |location=London |year=1998 |isbn=0-7141-2545-8
*cite video |title=Inuit Art History |publisher=Zone Art Inuit Inc |url=http://www.inuitartzone.com/en/about/about_ia_history.html
*cite book |title=Inuit Art: A History |isbn=0786407115 |author=Richard C. Crandall