207 Queen's Quay West, Toronto, Canada M5J 1A7
Tel & Fax: 416.603.7591
da vi d@HarrislnuitGallery.com
www.HarrislnuitGaUery.com
www.HarrislnuitGallery.com
CANADA'S FIRST LIVE CAMERA INUIT ART WEBSITE
INUIT
ART
QUARTERLY
04 1
At the
Galleries
Winter 2006 Vol. 21 , No.4
EDITOR: Marybelle Mitchel l
ASSISTANT
EDITOR: Mi riam Dewar
INUKTITUT
TRANSLATION: Mishak Allurut
ADVERTISING SALES: Anna Burnstei n
CIRCULATION: Tania Budge ll
DESIGN AND
TYPOGRAPHY: Acart Communications Inc.
PRINTING: St. Joseph Print Group
PUBLISHER: Inui t Art Foundation
EDITORIAL
ADVISORY
COMMITTEE
2005- 2006:
Mattiusi lyaituk
Shi rley Moorhouse
Melanie Scott
Norman Vorano
Ways of Thinking About Inuit Art:
Sharing Power / Marybelle Mitchell
DIRECTORS, Gayle Gwben
INUIT ART Mattiusi Iyaituk
FOUNDATION: Paul Malliki
Shirley Moorhouse
Mathew Nuqingaq
Nuna Parr
Okpi k Pitseolak
John Terriak
All rights reserved. Rcproduction without written
pcrmission of the publisher is strictly forbidden.
Not responsible for unsulicited materiaL The
vicws expressed in Inuit Art Quarterl)' are not
necessarily those of the editor or the board uf
directors. Feature articles 3re refereed. IAQ is a
mcmber of Magazincs Canada. We acknowledge
the financial suPPOrt of the Government of
Canada, through the Publicat ions Assistance
Program (PAP) towards our mailing costs, and
through a grant from the Department of Indian
and Northcrn Affairs Canada. PAP number
8986. Publications mail agrecmcnt number
5049814. Publication d;Jtc of this issue:
Novembcr 2006. ISSN 0831-6708.
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Ch:lrirable registration number: 121033724 RROCOI
2
I
VOL . 21,
N O. 4
WINTER
08 I EDITORIAL ESSAY
2006
The pmitioning of Inuit and their art in public
galleries has gone through dramatic changes in
the last two decades, but there is still much
to accomplish.
18 I FEATURE
Silver and
Stone: The Art
of Michael
Massie / Gloria
Hickey
Michael Massie's
first curated solo
exhibition at The
Rooms Provincial
Art Gallery in
St. John's,
Newfoundland.
This article recaps
10 years of hIS
career from 1996
to 2006, with
a foc us on the
transformative
nature of his art.
34 I FEATURE UPDATE
36 I UPDATE/BRIEFLY NOTED
Great Northern Arts Festival seeking new
direction . Canadian government suspends
artist infonnation fn-ogram ..
39 I IN MEMORIAM
Aoudla Pudlat (195 1- 2006)
42 I LETTERS
47 I ADVERTISER INDEX /MAP
1nuil Arl Quarlerly is a publicotion of the Inuit Art Foundonon, anon-profit organization governed by aboard of Inuil artist. The foundolion's mission is 10 assist
Inuil in the developmenl of their professional skills and Ihe morkenng of their orl
and 10 promole Inuil orl Ihrough exhibif5, publicolions and films. The foundolion
is funded by conlribunons from Ihe Deporlmenl of Indian and Northern Affairs
Canada and olher public and privole agencies, as well as privole dononons by
individuals. Wherever possible, iloperoles on acost recovery basis.
Cover Image:
enigmas of a teapot, 2002, Michael Mossie, Kippens (etched sterling
silver, olive wood, horse hoir, muskox horn, ebony, ivory, seal skin,
enamel and sinew; 19.68 x 24.13 x 14 .22; private collection), See
page 27 For Massie's explanation of this piece. Ltd Lr', - PA
L
\
a-I>{'''L ..
30 I REVIEWS
Annie Pootoogook at the Power
Plant Contemporary Art Gallery
I
Reviewed by Marshall Webb
Annie Pootoogook's groundbreaking
exhibition at the Power Plant
Contern/Jomry Art Gallery presents a
startlingly different image of the North.
INUIT
ART
QUARTERLY
I
3
A T
THE
GA
L
LER
E S
-.
Antler into Art, an exhibition of bone work at
The Winnipeg Art Gallery from December 22,
2006 to Aprit 22, 2007, shows the different
ways that artists use antier to create widely
varying subjects. Shown: Drumdance, 1971 ,
Luke Iksiktaaryuk, Baker Lake.
Nuvisavik: The Place Where We Weave, a travelling exhibition of tapestries organized by the Canadian Museum of Civilization in 2004,
at the McCord Museum from November 4, 2006 to March 25, 2007.
Shown: Inuit Ways, 1979, woven by Olassie Akulukjuak (from an image
by Eleesapee Ishulutaq), Pangnirtung.
Pub Ie
Go erles
•
•
Cerny Inuit Collection presents Shared Arctic, an exhibition of artwork from the circumpolar North from September 6 to
December 6, 2006 in the entrance hall of UBS offices in Paradeplatz, Zurich, Switzerland. Shown: Untitled [Inuk Fishing} and
Untitled [Inuk}, c. 1970, David Kavik, Sanikiluaq.
A
I
VOl . 21 ,
NO . 4
W I NTER
2006
Life Near Gjoa Haven, an exhibition of three Inuit fabric artists
(Jessie Kernek, Martha Koguik
and Bessie Nahalolik) organized
by the Alberta Society of
Artists with artworks borrowed
frorn the City of Calgary Civic Art
Collection, tours through rnultiple
schools, community libraries,
and art centres in southern
Alberta from September 2006
to June 2007. Shown: Winter,
1983, Martha Koguik.
& Commercial
Galleries
From November 19 to December 23, 2006,
Canadian Arctic Gallery in Basel , Switzerland
presents MastelWorks V featuring new sculptures
from artists such as Keogak Ashoona, Axangajuk
Shaa, Toonoo Sharky, Jutai Toonoo, Nuna Parr,
Adamie Ashevak, Luke Anowtalik, Robert and
Floyd Kuptana. Shown: Transformation, 2004 ,
Toonoo Sharky, Cape Dorset
Kipling Gallery in
Woodbridge, Ontario,
presents a solo exhibition of
work by Igloolik artist Bart
Hanna from November 8
to November 25, 2006.
Shown: Drummer, 2006.
Tapestries by Inuit Women: Artists from Baker Lake and Pangnirtung is at the
Canadian Guild of Crafts in Montreal from November 9 to December 30, 2006.
Shown: Snow Geese, 1995, woven by Kawtysie Kakee (from an image by
Andrew Qappik), Pangnirtung.
IN UIT
AR T
QUARTERLY
I
5
EXHIBITION DETAILS
Antler into Art, curaled by Darlene Wight, The
Winnipeg Art Gallery, 300 Memorial Boulevard,
Winnipeg, Manitoba. December 22, 2006 to
April 22, 2007. Telephone: (204) 786·6641.
The Brousseau Inuit Art Collection, curated
by Lyse Burgoyne-Brousseau and Raymond
Brousseau, Musee national des beaux-arts
du Quebec, Pare des Champs-de-Balaille,
1 avenue Wolfe-Montcalm, Quebec, Quebec.
Opens September 28, 2006. Telephone:
(416) 643·2150.
Kinngait: Highlights from the Collection, curated
by Karen Williamson, McMichael Canadian Art
Collection , Gallery 7, 10365 Islington Avenue ,
Kleinburg, Ontario. October 7, 2006 to
February 18, 2007. Telephone: 1·888·213·1121.
Saumik: James Houston's Legacy, curated by
Karen Williamson, McMichael Canadian Art
Collection, Gallery 9, 10365 Islington Avenue ,
Kleinburg, Ontario. February 10, 200710
January 27, 2008. Telephone: 1·888·213·1121.
Shared Arctic, organized by the Cerny Inuit
Collection. On display at UBS, Entrance Hall,
Paradeplatz 6, Zurich , Switzerland.
September 6 to December 6, 2006.
Telephone: +41313182820.
Eskimo and Inuit Carvings: Collecting Art from
the Arctic, at the Field Museum, Webber Gallery,
1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois.
July 1, 2006 to June 17, 2007. Telephone:
(866) 343·5303.
Archetypes in Stone, curaled by Maria von
Finckenslein, Canadian Museum of Civilization,
100 Laurier Street, Gatineau, Quebec. April 21 ,
2004 to December 31, 2006. Telephone:
(819) 776·8443.
Ufe Near Gjoa Haven, curated by Leslie Pinier,
organized by the Alberta Society of Artists
Touring various venues in Alberta: Millarville
Community Library in Millarville (October 11to
November 8, 2006); Stephie Wioma School in
Lake Sylvan (November 15 to December 13,
2006): Acme School in Acme (December 18,
2006 to January 24, 2007): Rocky Mountain
House in Rocky Mountain (January 29 to
February 26, 2007); and the Leighton Art
Centre in Calgary (March 5 to April 11, 2007).
Contact the Alberta Society of Artists for more
details. Telephone: (403) 2624669.
TRAVELLING EXHIBITIONS
Inuit Sculpture Now, curated by Christine
lalonde, organized by the National Gallery
of Canada. At the Surrey Art Gallery,
13750-88 Avenue, Surrey, British Columbia.
From November 18, 2006 to March 11 , 2007.
Telephone: (604) 501·5566.
6
I
VOL
21,
NO
.4
W I NTER
2006
In the Shadow of the Midnight Sun: Sami and
Inuit An (2000-2005) , curated by Jean Blodgett,
organized by the Art Gallery of Hamilton.
At The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery,
9 Bonaventure Avenue, St. John's,
Newfoundland. February 16 to April 20, 2007.
Telephone: (709) 757·8000.
ItuKiagatta! Inuit Sculpture from the Collection
of the TO Bank Financial Group, curated by
Christine Lalonde and Natalie Ribkoff, organized
by the National Gallery of Canada. On display
at the National Museum of the American Indian
(New York), The George Gustav Heye Center,
Alexander Hamilton, U.S. Custom House,
One Bowling Green, New York, New York.
November 11, 2006 to February 4, 2007.
Telephone: (212) 514·3700.
Our Land: Contemporary Art from the Arctic,
curated by John Grimes, organized by the
Peabody Essex Museum. On display at the
Institute of American Indian Arts Museum,
108 Cathedral Place , Santa Fe , New Mexico.
October 20, 2006 through February 4, 2007.
Telephone: (505) 424·2300.
Nuvisavik: The Place Where We Weave,
curated by Maria von Finckenstein, organized
by the Canadian Museum of Civilization.
On display at the McCord Museum,
690 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal,
Quebec. November 4,2006 to March 25, 2007.
Telephone: (514) 398·7100.
Arctic Spirit: Inuff Art from the Albrecht Collection
at the Heard Museum, curated by Ingo Hessel,
organized by the Heard Museum. On display at
the J Wayne Stark University Center Galleries,
Texas A&M University, College Station,
Texas , October 27, 2006 to January 7, 2007.
Telephone: (979) 845·8501 . At the Lowe Art
Museum, University of Miami, 1301 Stanford
Drive, Coral Gables, Florida from February 10
to April 1, 2007. Telephone: (305) 284·3535.
PERMANENT EXHIBITIONS
Ontario
Chedoke-McMaster Hospital (Hamilton)
Macdonald Stewart Art Centre (Guelph)
McMichael Canadian Art Collection
(Kleinburg)
National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa)
Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto)
Toronto-Dominion Gallery of Inuit Art
(Toronto)
Q uebec
Canadian Guild of Crafts (Montreal)
Canadian Museum of Civilization
(Gatineau)
McCord Museum of Canadian History
(Montreal)
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (Montreal)
Musee national des beaux-arts du Quebec
(Quebec)
Manitoba
Crafts Museum, Crafts Guild of Manitoba
(Winnipeg)
Eskimo Museum (Churchill)
Winnipeg Art Gallery (Winnipeg)
Nunavik
Pingualuil National Park Visitor's Centre
(KangiqsuJuaq)
Nu navut
Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum (tqaluit)
U nited States
Dennos Museum Center
(Traverse City, Michigan)
Alaska Museum of History and Art
(Anchorage, Alaska)
Correction :
In the article Metamorphosis: Eleven
Artists from Nunavik, Inuit Art Quarterly,
Vol. 21, No.3 [Fo il 2006) : pg . 34, 0
photo of Jobie Uqoituk from Inuk juak,
Nunavik, was incorrectly labelled
as Jackussie Ittukalluk . IAQ regrets the
error and apolog izes for any confus ion
this may have caused.
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E
D
TOR
A
E
l
S
SAY
I
n my fall 1988 editorial, I reported a comment from
a reader who said she valued IAQ, not only for the information it provided, but also as a framework for organizing
thought about the subject of Inuit art. Although we may
miss activity in some sectors, I do think that most of the
issues animating the field have at least been broached in
the magazine: marketing; artists' preoccupations; women's
art; subject matter; quality; support mechanisms; and the
representation of Inuit artists in public galleries. As a
socio logist with a particular interest in the latter top ic,
I offer below an overview of what h as been published in
IAQ about the positioning of Inuit and their art in the
public galleries.
Ways of Thinking about Inuit Art:
SIIARING POWER
BY MARYBEllE MITCHEll
The Historical Representation
of Inuit Art in Public Galleries
There was great excitement in
Ottawa this year over the Narval
Morrisseau solo ex hibition at the
National Gallery of Canada (NGC).
Whi le this honour was a long time
coming for First Nations artists, a
few Inui t had already received the
di st inction of being presented at
the NGe Pudlo Pudlat in 1990
(see Inuit Art World, Fall/Winter
1990/9 [,81) and Marion Tuu'luq in
2002 (see Spring/Summer 2003:34).
Nonetheless, it is rare for Inuit work
to he shown in solo exhibitions and
much has been written in IAQ over
th e years about th e ambiguous status
of Canada's indigen ous arts.
In an article reviewing 50 years of
Inu it art exhibitions (Wimer 1997 3 ),
Maria von Finckenstein wrote: "The
hi story of Inu it art exhibitions in
public institutions is quite unusual.
Rather than the scho larly focus on
individual artists that characte rizes
mainstream exhibitions, Inu it art
has been mainly grouped in thematic
ex hibitions emphasizi ng pre~co nta c t
life." Moreover, cate ring to a more
8
I
VOl . 21 ,
NO . 4
WINTER
2006
popular audience, it is often the case
that Inuit ex h ib itions 3fe not professio nally cllrated and tend to focus
on old masters to the exclusion of
emergi ng talent. A further problem
noted by von Finckenste in (ibid. , 4)
is that "because many public collec~
tions afe the result of donations, a
large number of exhibitions feature
collectors' rather than curators'
choices." These factors have, she
observed, "prevented acceptance of
In uit art by mainstream art critics."
Further complicating the picture,
Inuit ex hibitions tend to be "more
promotional than scholarly" (editorial,
Spring 1997 ,6), which has the dual
effect of reinforcing academic snubbing and making it difficult for Inuit
to be taken se riously as artists.
In the very first issue of Inuit Art
Quarterly (Spr ing 1986J) , we ra n
an article enci tled "Is it Esk imo? Is
it Art?" refe rring to a conference of
the same t itl e held at the University
of Vermon t's Fleming Muse um in
Burlington. The question of au thenticity wou ld seem to have been put
to rest by the surprise announce ment
of the conference that the National
Gallery of Canada would be collecting Inuit art, starting with recent
gifts from well-known collectors
M.E Feheley, Dororhy Srillwell and
Virgin ia Watt. This represented, said
Inuit art curator Marie Routledge
(who had been seconded to the
NGe from the Department of Ind ian
Affairs and Northern Development),
"the first additions of contemporary
Inuit art to the galle ry's collection
since a 1984 revision of its acquisitions policy." Furthermore, she said
that "with the new policy, the gallery
affirms its commitment to collect the
work of Canadian Inuit artists and
thereby recognizes the importance and
quality of their work within the fabric
of contemporary Canadian art." I
The NGe's grudge aga inst Inuit
art was no secret in the commun ity.
In 1977, director Hsio-Yen Shih
called it "bingo art," referring to
it as art with no feeling (Summer
19885).' It took concerted efforts
over many years to overcome this
prejudice. Those famil iar \vith the
doings of the now defunct Canadian
Eskimo Arts Council knew that this
was a mission of some of its more
avid members, especially longtime
president Virginia Watt who told
me that they were finally able "to
make the gallery an offer it couldn't
refuse"- the offer being, of course,
staff seconded from OlAND (Marie
Routledge) and sign ificant donations
of artwork.
The unequivocal language
of Routledge's 1986 Burlington
announcement appeared to be a
giant step forwards fo r Inuit art,
but the same old question as to
whether or not Inuit art is worthy
to be considered in the same breath
as "real" art continued to raise its
he<1d. The summer 1986 issue of
Inuit Art Quarterly carried a conversation ("Folk art? Fine art?") between
Terry Ryan and Sharon van Raalte,
Inuit art spec ialists, and Rudolf
Arnheim, a distinguished American
historian of western art. And,
although it was reported (Spring
1988:23) rhat the opening of Canada's
new nation<11 gal lery "marked the
first time that an exhib ition of contemporary Inuit art has been featured
as part of the Nat ional Gallery's
permanent collection," Dorothy Speak
wrote a critical article for IAQ
entitled "It's Inu it. Where do you
put itl" echoing the theme of the
1985 conference organized by the
Canadian Museums Assoc iation:
"It's Native: Where Do You Put It?"
(Summer 1988:4).
perusal of lAQ's "Calendar of Events"
from 1986 onwards. The McMichael
Canad ian Collection (under the tutelage of Jean Blodgett), The Winnipeg
An Gallery (Jean Blodgett, followed by Darlene W ight), rhe
Inuit exhibitions tend to be more promotional
than scholarly, which has the dual effect of
reinforcing academic snubbing and making it
difficult for Inuit to be taken seriously as artists
Predictably, compla ints were made
as to the second rate nature of the
space accorded Inuit art in the gallery's
new quarters, which opened in 1988.
At first, it was displayed in what
appeared to be a corridor, as described
by Speak (ibid., 4). The gallery's
explanation was that the last minute
incl usion of an Inuit art exhib ition
space could not be incorporated in to
the design process. Speak's conclusion
was that "the physical separation
of Inui t art in the new gallery can
only perpetuate the perception that
Inuit artists are different from other
Canadian artists ... and that their
art must be assessed within a special
ethnographic context" (ibid., 5) .
In February 1993, Inuit art was
moved to the lower level of the
gallery, to what had been set aside
as a storage area.
Apart from the connotations of
the space allocated to Inuit art in
Canada's national gallery (as many
point out, it is in the basement),
Inuit art continued to occupy a
peripheral role in Canadian art history, ignored not just by the NGC,
but also by the Royal Ontario Museum
(ROM) and the An Gallery of
Ontario (AGO). The ROM, for
instance, had begun "to accept Inuit
sculpture as donations" in the mid1950s and early-l960s, "but did not
purchase it" (Nelson Graburn, Fall
1986:5). By [he late 1980s, however,
Maria von Finckenstein noted that
"Inuit exhibitions were showing a
clear trend from early government
and commercial involvement to an
increasingly active interest among
public galleries" (Wimer 1997:7).
Her observation is supported by a
Canadian Museum of Civilization
(Odette Leroux, followed by von
Finckenstein), and the McDonald
Stewart Gallery at the University
of Guelph (Judith Nasby) were
active in the collecting of, exhibiting
of, and writing about Inuit art , and
in December 2005, the ROM opened
a permanent space devoted to the art
and culture of Canada's Aboriginal
peoples (Spring 2006:32). Aboriginal
advisors were engaged to help select
and label artifacts from the museum's
extens ive collection.
The Art Gallery of Ontario
(AGO) "came on board" in the
1980s (von Finckenstein, Winter
1997:7) and, in larrer years, has
accepted the donation of thousands
of works of art from the Klamer Family
and Esther and Sam Smick. Although
it now has "one of the finest private
collections of contemporary Inuit art
in the world" (Speak, Inuit An World
Fall/Winter 1990/9l:6l), the AGO
continues to have an ambivalent
attitude towards the art,
ev idenced
in the fact that, except for a brief
period in the early 1990s, it has
employed no curator of Inuit art and
organizes few exhibitions. The gallery
did, howeve r, make a decision in
2002 to display Aboriginal art with
European and Canadian art from the
same period. In that year also, the
NGC made a dec ision to display
Native wo rk chronologically, geo~
graphically and thema tically with
orher works (Summer 2002:5) .
Along with The Winnipeg Art
Gallery, which is in a league of its
own, the Canadian Museum of
Civilization (CMC) has been probably
the least ambivalent about the merits
of collecting Inuit art, especially
a"
INUIT
ART
QUARTERLY
I
9
during the watch of Bill Taylor.
Taylor was an emhusiastic su pponer
who nO[ only expanded the collection
but also created a curatorial position
to oversee it (first filled by Odette
Leroux, who WrlS succeeded by Maria
von Finckenstein, who, in turn, has
bee n repl aced by Norman Vorano
[fall 2005]) . The CMC started
co ll ecting sculpture in 1953 and purchases continued on an annual basis
the reafter until the mid-1990s. A
museum, as opposed to an an gallery,
the CMC did not have co concern
itself with western aesthet ic hierarchies, but could celebrdtc the cul turdl
heritage of Canada's First Peoples,
{)nistic or otherwise. In its new quarters, opened in 1989, 3,CXXJ square fee t
were dedicated to rotating displays
of Inuit work, a move celebrated by
Doroth y Speak in an IAQ article entitled "A Collection Without Parallel
Scesthe Light of Day" (Fall 1989,4).
Inuit Art Abroad
While most of the controversy simmers within Canad ian borders, Inuit
art has been met in recent years with
a varied but mostly den igrated recepr.ion overseas, as we discovered while
do ing research for our Inuit Arc World
issue: "Many European museums have
Eskimo holdings," we concluded, "but
they me treated as eth nographic
mate rial and the contemporary art
form is overlooked." Indeed, th e
editor of a German art magazine
"flatly to ld o ur researcher that he
would nOt consider cove ring Inuit
art as a contem po rary art form"
(Fall/Winter 1990/9 \' 9).
Interesti ngly, however, Norman
Vorano makes the point that it was a
1953 exhibition at Gi mpel Fils Gallery
in London, England that "marked the
moment the international art world
awakened to the aesthet ic poss ibilities
of Inuit ert" (Fall/Winter 2004,10).
Apart from The Winnipeg Art Gallery,
which is in a league of its own, the Canadian
Museum of Civilization has been the least
ambivalent about the merits of collecting
Inuit art, especially during the watch of Bill
Taylor, an enthusiastic supporter who not only
expanded the collection but also created
a curatorial position to oversee it
Unfortunately, the slash ing of
museum budgets across th e country
means that Inuit art is no longer
front and centre at Canada's national
muse um. The large space used exclusively for ex hi bitions of Inuit and
First Nat ions arts has, wi thin the
last five years, been usurped for other
purposes and the permanent displays
of Inuit art arc now contained in
glass cases in a lower corridor and in
a few display cases in the history hall.
Some Inui t work has, of course, been
included in the First Peoples Hall,
which opened in January of 2003,
and the museum does contin ue to
Illount important tempora ry exh ibitions, such as Nuvisavik: The Place
Where We Weave (2002-03) , es well
as play host co travelling exhibitions.
10
I
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NO . 4
WINTER
Vorano refers to Virginia Watt's
statemen t (!989A2-3) that it was
because of the "extraordinary cri tical
acclaim" it received on this occasion
that th e Canadia n Govern ment
undertook a vigorous campaign to
promote Inuit art abroad (Fall!
Winter 2004,10).
Iron ica ll y, wh ile the G impel Fils
exhi bition "put Inuit art on the map
of world arts . .. thar map has since
changed and continues [0 do so."
T he dem ise of "primitive-modem ism"
as the dominant critical strategy in
the art world has giv en many promotional endeavours for Inui t art
an an tiquated look. In terms of promotion, few artists are capi tali zing on
what Vorano refers to as "the present
moment ... of ope nness [in the
2006
internat.ional art world). As he says,
"wh ereas, in the past, critics sought
o ut the singu lar, 'authentic' and pure,
they now search fo r the multiple,
syncretic and h yb rid'" (Fall/Winter
2004,14).
There arc some successful marketing ve ntures in Europe and there
have been some exhibitions of nore,
especially Sculpture/Inui t organized
by the Canadian Eskimo Arts Counc il
in 1971. Living Arcric; Huncers of the
Canadian North, a 1988 exhib ition
fOCUSSi ng on the people rather than
the art, attracted much attention in
London. Nelso n Graburn and Mo ll y
Lee noted the enthusiasm for this
exhibition, which had been organized
by Ind igenous Surv ivall ntemat ional ,
as a forum for the Native side of the
worldwide struggle between hunting
and an imal rights (Fall 1988, I0).
Impressed with the Native
involvement in organizing Living
Araic, Graburn and Lee titled their
rev iew: "The Li ving Arcti c: Doing
what the Spirit Sings Didn't," a reference to an exh ibition of Canadian
Indian art organized by th e Glenbow
Museum in Calgary in 1988, wh ich,
along with Into the Heart of Africa at
the Royal Onta ri o Museum in 1989,
has entered definitively into the
annals of museu m h istory. Both
provoked widespread and vigorous
protests among thei r subject peoples.
In the case of The Spirit Sings,
the Lubicon C ree~q lli c kt y joined
by mher Native and non -Native
groups-protested the Glenbow's pur~
port ing "to show the richness of th e
early contact cul ture, using money
from Shell Oil," onc of the companies
encroaching on what they considered
to be Lubicon territory, bulldozing
gravesites and interfering with hunting
and trapping (Winter 1988, 12). O ther
issues were raised in what became
a wider protesting of museum policies
v is-a~v is indigenous peoples and their
material culture: repa triat ion, the
display of sacred objects, and the
representation of Native peoples
in museums and ga lleries.
Protest Provokes Change
The result of the Lubicon Cree
protest of The S,)iril. Sings was th e
establishment by the Canadian
Mu se um Association (CMA) and
the Assembly of First Nations (AFN)
of a Task Force on Museums and First
Peoples to address areas of confl ict
(Spring 1990049). In an article entitled "Preserv ing our Heritage: Getting
Beyond Boycotts & Demonstrations"
(Winter 1989: 12), anthropologists
Valda Blu ndell and Laurence Grant
wrote about a co nference of the
same title orga ni zed by the AFN
and the C MA and held at C arleton
Univers ity in November 1988.
A lthough they concluded their piece
with an expression of confidence that
the conference could "set initiatives
in motion that will bring aoout new
relations between Native Canad ians
and this country's cultural institutions," they acknowledged that such
an optimistic outcome depended
upon the Nati ve people having
"a real voice in po licy formation"
(ibid., 16)-'
With some help, the Lubicon,
a small First N at io ns band in
north -central Alberta, succeeded
in gene rating a major sh ift in how
cu rators and academ ics think about
what they do. Invited to write about
teaching the anthropology of art
for our speciall nuir Art World issue
(Fall/Winter 1990/9 101 00), Blundell
wrote that "through their art forms
and their understandings of their
an mak ing, Ind ian and Inui t artists
are now playing a crucia l role in
raising concerns aoout their portrayal
by 'academ ics.'"
Still, while acade mi cs are sensitized
to the need for inclusion, it would
seem thac not much has changed in
terms of university-level courses of
study ded icaced to Native ans. lAQ's
survey in 1990 of 32 Canadian and
America n un iversit ies revea led that
few courses specifically addressed
Inui t art or the art of any of Canada 's
indigenous peoples and "when courses
are offered, they are typ ically included
in 'Native studies' programs rather
than in art hi story or visual ans
faculties" (Fall/Winter 1990/9 U 04).
At a workshop a dec;)de and a
half late r, art historian Jean Blodgett
declared that "Inuit art continues
to function on the periphery of the
establishment" (Fall 2003 047) . She
gave three reasons fo r thi s sidelining
of In uit art: "It is difficult to fit it
into western art history; there are
questions {still] of its authenticity; and
it does not operate on an intell ectual
leve l that is appea li ng to practitioners
of contemporary art cri tic ism."
Norman Vorano also addressed
the issue of In uit art's sta tus within
academe in a very recent issue
(Fall 2006, 18). Taking up Janet Berlo's
po int that the study of Inui t art
is "only in its ea rly adolesce nce,"
Vorano noted that it has nor
attracted much interest from graduate students, nor from wi thin the
discipline of art history (most scholars
hold only an MA or come from other
di sciplines ). "A s a fi eld," he wro te ,
"Inui t art has bee n and co ntinues
to be overwh elmingly do minated
by n on~ lnui t specialists ta lk ing and
writing about Inui t people, wh ich
compares un favo urab ly with First
Natio ns people who "are now [more
than ever] writing [their own} art history and critical discourse" (ibid., 20).4
lsumavul worked with lead curator
O dette Leroux from its conceptual
beginning in late 1990. Leroux
expanded the curatoria l team to
include Minni e Aodla Free man
and Marne Jackson, as we ll as twO
other Inuit women as adv iso rs and
interpreters (Sp ring 1995 :26 ).
The art ists were at first reticent
to write about themselves: "We
have always bee n written about,"
they said (1997, 16). Consu ltant
Minnie Freeman, herself an Inuk,
praised curator Leroux who, she said,
"didn't pu t he rself in the front, .
she made other people be in front,
and I think that's why she got so far
beyond the source of Inuit women's
feelings as they wrote about them."
Th is sen timent was seconded by
artist Pitaloosie Saila who expressed
her gratitude that Ode tte Leroux
had met with the women artists in
We can count on the fingers of one hand,
the curators/writers who have had most
influence in determining what will be
signified as worthy Inuit art .. . At this time,
no Inuit names can be added to this roster
Struggling to Reconcile
Inclusiveness with Professionalism
Wh ile we would like to think that
"the qu estion is no longer should we
include Abori ginal art in art history,
but how do we do tha t ?" (Fall
2003:47) , acade mi cs are struggling
to find ways to be inclusive with ou t
undermining or watering down the
standard s of museology upon which
their professional reputations rest.
It is interest ing to note that the
C anadian Museum of Ci vilizat ion,
that unabashed collector of Inui t
art, has again led the way wi th
two ex hibitions that are now the
best models we have for how to
collaborate with Inuit; Isumavut:
The Artisric Expression of Nine Cape
Dorset Women (October 1994 to
March 1996) and Threads of the
Land: Clothing TradItions from Three
/ruligenous Cultures (1995)5
Consulted about their work and
invited to wri te stories for publicati on,
the seven livi ng women presented in
the planning stages: "The more they
[Leroux and Minnie Freemanl talked
about the planning of the ex hibiti on ,
the more excited I got, beca use they
involved us in the planning too."
IAQ's review of Isumavut dealt
not only with the artwork , the co l ~
laborat ive model and the resulting
publication but also with a rev iew
in Toronto's G/obe & Mail. In
"An Exhib ition, a Book and an
Exaggerated React ion" (Spri ng
1995:26), our rev iewer, Janet Berlo,
took exception to comments that the
quality of the exhibition had been
compromised by the inclusion of
the art ists in the curatorial decis i o n~
making process. Berlo cou ntered that
it is "routine practice in every art
gallery and muse um in Europe and
North America for a li ving artist to
be consu lted when a retrospective
exh ibit is hun g" and "no one
ever suggests that the curator of
20th century art is abroga ting
curatorial responsibility when such
IN UI T
ART
QUARTERLY
I
11
consultati on takes place" (ibid., 35).
Go ing further, she concl uded: "The
"In spite of all that
has been said and
promised, Native
North American arts
remain marginalized
in public art galleries
[although they are]
increasingly visible
in anthropological
museums, cultural
centres and
commercial galleries"
- Lynda Jessup
world of In uit art studies has for a
long t ime been its own insu lar litde
domain, somewhat removed from
th e intell ectua l issues that have ani mated sc holarship in other areas of
Nat ive arts over the last two gene rations." Fo r that reason , "as a sch olar
who is concerned with issues that
have been emerging in Nat ive North
American art h istory over th e last
decade,lshe] found Ii sumavut] to be
tremendo usly exc iting and gratifying,
because it demonstrates [0 [herl th at
Inuit art h istory is finally coming
ou t of isola tion and joining in rhe
important dia logu es tha t have
been energ izing other aspects of
Abor igina l 3rt studi es."
H er comme nts were echoed a
year later by Maria von Fincke nstc in,
who wrote (Winter 1997,7) that
"it has bee n a very small field indeed,
dominated by the thinking and
methodo logy of only a few." We can
count on the finge rs of one h and, th e
curators/writers who have had most
influ ence in determining what will
be signified as worthy Inuit art:
Darlene Wigh t and Jea n Blodgett,
both attach ed at one time or another
to The Winnipeg Art Gallery, leap
to the front of the lin e, a reflec tion
on the state of the pla ying fit:ld, not
rhe players.
At thi s time, no Inuit names
can be added to the roster. The Inuit
Art Foundation's Cu ltural Industri es
Training Program- terminated after
12 years because of lack of fundingwas des igned ro help Inuit to ge t at
least a foot in the door (Summe r
20013), but it has had only very
modest success. The grand goal was to
develop "an Inui t cu ltural leadersh ip
tha t [cou ldl influ ence the interpre,
ration of Inuit art and c ulture" but,
given th a t the fundin g was intended
morc [Q support job training than to
boost involvement in the cultural
sector, that lofty goal had to be somewhat played down. Also, we had a
li mited draw, being restric ted to Inu it
living in O ntario and who were
without other resources.
No netheless, we did succeed in
encouraging one student to pursue an
undergraduate degree in art hi story
and sh e has been teaching the under,
grad uate Inuit course at Carl eton
12
I
VOl .21,
NO
4
WINTER
2006
for the last several years (a feat her in
the cap for In uit but also a comment
on the marginalization of Inuit art,
which is, typ ica ll y, ta ugh t by people
without a graduate degree). A few
C ITP graduates did succeed in
enrolling in the C MC's Aboriginal
tra in ing progl(lm and some have found
employment with government and
othe r Inuit organizations. Heather
Campbell wo rked as curato r fo r
INAC before movi ng to Inuit
Tapiriit Kana tami (lTK) an d
Jul y Papatsie co~curated trave ll ing
exh ibitions for INAC and for the
CMC, as well as presenting a paper
at the 10th Inuit Studies Confe rence
(Wi nter 1996046). Pap"Sle also wrote
an art icle about S imon Shai maiyuk
for IAQ, which was published in the
Spring 1997 issue.
In general, Inui t are now playing
more of a role in educati ng the
public about th eir arts. lAF president
Mattiusi Iyaituk has served as a
re$ource person at a Taipe i artists'
symposium (April of 1999) as well as
in Siberia (June of 2002) and other
places. C loser to h ome, h e recen tly
gave a talk at the McCord Museum
in Mo ntreal (Fall 2006043). It is
quite typical for even older generdtion
bilingual Inui t artists-like Ke noj uak
Ashevak (Fall I 997,20)-to attend
exh ibitions of their work abroad ,
and it is not unusual now to find
Inuit speaking out at symposia and
serv ing o n boards of muse ums like
the ROM. Inuit a rc also some times
h ired to teach art to Inui t and
others (for instance, at the Vermont
Carv ing Studio, Arctic College, the
Ottawa School of Art and Labrador
College) . These have been small,
but promising, steps.
The eve r'present dange r is, of
cou rse, tOken ism (the oppos ite of
exclusion on the basis of rigid sta n~
dards). I was not impressed with the
now defunct Canad ian Esk imo A rts
Counci l's latter,d ay efforts {Q include
Inuir.. The process was foreign to Inuit
and the operdting assumption on the
part of the cou nc il appeared to be
that they wou ld ri se to th e occas ion.
In the same vein, things have
changed dramatically since the
1992 symposi um organ ized by th e
McM ichael Canadian Collection,
which angered Inuit part icipants,
who felt they had been upstaged by
non,lnuit. Seve ral we re ou tspoken
abou t the inequality of th eir trcat~
ment. Iyola Kingwatsiak of Cape
Dorset said: "We sat there like pieces
of art in a showcase d isplay ... The
whi te people dom inated as usual.
Th ey thi nk th ey arc the experts
and know eve rythin g abo ut Inu it"
(Sprin g 1992:28).
Western Pra(ti(e the
Starting Point
"It is encou rag ing to note the critical
scrut in y be ing brought to bear on
museum practice and the brave,
if tentati ve, efforts being made to
share power with Inu it producers"
(ed itoria l, Summer 1997:9). But a
major difficulty in trying to achi eve
equality in th e mu seum is that the
starting point has to be western practice. The idea of collect ing, d isplaying
and intcrpreting "art" is fo reign to
Inuit and many othcr n o n ~weste rn
peop le, Whi le Inu it may influence
what material is included in e xhibi~
ti ons and what is said about it, it
is most unl ikely thar they cou ldor would eve n waO( to----depart
appreciably fro m accep ted museum
practice. Th ey are , in fact, setting
up community museums that mimic
weste rn museums-with some nice
innova tions, As much as we want to
pretend o th erwi se, Inuit and ocher
Nat ive people have little choice but
to adopt the frame of reference, if
not the sta ndards already in place.
Understandably, all of the players
start with known practices, al though
the more flexible the institut ion , the
more ope n it will be to unconven~
tiona l ideas as to what to exh ibit
and how.
The inevitable resu lt, at least
ar this early stage, when western
institutions attempt co include non~
western concepts, is confusion and
ambiguity, as was ev ident at the fi rst~
eve r meeti ng of Canad ian Aborigina l
curators in Ottawa in 1997,6 Lee
Ann Mart in (then chi ef curator,
Mackenzie Art Ga llery in Regina)
and Morga n Wood (then cu ra torial
assista nt~ Ctl nadian art at the National
Gallery of Canada) reported on the
conference for us in an article entided
"Shaping the Future of Aboriginal
Curatorial Practice" (Summer
1998:22). Most interesting to me
was that the Native cura tors at the
meeting deplored the tokenism of
hi ring Aborigina ls with "no back;
ground in the arts or c urator ial
motivation." In sp ite of what they
referred to as conflicti ng value
syste ms, they appeared to be cha mpi~
on ing the we ll ~establ i sh ed norms for
curatorial pract ice and were worried
about thei r being degraded (ibid., 23).
The main issue for them, as Native
curators, was to be fully integrated
into the muse um co mmu nity rather
than bei ng trea ted as "cheap labour. "
As it scood the n, they were, they
said, "seldom all owed to tak e respon ~
sibil ity within the insritution or
within the curatorial profession"
(Summer 1998:23-25 ).
The ever-present
danger is, of
course, tokenism,
the opposite of
exclusion on
the basis of rigid
standards
This ambivalence is, I think,
matched by the ir non ~ Native curato~
rial counterparts who also struggle to
reconcil e a desi re to be inclusive with
the need to maintain professional
practice. To quote Li bby Hague's
rev iew of th e McMi chae l's Cape
Dorse t d rawing exh ibit ion, they
"must balance receptivi ty to Inuit
interpretations with the responsib ili ~
ties of scho larship" (Fa ll 1991:11) .
Balandng Needs
A s I wrote in a 2001 ed ito ria l
(S ummer 200 1:3): "The professional
invo lvement of In uit has been the
mi ss ing li nk to a fu ll apprec iation of
th is artform." Researchers have long
re lied on interviews with artists and
some have attempted to involve
them as coll aborators (as opposed to
consultants) on their various projects.
There are many references in IAQ
to the efforts being made to involve
Inui t at all leve l s~ in clud ing the
conceptualizing process-a nd the
shortcomings of these efforts.
In a landmark series of interviews
wi th curators of In uit art published
in 2000, for mer lAQ staff write r
Kate McCarthy specifica lly addressed
the issue of curatorial coll aboration.
By tha t time "collabo ration and
consu ltation with the concerned
commun ities, once rare in the
museum world, [had] become a critical
part of the exhibition development
process, although stili controversial
and ofte n difficu lt w negot iate"
(Spring 2000: 16, editor's note).
In an introductio n to the inter,
view se ries, Doroth y Speak recapped
the Lub icon's 1988 boycott of The
Spirit Sings and the 1989 denounci ng
of Inw rhe Heart of Africa by the fledgling Coalition for the Truth about
Africa, which considered th e RO M
exhibition to be rac isr. "M useu ms
and cura tors are being urged to re'
exa mine their role and fu nction / '
she wrote (ibid., 18). C iting Mary
Tivy (1993), Speak reiterated that.
... to present Indian artifacts as a
substitute for the living pre.)ence
and vision of Native American
people, as if objects and not people
epitomize culture, is a distortion.
To minimize living presence and
live performance as a vehicle
of expression. as museums do
by nature , is to negate a 'way
of knowing' that is recognized
as essential by many Native
American societies.
McCarthy'S in terv iews were
focussed on C MC cu rators since
the CMC was leadi ng the way in
deve loping a model of co ll aboration,
fo llowing its successful engage ment
of Inuit women in the planni ng and
execution of [sumavut, which opened
in 1994. One year later, Judy Hall, cocurator of Threads of tlte Land involved
Pauktuut it, the Inuit women's o rga~
niza tion, from the idea s tage~ giving
them a veto over the very concept
of the exh ib itio n. Once the goahead was received ~ Sall y Webster
of Pauktuutit served as coll aboracor
for the exhibition and representmives
from all the communiti es to be
presented we re invited to serve on
a des ign team. They were brought
to Ottawa to work with the clothes,
rather than merely work ing
from photographs.
Describing herself as a fac ili[3tor,
Hall says she d id th e resea rch and
IN UIT
ART
QUARTERLY
I
13
orga ni zing while Inuit directed the
deSi gn and content (Spring 2000,24).
"The key," she said, was "how did
they want to be represented!" Also,
"we were always asking ... 'How do
you wa nt people to feel about you
when they come out of th is exhibit?
What do you want them to have
learned about you?'" (Spring 2000,24).
gone some distance towards meeting
a wish exp ressed by Ga ry Baikie of
the Torngasok C ultural Centre in
Labrador, who wrote that he would
like co see museums have "Nati ve
people on staff who they can co n ~
sui t with whe n d isplays are bei ng
mounted" (Fall 1993,9) . The First
Peoples H all, a direct response to
Museums "must balance a receptivity to
Inuit interpretations with the responsibilities
of scholarship" - Libby Hague
What difference does it make?
One result of the collaborati on
was the incl us ion of contempo rary
clothing-ski jackets and tee shirtsa direct response to Inuit objections
[Q always being presented as they
lived in the past.
Jea n Blodgett and Susan
Gustavison of the McMichael
Canadian Coll ection also tried to
include artists in unprecedented ways
in their 1999 Northern Rock exhibition. Gustavison , who also descri bed
herself as a facili tator (my "history
bits," she said, "set the stage" and
"put the artists' informati on in co n ~
text"), saw the curator's rol e as one
of balancing needs (Winter 20003),
"There is no set model; there was
no book I could go to that wou ld tell
me that now I'm at step fi ve, and
should soon start step six. It's a much
more organic process. You're always
balancing how to display the art, how
to give the artists a voice and how to
meet the visitors' needs."
It might have been impractica l to
include Inu it arrists per se in conce p~
tua lizing the Narrhem Rock exhibition
and in making decisions about which
artworks would be included, but the
McMichae l tea m took an innovati ve
tack by focuss ing on a topic that
Inui t artists have identified as crucial: the stone. Gustavison told me
that she had read every word ever
pr inted in IAQ about the difficulti es
of getting stone and she and Blodgett
met face to face with man y artists in
their own communities and gave them
ample room in the catalogue in which
to voice thei r views. 111e CMC's First
Peoples Hall- a 21,000 square foot
permanent display tracing Canadian
Aboriginal hiswry-seems to have
14
I
VOL . 21,
NO . 4
WINTER
the 1992 task force orga nized by the
CMA and the AFN, invo lved exten~
sive consultation with Native people
over many yea rs. In an interview
with Kate McCarthy, Bob McGhee
of the CMC ad mi tted that the
museum had been worried about the
costs of the consultation bur, n o n e~
theless, director George McDonald
had been very supportive and the
hall opened in Jan uary 2003
(Summer 2000,19).
And , at the AGO, An Inuit
Pers/Jective: Baker Lake Sculpture,
the first major exhibition organ ized
by Inui t (facilitated by Marie
Bouchard) opened in December 2000
(Spring 200U 4) . Organized by
ltsarnittakarvik: Inuit Heritage Centre
in collaboration with the Art Gallery
of Ontario, it d rew on the Sarick
collection, which had been donated
to the AGO; the art ists were invited
"to decid e for themselves which of
their works from the Sarick collection
shou ld represe nt them in the ex h ib i ~
tion" (ibid., 35).
The Baker Lake ex h ib it ion
was well received, but did n't create
as much of a ripple as Transitions:
Contemporary Indian and Inuit An,
a 1997 exhib ition sponsored by
lNAC and the Department of
Foreign Affairs and International
Trade and co~curated by Anishinaabe
artist/curator Barry Ace and Inuk/
northern cultural research officer
July Papatsie, both em ployees of
lNAC. N oting that curators' voices
often silence those of the artists, th e
Transitions curators made a deliberate
effort to let the artists present their
work, replacing curatorial analysis
with artist commentary. In this ex h i~
bition, the curators' fun ction was
2006
"to assemble the art, not to explain
it" (editorial, Spring 1998,3 ).
Heav ily promoted by the Canad ian
bureaucracy and fo reign embassy
staff, Transitions was, I think, routed
more for its contemporary subj ect
matter than for the fact of its having
been curated by membe rs oftwo of
Canada's indigenous co mmunities.
Transitions was followed by
Transitions II, co~cu rated by Mohawk
Ryan Rice and Labrador Inuk BatT)'
Po ttle, Papatsie's rep lace ment at
INAC. Accordi ng to Pottl e, th is
second effort was an attempt "to infuse
new blood inro th e coll ec ti on by
assembling artwork th at challenges the
stereotypes of First Nations and Inuit
art" (Spring 2001,57). Tramirions 11
was not particularly well rece ived,
and was, in fact, withd rawn from
circulat ion by OlAND, because of
damage to the artwork.
In terms of content, it is interesting
to note that the Native curators of
the two Transitions exhibitions de lib erately departed from "the customary
fare offe red to peop le presumed not
to be knowledgeable about Inui t art"
(see ed itorial, Spring 19983). Even
though these exhib itions were o rga~
nized for international travel, they
included work that would be shocking,
even to domestic audiences. Papatsie
wrote in his essay that the works in
the first Transitions exh ibition contrad icted "the common pe rception
that Inuit art is simply arct ic animals
and scenes from the past" (catalogue
1997:4). And, referring to western
art discourse "as a n eo~co l o nial
dev ice" excluding Indians and ren~
dering their art sta tic and peripheral,
Barry Ace wrote that Nat ive art is
often di smissed as "unauthentic"
when it incorpora tes It noticeable
signs of modernity" (ibid., 8). This
is a se nt imen t all too fami li ar to
Inuit who have cau se to think that
the market craves endless ve rsions
of a romanticized past.
Curating their own ex hibi t ions
is a big step forward from serving as
consu ltants or co-curators with nonNatives. Over the last decade or so,
Inuit have also begun setting up their
own museums and heritage centres
with their own rules. As Gary Baikie
wrote (Fall 1993,9), the people in
Labrador [arel interested in setting up
their own, Inuit, museum in order "to
recover their heritage and present it in
a way that is meaningful fo r their children." Like many, Baikie deplored the
showing of Inu it "out of context. " As
he put it: "You on ly see how we used
to live and not how we live today."
Iqalu it's Nunatta Sun akkutaangit
Museum (NSM) opened its pe rmanent facil ity in 1985. Leah Inutiq,
a local ln uk who did not have any
[f(lini ng in museology, served as
cu rator and manager for one and a
half years before being fired (in 1990)
beca use, she says, "they {muse um
board] didn't feel comfortable with my
presentation of the Inuit viewpoint"
(Inuit An World, Fall/Winter 19901
199 1,90). Specifically, "we had a
stol)' hour with elders te lli ng children
legends and songs, some of wh ich
contain references to private parts,
which English peop le fee l is obscene.
But to us, it's just naturaL" She wondered whether she "should separate
the people and tell one side one
thing and the other side another,"
but concluded "that's not the way to
make it understandable" (ibid., 9 1). 7
That was Leah 's view. Helen
Webster, chair of NSM had a d ifferent
take on the siru3tion: "Leah resigned
because she reali zed the position needs
someone bet te r ab le to manage.
She lac ked th e necessary sk ills."
As she saw it , "Inuit art is presented
in a very sophist ica ted way. Inui t
have not yct progressed [Q that stage.
There is a lot to be done before they
understand what a museum is and
before there arc In ui t who are properly
trained to run a museum" (ibid., 95).
There was to be no inclusion for
the sake of inclusion in Iqaluit.
And Balancing Voites
The curating of exhibi t ions, the
writing of arti cles and the establishment of their "own" museums are
contribution s to an Inu it h istory
of Inuit art , but power relations
inev itably determ ine whose story
and whose art gets attention.
In 2003 (FallA6), 1 reviewed a
valu able coll ection of essays about
cu ratorial po l icy and practice in
Ca nada: O n Aboriginal Representation
in ,he Gallery, edited by Lynda Jessup
with Shanno n Bagg. "More reflective
than defin itive," this collection
of essays flowed out of a wo rkshop
dev ised "to address the ongoing
limitations to full representation of
Native visual culture in the pub lic
art ga llery." Jessup's own contr ibut ion, entitled "Hard Inclusion," makes
the point that "in spi te of ~ ll that has
been sa id and promised, Native North
American arts remain marginalized in
public art gal leri es," although they are
"increasingly visible in anthropological museums, cultural centres and
comme rcial galle ries."
In the same book, Mohawk curator
Lee A nn Martin suggests that public
ga lleries th ink they are be ing let off
the hook because their policies do
not specifically exclude Abo ri ginals
and because they do, from time to
time, include Aborig in al art in the ir
ex h ibition programs. Martin refers to
th is as "soft" inclusion or "tokenism."
"As a field, Inuit art has been and
continues to be overwhelmingly dominated
by non-Inuit specialists talking and writing
about Inuit people" - Norman Vorano
The ball could be seen to be in the
court of the Native people. In sp ite
of an unequal playing field, nonwestern artist.s, specifi ca lly Ca nadi an
Inui t, may succeed in finding a way
to open the door for th emselves and
their art. Wh ile Inuit art is pretty
well identi fied with stone carving
and, to a lesser extent, prims, the
key may prove to be the camera,
which some Inuit have embraced
with gusto. Perhaps because of its link
with oral tradition- it can be viewed
as an extension of the oral trad itionthe came ra has permitted Inuit to
insert themselves into the contemporary mainstream art world in a way
tha t stone sculptors have not. As
Norman Varano says (persona l commu nication) , "It is not su rpr ising
that individuals from an oral culture
have nO[ made many inroads into art
history, a re lenrless ly li terary-based,
Eurocentric d iscipline, rooted in
ncnde mic institutions and programs
that the North lack ," whereas
"film mak ing seems to be perfectly
suited fo r Inuit as a way to engage
with h istory, social issues, gender,
colon ialis m, and m her top iCS that are
ra rely broached in th e comm ercial
world of In ui t art. "
INUIT
A RT
QUARTERLY
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15
While we str ive to incorporate
diversity- in the museum and else·
where-th e Big Q uestion remains
as to wh ether or not all paths lead
but to assimi la tion. Probabl y. But
what is be ing ass im ilated to--as well
as what is be ing ass imilated- is in a
constant state of fl ux, which mak es
the outcome unce rtain and the game
worth playing.......
is pursuing a Ph D in 3rt hi story at
Carl eton University in O ttawa.
It must be said that the CMC has
had a checkered history. In 1991 ,
it was criticized in IAQ for showing
Masrers of the Arctic, a regress ive
exhi bition organi zed by A mway
Corporati on. In her review,
Dorothy Spea k (Spring 1991 :39)
said: "The exh ibition is alarming
beca use it appro(lc hes In uit art ists
and their work not as individuals
but as an ethn ic group produc ing
a homogeneous 3rt with one mes·
sage. Th is is exactly [he image of
Inu it art and arti sts aga inst which
collectors, scholars, curators and
institutions have been fighting
for 40 yea rs." The C MC was also
cri tic ized, in IAQ and elsewhere ,
for its treatment of Inu it- the
peop le not the 3rt-at the opening
of Iqqaipaa, a 1999 ex hibition to
honour the bi rth of N unavu[.
Artists represented in the exhibi·
tion were not invited to a VIP
reception although "in a tip of
the hat to mul ticulturalism, Inu it
provided musica l entertainment"
(Fall 1999J). A few days later, the
museum hosted Nunavut Day, but
Inuit watched th e proceed ings on
a TV in the basement, excluded
from the theatre, which was by
invitation only. Perhaps all this
proves is that progress is not linear.
NOTES
During the tenu re of Kathleen
Fcnwick-cu rator of prints and
drawings from 1928 to 1968, and
also a member of the Canadian
Eskimo Ar ts Co un cil- the
Nati o nal G a ll ery of Canada
had been one of the first public
insti tutions to show Inuit prints
and sculpture. After Fen wick's
retirement, th e gallery ceased
coll ecting and exh ibiting Inuit
art (von Finckensrc in, Winter
199M- 7) .
"Filmmaking seems
to be perfectly
suited for Inuit as a
way to engage
with history, social
issues, gender,
colonialism, and
other topics that
are rarely
broached in the
commercial world
of Inuit art" -
2
Setting as ide considerations of
policy, there has been at least
an effo rt to provide train ing in
museology to Native peoples. At
a 1989 meet ing to discuss the
transferring of the INAC coll ec·
tion, the representative from the
Government of the Northwest
Terr itori es proposed that the co l·
lecti on be transferred to the In uit
C uiturall nstitute-based in the
NWT-and she also asked for
money to establish museums in the
North and to prov ide training in
museolob'Y for Inuit. The response
from a representative of the now·
defunct federal Department of
Co mmunicat ions was that the
trai ning of Nati ve people in muse·
o logy had been made a priority
(Win ter 1989:33). Canadian
Heritage (wh ich replaced the
Department of Communications
in 1996) currentl y has no prog ram
to ass ist in the tra in ing of N at ive
peopl e in museology.
Norman Varano
4
16
I
V Ol.21
N O
4
WIN TE R
Hsio.Yen Shih's appellation is
ironic , given that Inui t them·
sel ves now refer to some of the
hastier, less inspired work they
produce as "bingo art," by wh ich
they mean work produced to earn
some quick cash with which to pl ay
bingo, a popular arctic pastime.
20 06
It is promi sing to note that, at
time of writ ing, at least one In uk
6
July Papatsie, th en work ing at
Ol AND, was the o nl y In uk at
this conference.
There 3re three ethnic groups in
Iqaluit: Inuit represe nt 50 per
cent of the popul at ion and the
remainder are French and English.
REFERENCES
Ace, Barry and July Papatsie
1997 Transitions (exhibit ion cata·
logue). Ottawa: Indian Affairs
and Northern Affairs Ca nada with
the Department of Foreign A ffairs
and International Trade
Pottle, Barry and Ryan Rice
200 1 Transitions If. (exhibi t ion
catalogue). Ottawa: Ind ian and
Northern Affairs Canada
Freeman, Minnie Aoudla, Odette
Leroux and Marion Jackson, eds.
1994 Inuit Women Artists. Ga tineau:
Ca nadian Museum of C ivili zation.
FEATURE
18
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VOL . 21 ,
NO . 4
WINTER
2006
INUIT
ART
QUARTERLY
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19
Owls, distortions, dream states,
and the implied reference to cubism
and surrealism became consistent
features in Massie's work over the
next n ine years.
While the theme of family would
be consistent over the years, Massie's
material for carving would change
from Labrador stone to stone from
a quarry near his current home and
studio in Kippens, Newfoundland.
"I try to evoke the playful
side of things in most of
my work," says Massie
Another work, grandfather 1 have
something to tell you (2005; below) is
a childhood confession in anhydrite,
a local limestone. Admonished never
to kill an animal that would not be
eaten, Massie, aged 12, disobeyed
and shm a tom-tit with his pellet
gun. In a flurry of guilt, he buried
the tiny bird with a kitchen
spoon and never told his grandfather or parents about it until
making this piece 30 years later.
The face of the stone carving
is awash with emotion: twisted
mouth agape, nostrils flared, eyes
wide. The figure is on bended
knee in supplication, but the
limp body of the bird is still concealed behind his back. Capturing
the delicate moment when the
figure approaches his grandfather
but hasn't yet presented the bird,
the viewer is in a privileged position.
A close-up of the bird's face reveals
Xs marking its lifeless eyes, contemporary graphic language from the
world of cartooning integrated within
Inui t stone carving.
The other self-portrai t in the
exhibit ion, he gathers limestone to
carve- portrait of ,he artist (2004),
is carved from- as the title suggests-limestone. In this piece, the
figure is surprisingly simple and
straightforward, its only extraordinary feature being a protruding
tongue, suggesting the exertion of
gathering stone. The artist was
clearly enamored with the komatik
(sled), however, as its every aspect
is marked by a faithful attention to
20
I
VOl.21
NO . 4
WINTER
2006
Michael Massie in his studio with his teapot
rep-fea-lio. LAd Lr'. - P"'''"\ CTt><""c... ..
detail. The use of real chunks of raw
quarry stone, and the intricate sinew
lashing that secures them to the
komatik suggest that great care was
put into crafting rhis work. For the
contemporary artist who drives a
van and uses power tools in his art
praC[ice, the sled was Massie's salute
to "the old ways of doing things."
The importance of family connects
Massie's stone carving and silver
work. Even in the simplest of pieces,
such as his ulu bowls, the central
theme is family. An ulu, or woman's
skinning knife, is a customary utensil
used to prepare or divide meat. In
Massie's ulu bowls, the bowl, which
represents the kudlik (a soapstone
vessel used in the burning of oil for
heating, cooking, or celebration), is
(detail] grandfather I have something
to fell you, 2004, Michael Massie.
(for left) grandfather I have something to fell you, 2004 (anhydrite,
bone, bird's eye maple, mahogany
and ebony; 17.25 x 9.25 x 12 em;
collection of The Rooms Provincial
Art Gallery). Lll.d Lr'. - P"'''"\
CTI><.. c... ..
blind man's vision, 2003, (limestone, tagua nut, ebony and bone; 21.59 x 28.58 x 21.59 em;
private collection). Lt:.d Lr', - PK\ crt><:<O-L
supported by three ulu~shaped forms.
Massie explains: "The three ulus,
to me, represent a family. Each one
helps the other to survive. That is
why they are forming a circle. I like
using the ulu and kudl ik together;
th e feeling of them supporting each
other and becoming one unit."
As a forum for shari ng knowledge
between generations, and sharing
experiences through daily rituals,
the family is a sou rce of comfort,
instruction, and respect for Massie.
Like the three ulus, he also Interprets
the pieces of a tea set as members
of a fam il y. Massie envisioned his
ancestors regrouping in together for
tea, tea set #i (199 7) and represented
their sp iri ts in the eyes on the finials
of the teapot, creamer, and sugar
spoon in the bowl. By contrast,
little Jimmy, 'ea set #iv (2000) is
non~narrative or pure design work,
with an energetic combi na t ion of
moving angles extended into space
by dynamic wood handles. Still, it
is named for James Baibe, Massie's
maternal grandfather, who passed
away while he was working on the
tea set.
In festivi,ea rea set #v (2005),
the tea set as family gets its most
literal representation. The teapot has
become a father brandish ing a fishing
spear; the creamer is a mother ges~
turing with an ulu, and the suga r is
a little boy with his harpoon. The
<0-
figures have sterling silver bodies
with blood wood arms, bone faces
and horsehair locks. Massie admits
to blood wood being a pun on blood
relatives. As he elaborates, the tray
for the set also has a role to play in
the story:
The tray wa.s made into a circle
to represent the igloo. The struc~
ture of the igloo is low, showing
that spring is upon them, and it
is almost melted. 1 made the tray
smaller than with previous sets, as
I wanted that feding of crowdedness and being cramped-the way
it is with most igloos. The feet
were /Jwbably the most difficult to
design ... The)' are 50 important
to the overall design and 1 went
through quite a number of ideas
before the simplest one was so
obviously the best . Using the fish
INUIT
ART
QUARTERLY
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21
Wh ile Massie was busy working
out all th e poss ibilities of the ulu
form , h e was also th ink ing about
ways to vary the surface of hi s silve r
te<Jpots. As its name suggests, gray lea
was treated with liver of sulphur to
Form and Etching, from
tone down its reflec tive properties.
Decoration to Narration
As an artist, Massie saw th e silver
The crescent shape of the ulu
surface not as an indication of
has inspired the design of Mi ch ael
preciousness, polite manners, or
Massie's silver work for at least the
valu e, but as frustra ting camouflage.
past 10 years. It h elped to establish
lnterested chi efl y in form , he noted
his recogniw ble style of geometri c
th at the shin y teapots would take on
shapes, elegant lines, and a caneem,
th eiT surro und ings and negate the iT
pOTary character for Inuit art, Both
silhouettes. Eventually, Massie would
boa-tea (1996) and gra y tea ( 1996)
e tch the surface of hi s teapots, but
arc based on ulu fo rms, although
his fi rst attempts were understand·
they are strik ingl y different. The
ably cautious. His first ste rling silv er
boa~tea is essenti ally a semi ~c ircle
Nc hed pots were barel y bitte n by the
poised on da inty feet with a sturdy,
acid bath. Th e surface of $ubdc·tea
curving, tulipwood handle. in contrast
(1997) is sh . ded with delic.te lines
to the symmetry of boa.~ tea, gray tea is
that help define its arching form.
irregul ar, squat, a nd has a vertical,
The technique of acid etching
ca rved walrus tu sk h andle. The ulu
gave Mass ie a way to draw on the
shape is discernible from above , but
surface of hi s fo rms and record infor·
from the rear it is a cubist's adept
ma tion. Bay Sr. George (1997) and
collisi on of angles. From the side,
Gjoa Haven , JqaJuit NWT ([997)
the squat silver form sits on ivory
are ulu bow ls in scribed with maps
feet th at, accordi ng to Massie, take
of diffe ren t places he h as called
th eir insp iration from Marvin the
"h ome." With hi s growing confi ·
Marti an , a cartoon character from
de nce in etching, the interp lay
Bugs Bunn y. "Whenever Marvin got
of surface and form took on new
za pped all you could see was his fee t
possibilities, as can be seen in sal,tea
poking out fro m und er his h elmetwalers (1997) where the vesse l of
that's the Martia n look 1 wanted."
the teapot attain s a nautical quality
It is typical of Massie to comb ine
while the surface depicts seals hUll ting
eleme nts from all th e corne rs of his
fi sh. Th e inve rted heads of seals
world: the welcoming pot of tea ,
wa tching the fish below the wate r
viv id imagery from popular c ulture,
is especially charming.
the ulu knife fro m th e
In the late 1990s, Massie experi.
Inuit lifestyle of his grand·
mented with etching Inuktitut syllabic
parents, and art history
symbols onto his works, as in seed~tea
and design influences fr om
(1998). Dur ing th is time, his work
art school and books.
al so began to embrace more sober
topics. His ode La C harlie (1 998)
refe rs to a fr iend and teacher lost
to suicide; its mu sk ox handl e was
a gift from C harlie Kogv ik. Later,
Massie wou ld return to more tradi ·
tiona I, decorated
forms, including
8th century A D (1 998).
rails for the feet illustrates the
whole purpose of what the family
is doing, and how im/JOrranl the
fish are to their diee.
22
I
VOl . 21 ,
NO . 4
WINTER
Movement
Inspired by th e "pure poetry" of the
ulu, with its graceful a nd rhythmic
rock ing motion, Massie looked for
ways to bring his man y ulu·shaped
teapots to life. Teapots arc comb ina·
tions of positive and negat ive shapes.
Spaces between handle and lid
become charged . The curve of the
h andle ca n dance with the gracefu l
lilt of a spout. O r th ey can take on
the syncopated rhythms of jazz, as in
the sharp a ngl es of AU925. Feet or
legs are also importa nt features of the
teapots. Massie learned earl y on that
a good pot "looked as if it could wa lk
off the tab le top."
Some of Massie's tcapots do, in
fact, rock, such as wesleri)' winds
(1998), a masterful teapot with
streaming handles swept behind its
body. The point of contact between
the curved base of pot and the tab le
surface is so minimal that the slightest
motion wi II cause the pot to rock like
a boat in the waves. Interestingly, the
body of the pot is almost iden tical
in shape to ode to C harlie, sh owing
how Mass ie could create or al te r
the chara cte r of the vessel form by
manipulati ng its ha ndle elements.
Given Massie's preocc upation
with movement and his method ica l
experime nts with the handles, bod y,
and feet of the teapot form, it was
inev itable that he would try to put a
teapot on wheels. Massie's j'm a little
teapot (200 1) sits on a blood wood
tray with silver wheels. His ske tchbooks reveal meticul ous drawings for
a variety of wheels reminiscent of
mandalas. Rese mbling a miniature tea
trolley, the work suggests h is concern
with the accelerating pace of daily life
and an inc reasingly mobile culture.
The tea pot <IS a wate r· borne
vessel (sal,rea waters and westerly
winds ) is a log ical explora ti on , bur
Mass ie pushes the metaphor further
by tran slating the teapot as the wave
itse lf. Probabl y his most streamlined
teapot to date, surfing the wave (2005 ),
features a surfer of teak and bone sur·
rounded by an elongated teak handle
overhead and a sieck c urve of sreri ing
silver beneath. The surfer stra ins
forward, suggesting the mome ntum
subtle-teo, 1997, (etched sterling
of the engulfing wave. Mass ie says
silver and bird's eye maple;
20.32x 26.67 )( 7 cm; private
th at this teapot is his "metaphor for
collection) . Ll:.d Lr'. - p,,"\
life." "As I see ir, th is is wha t a surfe r
crt><:"c.....
is out to accompli sh," he says. "They
2006
8th century AD, 1998, (sterling silver and
Indian rose wood; 16.51 x 18.42 x 7.62 cm;
the Dan and Martha Albrecht Inuit art collection at the Heard Museum). Lt:.d Lr'. - p,,~\
crt>~"c.... ..
boo-tea, 1996, hterling silver, ivory and
tulip wood; 17.78 x 16.5 x 7.62 cm; collection of The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery) .
Lt:.d Lr'. - PA" \ cr t>~ " c.... "
i'm a little teapot, 2001 , (sterling silver and
blood wood; 19.68 x 22.86 x 24.13 cm;
collection of Alaska on Madison, New York).
L.6.d Lr'. - p,,"\ crt>~ .. c...."
seed-tea, 1997, (etched sterling silver and Indian rose wood; 33 x 12.70 26.67 cm; collection of
Alaska on Madison, New York). Lt:.d Lr'. - p,,"\ crt>~ .. c...."
INUIT
A RT
Q U ARTERLY
I
2 3
Ilek) Ideta;ll reed-tea, 1997,
(etched sterling silver and Indian
rose wood; 33 x 12.70 26.67 cm;
collection of Alaska on Madison,
New York) . Lt:.d Lr". - PA"",
a-1><Lc.... L
(2004), or look of confidence (2003),
which incorporates a fishi ng tridem
or kakivak. Th e faces, by contrast,
are viv idly active and the eyes in
particula r speak volumes: guilt,
excitemen t, exertion, unease, and
dete rm ination, are just some of
the expressions found in Mass ie's
emotionally charged carvings. He
says that a desire to convey emotion
is the insp iration behind man y of
h is carv ings:
111 my work , I prefer if there were
humour ar some tylle of emotion
expressed, giving it more sl)irir and
life . Even with the owls I try and
give (hem human emotions and
expressions ... With the in laying
of the eyes, 1 am able to create
a lJarricular look, because most
expressions can be understood
through the eyes.
Birds and Play
take on waves with dete rmination
and vigour, yet they know not what
awaits them as they arc about to ride
[he wave. They are out [ 0 master and
contro l, but at th e sa me t ime the
wave also has control of the surfer."
While move men t (implied or
actual) brings life to the silver teapot
fonns, it is emotion that Massie uses
to bring dynamism to his stone
carving. In h is stone work, movement
seems posed and is usuall y limited [Q
an uprai sed arm , as in kakoodlak
the look of confidence was apporent
on his face as he was about to strike,
2005 (limestone, cocobolo wood,
ivory, bone and sinew; SO.8 x 33 x
18.42 cm; private collection). Lt:.d
Lr", - PA"", a- t><.. c......
24
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NO . 4
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2006
Birds, and especially owls, hold a
special place in Massie's silver and
stone work. Th ey are fea tured in
h is earliest carv ings and he has
created them in silver since 2002;
he cont inues to work with the bird
theme in both media. Much has
been writte n on the role of birds and
owls in Inuit legends and traditional
life, but whether it is Greek lege nds ,
H indu ism, Ca tholicism, or Inui t
shamanism, birds are uni versa ll y
regarded a'> messengers of the spirit
world. Owls are typ ifi ed as wise and
obse rvant. They are good hunters and,
consequently, good prov iders for their
offspring. They elude dangers with
skilful fli gh t, and thei r large eyes are
express ive. Massie regularly invokes
all of these aspects in his work.
One particularly poignant example
is blind man's vision (2003). The
carving shows a hunter who has lost
his sight and is imploring the spirit
of the owl (shown on the obverse ) to
restore it, so that he can go hunting
one last time. It is a study in opposites:
the keen-sighted and the blind, the
nocturnal and the d iurnal, the ea rth ~
bou nd and the airborne.
The impl ic it spontaneity and
freedom assoc iated with fl ight is
what fo rms the core of Massie's
id ent ifi cation with hi s bird and
owl subjects. In identifying hi s work,
his mark as a silversmith is a V shape,
rep licating a b ird in fl igh t. In terms
of Mass ie's evolution as an art ist, the
teapot birds are signifi cant. Massie
has often sai d that when h e ca rves
he feels most in touch with his Inuit
ancestry, but when he works in silver
h e is closer to hi s Qallunaaq (white)
side. The processes are in some way
opposite or complemenmry.
Carving is a subtractive process
of taki ng away from the stone, ideally
to release what is inside. Fabricat ing
fro m shee t silver is a process of
additi on in whi ch the met<l l sm ith
imposes on the silver his concept or
design. The teapot birds gave Massie
the opportuni ty to integra te the two
sides of hi s cu ltura l iden tity and
express ion. Th ey are usually a mix of
a crescent shaped sterling silver body
perched on ta lon s carved fro m exot ic
wood; the wings and eyes are ca rved
from ander.
Ove r the years, the birds h ave
varied in person ali ty, from polite to
majestic and misch ievous, perfo rming
outlandish dan ces to gain our anen,
tion. Massie h as said, "They are like
children act in g out for th e adults."
The bi rds of hey! wait for me (2002,
below) and whimsical eccentric (2003)
are examp les o f this playfu lness;
hey! 1.Vail for me has stubby, unmatched
wings and can't keep up wi th th e
flock, while whimsical eccentric flashes
past , wea ring bcl l,bottoms on its
long legs. Techn ically, the birds are
a challenge as they are often po ised
on ont: foot and there is a fine ba lance between the wings and the
mil plumage,
The playful qual ity of many of the
teapot birds is noteworth y because
it is personally importan t to Massie.
"I try to evoke the playful side of
things in most of my work," he says.
This humour is also a point of access
with in h is work, as unexpected
juxtapositions-the etched image
of the banan a sp lit on the side of
the elegant licke-tea spiit (2005)
or the word pl ay of fes riveteareinforce the sense of del ight and
wonder, ch allenging expectations
of trad itional art fo rms.
From Shamanism 10 Surrealism
H umour also infi ltra tes the artist's
carv ings of shamans, the divine ly
inspired fools who teach others
through dramat ic acti ons or the wise
and insightful truth -te llers, In fact,
irrepressible shaman (2003) has a sealskin collar that is re mi niscent of a
court jester's costume. Un usual for its
se nse of movement, the arms and
legs are spread wide as th ough in a
sprint, the whole figu re seems electri ·
fled, One foot is cloven like a caribou,
as if caught in transformation. Massie's
graphic w ay of sim plifying the face
and the action-figure body language
give this carv ing a decidedly contem·
porary character that seems as rooted
in cartoon sensibi li ty as in the looseness and freedom of skateboard
cul ture. What fasc inates Massie
about the sh aman figure is its ability
to transform into an animal and
commu nicate with the spirit world.
With kakoodlak Massie shows the
true identity of th e talt, dark stranger
as a sp irit owl, or illlnaT, from the
Sedna legend. The stranger's arm is
upraised and his fingers are enla rged
and merging with the
QWPS wing. The d istort ion commun icates an
emotional intenSity of
d iscovery that defi es
rationa lity.
The carving's
emotional intensity is
also a rem inder of
what d rew
European
art ists in
the 19305
and 1940s
to Aboriginal
art. With its
spim-filled worl d,
Aboriginal art
appealed to intellec·
tuals interested in the
dream world of surrealis m. Surreali st artists in
Paris scoured the flea markets looking for speci mens of
Oceania. Carvings, masks, and
adorned shells made thei r way
into thei r librari es and studios,
When many European art ists. such as
Max Ernst, came [Q the Un ited States
to escape the Nazi purges, they discovered North American Aborigi nal art
for sale. Ernst, Breton, Aragon, and
Eluard acqu ired North west Coast
masks in British Columbi a, Breton
amassed a superb coll ection of Inuit
sha manic masks th at he displayed on
his apartment walls. In ui t art became
an influence on surrealis m, much the
way th at Afr ica n and Oriental art
shaped "primitivism."
As a contemporary art ist bridgi ng
both Inuit and European cultures,
Massie's work embodies both this
particular art hi story's cause and
effect. Massie makes open reference
to th is broader intertextual context
of sources and influ ences throughout
his work, such as in tea with Pablo
(1997). Massie estimates tha t his
own style of distortion owes as much
to Picasso as to Inuit shaman ism;
his series, the wonder of song, to
which the fesrivetea tca set is related,
is, in Mass ie's descript ion , about
"the whimsy look , along with the
hey waif For me, 2002, (sterling
silver, a n~er, cocobolo wood
and ivory; 17.15 x 20.32 x
11 .43 cm ; privote collection) .
L.6.d Lr-', - PN\ a-I>(' LL
0-
INUIT
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distorted look Picasso achieved in
G uemica ... There should only be
the restriction of copying directly
fro m another artist, but not the
notion that we ca nnot use other
artists as influences."
Hi s enigmas of a teapot ( 2002;
cover image) accemuates these refer~
ences, standing out from th e wider
body of his silver work for se veral
reasons. Quoting from no less than
eight well-known surrea li st artworks,
it incorporates pai nt (blue enamel
on the vei n) , and was mad e with
a specific client in mind who had
a pass ion for both surrea li sm and
Mass ie's work. Not surprisingly,
enignw of a teapot deliberately com~
bines Inuit and surrealist mot ifs.
Melting ulus found their way into
the lid and hand le, while the leg
with sea lskin boot (se wn by Jo-A n n
Massie, Michael's wife) was inspired
by C harlie Kogvik's Little Ivory figure.
Th e surface of the piece is etched
with lnuktitut syllabi es, drawings of
eyes with eyelashes, and a host of
free forms. Near th e spout and lid
arc Mass ie's name in sy llab ies, a
copyright symbol, and th e date.
Mass ie explains hi s selections from
art history's cata logue of surrealism:
The e)'e was taken from The
Painter's Eye , 1941 , Salvador
Dali. I had been using eyes in
my work for some time. 1 like
eyes because [hey give life [0 rhe
piece. lr's like it's looking back
at you! The S/Jout was from two
things: first, referring [0 Dali's
Apparatus and Hand , where
there is one form on [OP of another
form. The second reference is co
Man Ray's piece Indestructible
Object 1923/58 , from the book
In the Minds Eye, Dada and
Surrealism. 1 came across a
IJicture of rhis piece; ir had rhe
same shape as what 1was drawing,
only it wasn't upside doum. Man
Ray's piece has a l>endlflwn and
a picture of an eye clipped on top;
[his is when 1 decided to put the
eye where i[ is in the /Jiece . The
door or opening was also borrowed
{leftl kakoodlak, 2004, (I;mestane,
mahogany, ivory, ebony, bone and
fur; 42 .8 x 24. 13 x 20.32 cm;
private collection). L.6.d Lr'. - PA .....
crt><"c.... ..
irrepressible shaman, 2003, (limestone, cocobolo wood , teak, ebony, ivory and sealskin;
29.46 x 27.31 x 12.07 em; private ealledion). Lad Lr'. - PA"\ crt> < .. c......
{rom this piece, I didn 't want w
have the pie slice shapes that were
in Appa ratus and Hand , and
I preferred the opening.
Lorca and Dati used me t.'ein . It
gave me a chance to use enamel
painr, someching 1 hadn't used since
my coUege days.
"There should only be the restriction of copying
directly from another artist, but not the notion
that we cannot use other artists as influences."
Michael Massie
The shape inside the s/JOut came
from the foc t that Yves Tangu)' was
such an inspiration and influence on
Dali. I <hallght it was only fi tting to
have something of his in there and
1 chose a shape from his Certitude
of Never Seen , 1933. I [Ollnd that
[he shal)e alone wasn't enough,
so 1decided to add some horsehair,
giving it a more finished look. It
a~o has a feeling of water flowing
alit of the spout and to be honest, I
was fishing around mis time--and
this is [he way a fly floats on wp
of the water. So I .ll1nplified the fly
hook, and onl), used a few hairs
tied on rhe end and set in[O rhe
muskox hom . The vein in enigmas
was ins/Jired by Compos ition with
Three Figures, 1926--1 think both
The most recognized images of
Dali aTe [he melting clocks from
The Persistence of Memory ,
193 1. So, I knew I had to have
one, 1[ also gave me a chance
to carve in wood, which 1 was
interested in doing. At first I wa.~
going to have a ()enis at the very
top of the tree, bur where it was
so prominent we decided to replace
it with a single ball or bead, to
represent the rosaries of Dali's
mother, which were made from
the finest olive wood from Iwl),;
at least [hat is what the book men~
tions . This is why I chose olive
wood as the wood for {his piece.
Ult imately, it is Massie's unique
ability [0 transform inh erited mate~
rials and tradition s, filtering them
I NUIT
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27
(abovel /ittle Jimmy, 2000, (sterl ing
Chronology: The Transformation
of Michael Massie
siNer and blood wood; 19.3 x 39.37
x 32.39 cm; private collection). l....6.d
Lr'. - PA....... a-t> <,,"c.... ~
through these uni versal influences,
thm grounds his significance wid1i n
com emporary art practice. Infused
with his keen sense of observation as
well as a compelling pl ay of artistic
imagination, each \vork laye rs existing
histories and narratives with new and
fam astic imagery. As such, they arc
part of the ongoing recreation of cul ~
tural memory, adding to the un ique
inventory of icons, fables and myths
that underlie and shape everyday
experience. "I wish people would focus
on the art in ' Inu it art'," Massie has
suggested. "Art can be anything and
that is true of Inuit art as wel L It isn't
limited to hunks of stone or prints.
That's why I ca ll myself a contempora ry Inuit artist." ' "
28
1962-Michael Massie is born in
favorites is Hal Stuff, a l ittle devil
Happy Valley, Labrador of Inuit, Metis
wearing a diaper.
and Scottish descent. His grandfather
David Massie came to Canada with
1976-During an earth science class in
the Hudson's Bay Company in the
high schoo l, the teacher, larry Bradly,
early 1900s.
gives Massie his first pen sel. This leads
to more detailed drawings, from comics
1971-While on a camping trip
such as Conan, Warlord, Spiderman,
with his family in Mulligan, Lab rador,
and many others.
where his grandparents lived before
moving to Northwest River, Massie's
1982-Massie graduates from the
father shows him where all the old
College of Trades and Technology
houses and sheds were. Whi le walking
in SI. John's, Newfoundland with a
along a path they come across an ulu
Commercial Ar ts certificate. After
leaning up against a tree. Curious as to
graduation, he returns home and
what it is, Massie picks it up and asks
becomes a self-employed sign painter.
his father several questions. He is told
that it was a knife used by Inuit women
1986-Massie enrolls in the visual
to cut meat and clean pelts. It is this ulu
arts program at the West Viking College
that would playa major role in the
in Stephenv ille, Newfoundland, and
T his excerpt was reprinted with fJennis ~
sian from the catalogue Silver and
Stone: The Art of Michael Mass ie ,
The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery,
works Massie would later produce.
studies drawing with instructors Ray
1973-After completing grade 6,
During this time, Michael also develops
Massie finds out that art will no longer
strengths in painting and printmaking.
St. John's, Newfoundland , June 2 W
September 4,2006. Gloria Hickey
curared the exhibition.
be taught in the school system. In order
His paintings experiment with dimension,
to practice his draWing, he resorts to
turning 2-D surfaces into 3-D surfaces by
drawing from comic books. One of his
applying found objects to the canvas or
I
VOl . 21 ,
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Mackie, Shelly McCoy and Gwen Lawson.
2006
plywood. Massie is intrigued by the way
stone carving, prints and tapestries that
Massie is one of many Aboriginal artists
light changes the overall look of his
are the norm in Inuit art.
who ta ke part in an exhibition at the
Canadian Embassy in Paris, France. Two
paintings. He becomes fascinated with
the wide array of techniques that can be
1992-Massie takes part in a second
of Massie's ulu bowls, etched with maps,
used in printmaking.
carving workshop organized by the
are also included in the group exhibition,
Inuit Art Foundation, in Nain. Massie
Home, with the Craft Council Gallery of
1988-Massie graduates from the
take s pari in the workshops, but at the
Newfoundland and labrador in St. John's.
West Viking College with a visual arts
sa me time teaches basic photography
They are purchased as part of the prov-
diploma. His intention is to continue with
to the other students. As a result of IAQ
ince's Art Procurement program.
painting and pri ntmaking. The majority of
his paintings at the lime are monochro-
coverage, Massie is invited to partiCipate
in seve ral seminars and lectures with
1998-Massie participates in the Spirits
matic, either all while or all black. They
collecto rs and gallery owners on Ihe
in the Sun festival in Scottsda le, Arizona,
have a very qu iet mood and are mostly
changes occurring within Inuit art.
which celebrates Aboriginal art and
ambiguous, leaving their meanings open
to interpretation. His printmaking, by
1993-After completing a series
contrast, is narrative and usually about
of carvings which were purchased
1999-Massie is part of a group show
family and friends or recent events.
by the Hudson's Bay Company in
with the Spirit Wrestler Gallery in
artists from across North America.
Rexdale, Ontario, Massie is contacted
Vancouver, Briti sh Columbia , with artists
1989-ln January, Massie begins his
studies with the Nova Scotia College of
by Nunavut Arctic College in Iqaluit,
from the Northwest Territories, the
NWT to teach jewellery in Gjoa Haven.
Prairies and the West Coast of Canada.
Art and Design in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
While teaching, he is contacted by
In the fall, he becomes the youngest artist
He continues his studies with painting
lorne Balshine 10 take part in a circum-
ever shortlisted for the Saidye Bronfman
and printmaki ng but in the thi rd
polar exhi bit ion with other Aboriginal
Award for Excellence in Canadian Craft.
semester becomes faSCinated with
artists; the show later travels to Norway,
jewellery. With his first jewellery course,
His work is included in the One ofa Kind
Sweden, Alaska, Greenland and the
Show in Toronto, Ontario.
Massie knows instantly that he would
like to major in the artform.
1990-ln his sixth semester Massie
completes his first teapot, may-tea. He
bases it on the many times he either
had tea or sat and talked with his grandmother, May (Mae) Baikie, while she
drank tea . He was very close to his
grandparents because of the many summers he spent in Northwest River with
them during the summer holidays. This
is the begi nning of the word play he will
use in his teapots, for he is part Metis.
In 1990, his daughter, Keshia is born.
Northwest Territories. Massie's second
daughter, Alexandra, is born.
2001-M assie's work is included
in Coastlines , organized by the Craft
199't-Massie teaches his second year
Council Gallery of Newfoundland and
of jewellery in Iqaluit. His third child,
labrador, and opening at the Canadian
Tyler, is born.
Embassy in Tokyo, Japan. Massie parts
with the gallery in New York and begins
1995-Massie teaches stone carving
representation with the Spirit Wrestler
in Happy Valley, labrador, with the
Gallery in Vancouver, British Columbia.
College of the North Atlantic. He becomes
frustrated with the way programs are
2002-Massie partic ipates in
being run and decides to stop teaching.
Metal: 5 views, a curated exhibition
He takes part in a sroup exhibition in
of five local metal artists organized
Santa Fe, New Mexico.
by The Craft Council Gallery of
Newfoundland and labrador. Massie's
1991-Massie graduates from the
Nova Scotia College of Art and Design
with a fine arts degree and a major in
1996-The spring issue of Inuit Art
Quarterly features Massie's first teapot,
may-tea on the cover. This resu lts in
first tea set, to~ether for tea, is sh own
at a hollowware exhibition in
Scottsdale, Arizona.
jewellery. As part of the last semester,
Massie has to organize his graduation
contact from the United States. James
show in the Anna Leowens Gallery in
writes the quarterly praising Massie's
2003 -Current: Contemporary Crafts
from Newfoundland and Labrador,
Halifax. It is titled: ree-o/-Iee-tion. v. the
teapot as a "masterpiece." Massie also
organized by the Craft Council Gallery,
aet of reca1lin~ . After returning to Happy
gains representation with the Alaska
opens at the Canadian Embassy in
Valley, Massie takes part in the first
on Madison Gallery in New York, a
Washington, DC. The National Gallery
carving workshop sponsored by the
relationship that would last nearly
of Canada purchases his unit-tea teapot
Inuit Art Foundation, in Nain, Labrador.
seven years. This is the beginning of
for their permanent collection.
Two well-known and established
his acceptance by the international
Inuit artists, Maitiusi Iyatiuk and
community of collectors of Inuit art.
2005-ln October, Massie has his
As part of the workshop, th e Inuit Art
1997-tn his last year of teachinS,
Gallery, consisting of 31 pieces: carvings,
Foundation includes a section in the
Inuit Art Quarterly about the results of
Massie teaches jewellery and stone
teapots and tea sets.
carving in Port-aux-B as ques,
the program. Massie's first ever ulu
Newfou ndland. Spurred by a student's
2006-Ma ssie's first curated solo exhi -
bowl is included as one of th e images.
Massie uses silver and wood, two non-
example, he decid es that it is time for
him to set up a studio. It is located on
bition, Silver & Stone: The Art of Michael
Massie, opens at The Rooms Provincial
traditional materials, in contrast to the
the Hanson Highway in StephenVille.
Museum in SI. John's, Newfoundland.
Houston, an early champion of Inuit art,
first solo show with the Spirit Wrestler
Charlie Kogvik, teac h the workshop.
INUIT
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REV
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•
00 00 00
o
At the Power Piant Contemporary Art Gallery
Toronto, Ontario
June 24-September 4, 2006
Curated by Nancy Campbell
REVIEWED BY MARSHALL WEBB
the outset of this engaging
installation of drawings by
Annie Pootoogook is a strategi~
cally placed ink and pencil crayon
portrait of her grandmother
Pirseoiak. Drawn entirely in greys
and blacks with deft use of white
space, it is clearly not only an
homage to her famous relative, but
also the portrait of an artist who
views the world through large black
glasses that act as frames onto the
world. These large glasses seem like
winc!mvs, and so it is apt that in her
own work Pooroogook features win,
daws that reveal the in terior spaces
of her people in Cape Dorset. In
this exhibition, her drawings at The
Power Plant- the contemporary art
world's first view of this talent from
the North- act as windows onto a
world for us "down here," and we
are startled by what we see.
The world that is opened up to us
is mostly very different from the one
we thought we knew. While some
works still depict traditional rituals
in the home or of the hunt (Family
A
abuse, erotic films or young people
sitting inertly in front of a TV set.
Jerry Springer, Peter Mansbridge or
The Simpsons populate her world as
easily as family members and selfportraits. The latter not\vithstanding,
Pooroogook's world is the mediated
world and that is what brings her work
out of the ghetto of "Inuit galleries"
in museums and onto the main floor
of a place like the Power Plant.
Pooroogook chronicles events
without comment or judgement.
But some of the content can be
missed, for her sense of colour is
what first registers: the vivid reds,
yellows, blues and greens are all happy
colours that conform to our notion
of the Inuit world seen in countless
prints. Yet these colours come from
the pop world of television and packaging: the yellow from Lipton tea
or Tenderflake, the green and red
of Red Rose packaging or a Coleman
stove. Pootoogook borrows from
the packaging of products she and
others buy at the co-op and gathers
them into a contemporary still life
Gathering Whale Meat, 2003-2004,
or Famil)1 in the Kitchen, 2006), rare
(Coleman Stove with Robin Hood
Flour and Tenderflake, 2003-2004)
are the roma nti cized, often static
images of animals and hunters. In
their place are images of mundane
family life, domestic viole nce, alcohol
(right) Watching Jerry Springer,
2002-03 (ink and pencil
crayon; 26 x 20 in.). <lcr »J
t
30
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2006
IN U IT
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Man Abusing His Partner, 2001-2002, (ink and pencil crayon; 26 x 20 in.). <I"... >JJI.
or deposits them on the countertops
and dressers of her and her fri ends'
homes. Often she intensifies the
colou rs. In Making Tea, 2006, for
example, dark purple tea is poured
into a S tella~ s triped mug. G reen
and ora nge curtains frame a window
that looks out onto a blue truck.
A red and black clock (a recurring
motif) clicks the time. The simple
act of raking tea is transformed
by bursts of colour thar. render the
o rdi nary extraordinary.
Interestingly, some products rece ive
"endorse ment" whi le o thers are
merely generic. The jar in Making
Tea is labelled only "peanut butter;"
nea rby is "dish soa p" or "corn flakes."
In another drawing, completely
un assuming in its black and whi te
presentation (some of her strongest
work is rendered only in black, with
gra ce notes of red), a couple, whose
clothes arc strewn carelessly on the
floor, snuggle tightly in bed as they
watch an erotic movie on television.
O n the nearby dresser is a bottle of
nail po lish and musk cologne, their
32
I
VOl . 21,
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P"{,6,(
labels Inarked only in black letters.
Pootoogook knows when to ho ld
back o n her use of vivid colour so
as nor to saturate her work , or not
to distract from some moments of
pure pleasure (Warching Erotic Film,
2003- 2004 ).
Pootoogook
does not shy away
from the harsher
side of life,
an important
part of this
exhibition
Woman at her Mirror (Playboy
Pose ), 2003 , another example of
knowing when to hold back, shows
a woman in profile si tting naked
befo re her va nity mirror. Again ,
2006
generic products grace her table:
perfum e, nail po lish , a jar of make up
drawn onl y in black so that nothing
detracts from the woman perched
superbly on her blue stool, her large,
red high heels the focal point of the
ima ge. This work is a rare example
of no setting: no clock, keys, window.
A II eyes are on the woman who
imagines herself a pin-up girl. The
body is rend ered a bit stiffly, but the
joy and fantasy of the work are no
less. A d ifferent innocence appears
in Gathering Fish: while one man
ga thers the catch , his helper pees
in the snow. A del ightful touch is
the acutely obse rved gloves thatlike the sca ttered clothing in
Watching Erotic Film- ha ve been
tossed aside by the helper.
Yet Pootoogook does not shy
away from the harsher side of life,
an important part of this exhibition.
She chronicles herself smashing
liqu or bottles (Memory of My Lif"
Breaking Bottles, 2001-2003), her
experience with spousa l abuse
(Man Abll.lillg his Parmer, 200 1-2002)
Pootoogook's world is the
mediated world and that
is what brings her work out
of the ghetto of "Inuit galleries"
in museums and onto the
main floor of a place like
the Power Plant
A Portroi t of Pitseolak, 2003--04, link and pencil crayon; 26 x 20 in.).
<10- >)J\ P'l.,6(
and imp lied domestic troubles in
Dr. Phil, 2006, or Watching Jerry
SI!Tinger, 2002- 2003. In Man Abusing
his Partner, Pootoogook draws (he
woman rigid ly reco iling on her bed
in fear. In front of her, a man (A nnie's
partner at [he time) grips a long piece
of wood held ove r hi s head, h is face
covered by his a rm s bent just before
striking. She h as placed the figu res
at just the righ t distance to enhance
the scene's tension. He r colour scheme
is muted, the lines of the figures are
rudi mentary, but the psycholog ical
and physical tension of th is moment,
suspended on th e paper, is palpab le.
Yet, even in 2003, she was evolvi ng
her subject matter: Coleman Stove
with Robin Hood Flour is a fi ne still
life that announces her contemporary,
"life-li ved" subject matter. O nly three
years after that camp still life, she
created the large sca le Cape Dorset
Freezer (1 21.9 x 243.8 em) wi th
its shelves of colou rful packaging
that has had such. an infl uence
on her wo rk. In this strong work,
Pootoogook depic ts a shopper
reflected full~leng th in an open
freeze r door. As if in a ph otograph ,
sh e captures this famil iar mome nt
of domestic life. Placed near th e
T he exh ibition also ch ron icl es
the development of Pootoogook's
technique. It is oftcn poss ibl e to
d isti ngu ish works fro m the early
20005 from mo re rece nt works.
Earlier works can be more subdued
in colour, the fi gures stiff a nd linear.
By 2006, however, she uses colom
<.l lmost with abandon; her figu res are
looser, wh ether in the flesh or unde r
a parka. In th e 2003 work H olding
Boots, it is easy to imag ine her grand~
mother or Kenojuak creating such a
composition; however Glasses/Pencil/
Eraser, 2006, and Bra, 2006, are purely
conte mporary Pootoogook (even
though the former is another all usion
to he r grandmother. Her placement
of the objects effecti vely creates a
real scene, as if the a rtist has, just for
a moment, laid down h er tools. ).
Watching Erotic Film, 2003--04, link; 26 x 20 in.). <lcr >)J\ P'l..t.'
end of the cx h ibition, this d rawing
completes an interesting journey
begun with the 2003 drawing of her
grandmother looking out OntO the
world and end ing here in the co~op.
Pootoogook doesn't wear glasses,
but she sees into th e life of h er
people and, like the figu re's reflection
captured for a moment in the freeze r's
glass, she reflects it ou t in to th e
world fo r a deservedly larger audience
to experience . . . .
Marshall Webb is a freelance UJriter
living in ToronLO.
INUIT
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UPDATE
Privacy Concerns Halt Distribution of
Inuit Artist Biographies
O
fficia ls with the Departme nt of
Ind ian and Northern Affairs
Canada (lNAC) say that
concerns about privacy were at the
heart of the department's dec ision to
suspend dissc mi nmion of Inuit anist
biographies produced by th e department's Ind ian and Inui t Art Centre.
Th e decisio n was necessary in order
to comply with federa l privacy laws,
says Viviane Gray, manager of th e
government program.
"The Departmen t of Indian and
Northe rn Affa irs' Pri vacy specialists
determi ned th at th ere were se rious
pri vacy concerns relating to the
man ne r in which b iograph ica l info rmation had been collected," reported
Gray. "Not the least of these concerns was th at th e biograph ies were
be ing deve loped without the artist's
consent regarding the collection and
poss ible public disclosu re of the ir
persona l information."
with the Inuit artist up there in
tenns of having /)ennission ro
release the biography-but, it
seems to me that, in the case of
Inu it art, somehow ar other an
exception has to be made ... We
need some solution beyond just
'No, ' and 'I'm sorry, we can't
help you. '
Feheley, who once sat on the Arts
and Crafts Project Liaison Com mi ttee
th at provided funding for the b i og~
raphies project, said tha t the project
began as a market ing tool to h elp
promote indiv idual artists. She added
that the proliferation of artist biogra~
phies in th e 1980s meant that indivi d~
ual artists began to be recognized for
their work. "[lei sparked an incredible
change in how people looked at Inu it
art and it couldn 't have been done
by the ind iv idual ga lleries because of
language, access and [other com mu~
nication barriers)' And that is still the
"If you don't have [Inuit artist biographies],
then you're back to dealing with the faceless
Inuit artist, the way it was in the 1950s and
1960s, when people didn't pay that much
attention to the individual." - Pat Feheley
Still, th is explanation isn't sitting
very well with some Inuit art dea lers,
who say they depend on the depart~
ment's information on art ists to sell
artwork . "Access to biographical mate~
rial is absolutely key to educati ng the
public about an artist and th e refore
promoting sa les of the ir work," sa id
Pat Feheley, the pres ident of the Art
Dealers A ssociation of Ca nada and
owner of Feheley Fine Arts, a Toron to
gallery specializing in Inuit art.
r kind of understand the dilemma,
in that you have a third pany
case," Feheley sa id. "If you don't h<:lve
that, then you're back to dealing with
the faceless In uit artist, the way it was
in the 1950, and I 960s, when peop le
didn't pay that much attention to
the individua L"
Norman Varano, the curator
of conte mporary In uit art at the
Canadia n Museum of C ivi lization,
h as a different take on the situation:
involvement here- the Inuit gallery
in TOTDntO ~~ nor dealing directly
3 4
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2006
It 's /)remature to say that the
withdrawal of the INAC biographies will/ead, regressivel)1) to
those earlier, nameless oo),S of
'Eskimo art.' In [act, withdraw~
ing them may precipitate some
needed changes. On the one hand,
interested students and collectors
may seek out artists with grea ter
freq uency, to talk to them in
person or over the telephone, and
communicate with the co~ops
direal)'-Tarher than rely on per~
funcwry and oftentimes incorrect
biographical sketches. Would this
not be standard procedure if they
were researching southern artis ts ?
The other h idden benefit, sa id
Varano, is that a rtists may fee l more
com pe ll ed to produce the ir own
CVs, statemen ts of purpose and
portfo lios, be it through the Internet
or a community guidebook. H e
pointed to the recent book A Guide
to Kimmirut Artists 2005-2006,
produced by the former com munity
economic development officer, Kyra
Fisher, as a model for how to compile
Inu it artist biographies.
"Working right in the community,
artists provided Kyra with as much or
as little informat ion as t hey wanted
to," Varano said. "The end result was
a refe rence [001 that is, iro ni cally,
muc h more com prehensive than
those sk eletal INAC biograph ies.
It inclu des glossy photos of th e artists and , often , of th e ir artwork, and
brief artists' stateme nts, among other
rhin gs. Th is is an enormo us leap
forwa rd. Importantly, it speaks to the
needs of practising a rtists."
Other Inuit-run organi zations
a re also beg inning to produce biog~
raphies with the assistance of artists. Gray referred to web sites by
La Federation des coopera ti ves du
Nouveau~Quebec and th e N unavut
Arts and C rafts Assoc iation as two
good examples. She suggested thac
t hese new promot ional endeavours
may make the need for INAC's data~
base obsolete. H er centre has already
started referring peop le to these web
sites and G ray sa id th at her staff will
conti nue [Q research wh at in fo r ma~
t ion is already ava ilable. "Peop le are
tak ing th is up," she said, "but we
have to ensure that we' re up to date
on what's out there."
INAC first began ga thering bio~
graphical informati on on Inu it artists
in 1969. Abou[ 10 years ago. [hose
records were entered into a database.
In addition to info rmation on birth
dates , marital status, com mun ity
of res idence, alternate names and
fam ilia l re lat ions, the centre's data ~
base also lists the disc numbers (or
"E nu mbers") of some arrists. The
controversial n umbers were part of
a catalogui ng system ini tiated by
the government in the early 1940s
to identify people before Inuit were
organized into famil ies with com mon
surnames. In 197 1. INAC officially
discominued the use of d isc n urnbe rs
to identify Inui t.
INAC's database of art ist i n for~
mat ion has been wide ly d istribu ted
over the years and even fou nd its
way onto [he World Wide Web.
Complaints fro m In uit art ists have
been lodged with the deparrment
rece ntly over the distribut ion of thei r
personal inform ation . According
to Diane Leroux, manager of the
department's Access to Information
and Pri vacy (ATIP) office. a lor of
the information about art ists was
disse minated pr io r to the Privacy
Act, which came into effect in 1983.
INAC hopes that it can work with
art ists to he lp clea n up some ohhe
infor mation th at it helped put into
the public domain. INAC has se nt
cease and desist lette rs to web sites
publish ing departmental information
onli ne and say they will work closely
with artists to put a stop to the
d istribution of potential ly sensitive
personal information originating
from the government's database.
This paS[ Septembe r. INAC staff
met with the board of di rectors of
the In uit Art Foundation (lA F)
to d isc uss artists' conce rns about
pr ivacy. "If I enter my name into a
search eng ine on the Inte rn et, I get
all th is information about me," IAF
president Matt iusi Iyaituk said at the
mee ting. "Also, if I [ente r] my disc
n umber, I will get all th is infor m a~
tion ... Sometimes I am alarmed
that a person I don't know will know
things about me and my fa mi ly."
A nother com mon compla int
about the government's art ist data~
base is that much of the informatio n
is either incorrect or out of date.
Because it is assumed to come from
an official source, howeve r, the mis~
informat ion continues to circulate.
"We have a mess, on the Internet,
wi th ou r fil es,!! G ray said . "We can't
fix it alone. We need the community."
Wh ile it may be next to imposs ible
to clea n up all the sensiti ve or i nac~
curate info rmation in the public
domain, INAC has decided not to
d istribute any more of the material
without corroboration and consent
fro m the arti sts.
in these circu msta nces to keep
in mind th at, fo r many anists,
th is is one of the few ways they
ca n make information abollt the m ~
selves ava ilable for the public," he
said. "Bu t artists need to be in the
dri ver's seat."
While the Inuit Art Centre has
started to ge t conse nt fro m artists
represented in its own art co ll ection, ge tting co nse nt from over
4,000 artists-some alive and some
dead-might prove too daunting
a task. "In the long te rm , I'm not
sure that we can [get consent} from
4,000 artiSts," Gray said. "We have
to review a II that."
"Withdrawing the INAC biographies may
precipitate some needed changes. On the
one hand, interested students and collectors
may seek out artists with greater frequency,
rather than relying on perfunctory and
oftentimes incorrect biographical sketches."
- Norman Vorano
Heather Campbell, language
and cultu re coordi nator with Inuit
Tapiriit Kana tami (ITK ) and a
fo rmer curator with the In uit Art
Centre, thinks that, unfortunately,
much of the damage might ()Iready
have bee n done. "The nature of the
Internet makes it nearl y impossible
to remove and/or ed it the infor mat ion o ut there, but I bel ieve our foclls
must now be on preventi ng th is from
happe ni ng to the next generat ion of
Inu it artists," she said. "We need CO
info rm the artists of their rights and
encourage greater partici pati on in
how their biographical information
is presented."
In spite of its fl aws, many curators
and dea lers still recognize the va lue
of the biograp hi cal information
contai ned in the INAC database.
Like Feheley, Vorano wonders if the
simplest so lution might be to have
artists ed it thei r biograp h ies and
the n give their co nsent to make
them public. "I think it's im portant
G ray said that the centre
will consu lt with Inuit artists and
In uit organi zations before making
a decision about what to do wi th
the remaini ng biographies of artists
not represented in its collection .
Presentl y, the artist fi les are be ing
kept in the department. Plans are
in the works, however, to transfer
some of tile records to the Library
and Archives Ca nada, where
they coul d be made ava ila ble
to resea rche rs. "A ll records are
revi ewed by Li bra ry and Archives
C anada , wh ich decides wheth er
the records get des troyed or if
they' re preserved in its fac il ity,"
said Jacques Richer fro m Records
Operations at INAC. "It was decided
that Inu it artists' files should be
preserved and transferred to them.
If anyone requests to see them, they
will be subject to the usual rev iew
as far as privacy is concerned."
James Sinclair
INUIT
A RT
QU AR TE R LY
I
35
UPDATE
BRIEFLY NOTED
Bart Hanna: Artist in Residence
Igloolik arrist Barr Hanna was in southern
Great Northern Arts Festival
Seeking New Direction
Ontario in early November as artisr-inresiden ce at two Ontario galleries: Kipling
Gallery in Woodbridge and the McM ichael
Canadian Art Collection in Kleinberg. Hanna
gave artist demonstrations
(0
schoolchi ld ren
at Kipling Gallery on November 9 and 10, in
co njun ction with a solo exhibition of his work
organ ized by gallery owners Rocco Pannese
and Lou Ruffalo. He was artise-in-residence
at rhe McMichael on November I I an d 12.
Kayak Exhibit in Zurich
T he North American Native Mu seu m
(N ONAM-No rdamerika Native Museum)
in ZU ri ch has organized an exh ibition
dedi ca ted to rh e indigenous watercraft of
North America. Canoe and Kayak: Boats of
Indian and Inuit Origin opened at the
museum on Septem ber 17. Fearured were
mostl y birch bark boats, including a rare
prese rved histor ic ca noe and the "Kayak
d'Ammasalik ," the boat used by the Swiss
pol ar ex plorer Alfred de Quervain for his
1912- 19 13 expedit ion.
Massie Up for Craft Award
Labrador Artist Mike Massie, a silversmith
and sculptor best known for his teapots combi ni ng Inuit and wC'item symbols, has been
selected as one of five fi nalists for this year's
Saidye Bronfman award, one of the largest
individual prizes for fine crafts in Canada. In
addition to the cash prize of $25,000, the
award winner's work will be included in an
exhibition at the Ca nadian Museum of
C ivilization in Gatineau, Quebec, starting in
O ctober. Th e anist's work will also be added
[Q
the museum's permanent collection.
Established to honour excellence by Canadian
craftspeople, me Saidye Bronfman award is
presemed by the Samuel and Saidye Bronfman
Fam ily Foundation in association with the
Canada Cou nci l for the Arts and [he Canadian
M useum of Civil ization.
Yellowknife Statue Repaired
Yellowknife's Veteran's Memorial Starue, built
by Tukroyakruk artist Eli Nasogaluak, was
damaged by vandal s in July. The heel of one of
the soldiers depicted in the approximately
nine-foot -mll piece was broken off as though
it had been hiL Nasogaluak repaired the
carving in September with funds from the
local branch of the Royal Canadian Legion.
The statue was first unveiled at the city's
Remembrance Day ceremony in 2005.
36
I
VOt . 21 ,
NO . 4
From left to right: Derrald Taylor, Eli Nasogaluak and Raquel Nuttall having their artworks priced and
inventoried at the Great Northern Arts Festival. While there were fewer artists {especially from Nunavut)
at this year's festival , organizers hope to increase artist participation in years to come. nt>?' Cl::,...:;,.
l::,. c....l::,. o.."Jl,..:;,<l1
T
<llL
~l::,.r
o..Ct:.
L
he Great Nonhern Arts Festival went
ahead (his July, albeit on a smaller scale
than in years past. Th e largest ans festival in the Nonh, held annually in lnuvik,
Nonhwesr Territories. has been in a rebuilding phase since last yea r, when budgctary
and adm in istrat ive problems nearly forced
organizers to skip the ann ual event for the
fi rst t ime in its hisrory.
This year's festival hosred 75 visual artists
- including eight anists from Nunavut-and
six groups of performing artistS, not quite the
record turn-o ur of 150 artists the festival
hosted eigh t years ago for its 10th anniversary.
Organizers now hope to gradually bring the
number of participating artists back up to the
level of previous years. "The fes{ival grew a
litcle too qui ckly," says Mamie Hilash , the
new executi ve d irecror, "like a plant (h ar
bolts, so we had [0 prune ir back and make
sure that th e roots were strong. "
Organi7.ers will use this year to revisit the
festival's mandate ro foster the arts throughout
the Canadian Arctic. They will have ro consider what funding is available befo re any
definiti ve plan s can be made as to the festi val's future. Pri vate sponsors--such as First
Air and the Mackenzie Delta Hotel Group,
which provided air fare and accommodation
for the artists-helped make this year's event
the moderate success that it was. Hilash says
she plans to build on those relationships and
explore other Fundraising possibilities with
agenci es such as the Canada Council for
the Arts, which has provided support for the
festival in the pase.
WINTER
2006
Accordin g ro Hilash, who would like to see
the festival have a strong local su ppOrt base,
o rgan izers will have ro decide how much they
want to rely on external funding, or whether
they would rather work rowards seei ng it
become a sel f-susrain ing event. In spite of
fewer visitors this year (approxi mately 300),
about $130,000 worth o f artwork was sold.
The fest ival ca n on ly claim abollt a thi rd of
that as profit.
C oordinators will also have to consider
changes in the north ern art market since the
festival began 18 years ago. Many of the original carvers who made a name for themselves
in the Inu it art world have passed on, which
has led ro thc crea tion of a high-end collecror's
markcr for thcir work. Meanwhile, emerging art ises from the North are still working
to es tablish a niche fo r themselves in thc
Canadian art world.
The theme of this year's festival-Living
the Legacy ofour I:.lders-was chosen to ho nour se n ior artists as well as those who have
died. Organi7.ers also wanted ro show the ways
in whi ch time-honou red artforms are being
carried on by a new generation , "whether it is
by emulating traditional (art), or taking traditional (art) as a sta rting point for something
new and more contemporary," says Hilash.
"The festival ex ists because it needs [Q
exist," adds the new director. "We bring the
North rogcrhcr to discover our sim ilarities
and celebrate our differences. It's important to
maintain t hat for the sa ke of northern art
and culture." ......
BR IEFLY NOTED
Doris McCarthy Grant
Doris McCa rthy has donated the proceeds from rhe auctioning of one of her
paintings ro the Inuit AI( Foundation
ro help provide materials co Inuit artists
living in t he Arctic. The $6,000 donation came from the sale of her painting
of Pangnirtung Pass at an auction organized by rhe non-profit anises' group
Arnie Quest, of which McCarthy is
president. The group held lh e auction
to raise funds for an arctic expedition in
ccltbrat"ion of rhe 100th anniversary of
the first sh ip ro sa il rhe Northwest
Passage. The Inuit Art Fou ndation has
pur Out a ca ll TO artists groups who need
assiscance getring material s.
Inuit Circumpolar Conference
Six visual anists and fi ve performance
artists from Nunavur, Nunavik and
Labrador were invited to the Inuit
Circumpolar C onferen ce's General
Assembly in Barrow, Alaska this year
from July 10 ro 13. T he culrural delegates
gave anmaking demonstrations and performed throarsinging and drumdancing
routines. Invited visual arti sts included
Joshua Sivuaraapik of Puvirniruq;
Shirley Moorhouse and Mark 19lolione
o f Goose Bay, Labrador, as well as
Elisapie Inukpuk, Minnie Amidlak and
Lizzie Pal li ser of ln ukjuak. Invited performance artists included Pauyangie
Nuraraaluk of Kujjuaraapik, Sylvia
C loutier and Cel ina Kalluk of Iqalu it,
Jaff Tabvatah of Arviat. and Terry
Kuptana, originally from Tuktoyakruk.
Exhibit at Rideau Hall
A work by Cape Dorset graph ic artist
Annie Pootoogook was includ ed in an
exhibition at Rideau Hall this fall
h igh lighting "the ch anging face of
contem porary Ca nad ian art." The exhibition. em irlcd Dialogues, included
18 works selected from recent acquisi(ions by the Canada Council Art Bank.
Pooroogook was th e only Inuit artist
included in the exhibition, opened by
the Govenor General of Canada,
Michaelle Jean, onJune2?, 200G.lt ran
until Ocrober 9, 200G at Rideau Hall ,
the Governor General's official residence.
Inuit Art in Budapest
Two recent ex h ibitions of Inui t prints
and sculpture were show n in Budapest,
Hungary. Organized by Marianne
H erwig, owner of Gallery M in Vienna,
the exhibi tio ns were intended to promote Inuit an to a new audience. "This
is the firsr time that Inuit artworks were
exhibited in Budapest and introduced
to the public," Herwig said. Th e first,
from June 23 to July? at the Hotel Le
Meridien, was written about in the Sryle
section of the Budtlpest Sun. A second
exhibition, at the Canadian Embassy in
Budapest, came at the invitation of Agnes
Pust. an embassy cou nsellor who was
impressed w ith H erwig's first show.
H erwig said she hopes to convince one of
the museums in Budapest to consider a
permanent display of Inuit art.
New Film from Arnait
Unakuluk (Dear Little One), a
4G- minute docum enta ry by Arnait
Video Productions, was screened at the
200G imageNatio ll Film Festival on
June 25, 2006. The fi lm, directed by
Arnair founder Marie-H elene Cousineau ,
takes place in 19loolik and centres on the
customs involved with adoption in
Inui t culrure. Cousineau uses case histo ries and personal ex periences including the adoption of her second
son, Mathew, from an Inuit family- to
rel l the Story. Unakuluk premiered at
the ReelWorld Film Festival in April
2006. Cousineau is now working on her
first feature film debut, The Day Before
Tomorrow, based on a Dan ish novel.
Irniq Builds Inuksuk
Former Nunavu t commissioner, Peter
Irni'l, erected an inuksuk at the Institute
of American Indian Arrs in Sama Fe,
New Mexico, rhis past July. Th e commission came at the requesr of the institure,
which is currently exhibiting Our Land, a
travelli ng exhibition of contemporary
Inuit art selected from the Nunavut terrirorial collection. Imiq has built several
inuksuit around the globe, includ ing in
Normandy, France, and in Boston. This
past summer, Irniq lefr his hometown of
Iqaluit for Onawa, where he and his wife
plan to live.
Iqaluit CO-Op Proposed
Si b Kipanek, an Iqaluit-based artist,
wants to establish a co-op for carvers in
order to address th e scarci ty of quality
carvingsro ne in Nunavur's ca pital.
Accord ing to Ki panek, the lack of carvingsro ne is making it d ifficult for artists
in the ciry to earn a living. Stone is
brought to lqaluit by ship from a quarry
near Cape Dorset by one o r two suppliers. With pla ns to o pen h is own
carver-owned and operated gallery,
Kipanek also hopes (0 inspire creative
solutio ns for artists, such as using
granite when carvingsrone is scarce.
True North Concert
The True North Concert, a two-night
show organized by CBC North this past
June to celebrate its 25th anniversary,
fea tured 13 musical acts for a sold-our
crowd at the Northern Arts and Cultural
Centre in Yellowknife. Inuir performers
included si ngers Charlie Panigon iak
and Lorna Tasseor of Rankin Inlet,
accordion player Simeonie Keenanik of
Pangni rtung, and drumdance r Mathew
Nuqingaq of I'laluit. In the audience
on the second night of the invitationonly show were Governor General
Michael le Jean and the CBC board
of directors. Concen coordinato rs are
considering the Eastern Arctic for next
year's venue.
Artists Need Materials
A survey of artists conducted by the
Inuit Art Foundation in 2006 reveals
that rhe majo rity of Inuit artists in the
North have great difficulty accessing an
materials, such as stone. Sevenry-cight
per cent of anists said it was d iffic ult to
acquire the raw materials they needed
to practice art. Over three-quarters of
the anists interviewed reponed carving
as the ir primary art form, and about
half said that the ir primary mo tivation
in making art was to earn a living. The
foundation conducted rhe su rvey as
parr of a larger review fund ed in parr by
the federal deparrment of Canad ian
He rirage, under the Canadian Arts and
Heritage Sustainabil ity Program.
Nuqingaq at the Guild Shop
lqaluit jeweller. silversmith, sculptor,
and drumdancer Mathew Nu'l ingaq
had hi s first solo art exhibition this past
August. Treasures from North of 60 at
the Guild Shop in TOfOmo, a co mmercial
showcase for the Omario Crafts Cou ncil,
featured a selection of N uqi ngaq's jewellery made from brass, gold , silver, ivory
and precious stones from Nunavllt.
Nuqingaq is secretary treasurer of dle
Inuit Art Foundation, an advisor with
{he Nunavur Ans and Crafts Association,
and a member of the Aboriginal Advisory
Committee of the Canada Cou ncil for
the ArtS.
INUIT
ART
QUARTERLY
I
37
Toronto International Art Fair
Nunavik Art Workshops
Feheley Fine Ans featured the work of
emerging anists from Cape Dorset at
the seventh an n ual Toronto International
Art Fair, Canada's premier fair for imernational modern and contemporary art.
On display were origina1 drawings by
Thirry~six
cous ins Annie Pooroogook, Shuvinai
Ashoona and Siassie Kenneally, as well as
work by Arnaqu Ashevak, Jutai Toanao
and Sam Taonoo . The fair ran from
November 9 to 13 at the Metro Toronto
Convention Centre.
Montreux Fair
The Cerny Inuit Collection presented a
display of Inuit art at the Montrcux Art
Gallery Contemporary Art Fair in
Switzerland this past November. Over
50 galleries exh ibited work at the fair,
the largest of its kind in the Frenchspeaking quarters o f Switzerland. About
50 to 75 works, including graphics and
sculpture, were presented for sale in the
Cerny booth. According to the gallery
owners , Montreux organizers are con~
templating a ci rcumpolar art theme for
next year's fair.
Nunavik artists participated
in th e fifth annual Nunavik Art
Workshop, which took to take place
over 13 days this past October in
Kuujjuaq. Carving workshops, were
taught by instructo r Maniusi lyaituk.
Other workshops included acrylic
paiming on canvas, taught by Sammy
Kudluk, and the making of dolls and
okpiks, taught by Annie Jonas and
Elisapie Inukpuk. Th e workshops were
free to participants, sponsored by Makivik
Corporation through funding from the
C anadian Heritage NationalArtsTraining
C ontribution Program and the Kativik
Regional Government's Employment
and Training Department.
Iqaluit and Montreal, is publisher and
agent for Arnaktauyok, as well as many
other well~known artists. The business is
owned and operated by husband and
wife Thomas and H elen Webster........
New Arnaktauyok Print
Arts lnduvik, an Inuit art wholesale
distribution company, is celebrating its
25th anniversary this year with the release
of a limited edition prim by renowned
Igloolik artist Germaine Arnaktauyok
entitled My Father's Inuksuk. The inuksuk
in the print is based on o ne Arnaktauyok
remembers her fathe r building when she
was a child. Arts lnduvik, with offices in
The Clarkson Cup, shown here, was unveiled
this post summer in Toronto. Crafted by
a rtists from Nunovut Arctic College's iewel~
lery program, the cup was presented to the
Canadian women's O lympic team by former
Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, who
commissioned the trophy in September 2005.
Galerie Elca London
INUIT MASTERWORKS
LATCHOLASSIE AKESUK
MATHEW AOIGAAO
BARNABUS ARNASUNGAAO
KIAWAK ASHOONA
DAVIE ATCHEALAK
OSU ITOK IPEELEE
JOHN PANGNARK
DAVID RUBEN PIOTOUKUN
MIRIAM OIYUK
PAUTA SAILA
LUCY TASSEOR
JUDAS ULLULAO
'Video catalogue available upon request
Interested in purchasing quality
works of Inuit art
1196 Sherbrooke St. West, Montreal, Qyebec H3A lH6
Tel: (514) 282-1173' Fax: (514) 282- 1229
E-mail: info@elcalondon.com
http://www.elcalondon.com
Art Dealers Association if Canada
Association des marchands d'art du Canada
38
I
VOL . 21 ,
NO . 4
WINTER
2006
N
AOUDLA PUDLAT
( 1951-2006)
Inuit artist Aoudla Pudlat drowned
in a snowmobile acc ident this past
June while returning from a hunting
and fis h ing trip about 25 kilometres
east of Baker Lake. Pudlat, 54, was
riding on the snowmobile with a
friend, Al istair Peryouar, 28, when
the veh icle plunged into a 50~metre
stretch of open water between ice
and land, killing them both.
Originally from Cape Dorset,
Pud lat was an acco mplish ed graphic
artist at the West Baffin Eskimo
Cooperative. He was singled our early
in hi s caree r as having exceptio nal
talent. In 1981, Thea Waddington
Inc., in co~operation widl th e
West Baffin lithography studio, com~
missioned and publish ed a portfolio
of six of his lithographs. Three years
later, in the 1984 Cape Dorset
Graphics cata logue, Terry Ryan
wrote: "Aoudla is symbolic of the
new generation of Dorset artists.
Although influenced CO a grea t
degree by his older colleagues. he is
still more in fluenced by the changing
Arctic of the 1980s. He, (lnd artists
like him. are h arbingers of things
to come."
Whi le Pudlat created many
stonecut and lithography works
during h is t ime at the printmaking
studios in Dorset-many of which
were included in the ann ual co lle c~
tions in the 19805 and early 1990she was also a prolific drawer, amassing
a cons iderable archive of works in
the medium. No less than three solo
ex h ibitions of hi s d raw ings were
organized at galleries in New York
and Montreal during the 1980s.
"He was a very versat ile artist,"
sa id hi s stepson Chri s Pudlat, now
the carvi ng buyer at th e West Baffin
co~o p. "He was very creative and
ve ry artistic. He was doing art all
th e tim e. He made art, n ot just to
make money, but because he loved
to create th ings. He's quite d ifferent,
I think, in that way."
Pudlat's graphi c works wou ld
vary from sty lized or etherea l images
of birds to complicated and highly
realistic images of northern and
conte mpora ry sce nes. In 1986, the
Ca nadia n Gu ild of Crafts acqui red
an edition of lithographs entitled
Woman at Inukshuk Point to
M E M 0
R
A
M
com~
memorate its 90th anniversary.
The lifelike image was drawn directly
on stone from a photogtaph by
Jimmy Mann ing. More stylized works
appeared in the 1988 Cape Dorset
cata logue, in which Pud lat was
featured alongside two other artists
from the studio.
Pudlat's last contribut ion [Q the
Cape Dorset print collection was
in 1994. In 1996 he moved
to
Baker Lake to enrol in a printmak ing
course at the community campus of
Nu navut Arctic College. There, he
exper imented with new techniques
and media, including woodcut and
paper mache. "He was exposed to
new media and he never balked at it,"
said Kyra Fisher, Pudlat's instructor.
"He was a perfection ist, so whatever
he did, he did it very we lL"
After the course, Pudlat remained
in Baker Lake, where he continued
to work with th e local prin tmakers
and contributed to the co mmuni ty's
annua l print collections. Some of his
most innovat ive works were created
duri ng that time, including those in
the 200 I print collection. Then and
Now, a unique woodcut and stenc il
triptych, depicts the evoluti on of
Inui t society in three separate
frames-from igloos and dogsleds to
hydro poles and heated buildings.
Shamanizing, another more abstract
pr in t from the same collection, was
used on the cover of the catalogue.
I enjoyed know ing him and share
with many others his loss."
Pudlat touched many li ves in
each of the commu nities he lived.
Fascinated by th e differences
he encountered between his two
h ometowns, Pudlat kept a ru nni ng
dictionary of variances in dia lect
"He was very creative and very artistic.
He was doing art all the time. He made art,
not just to make money, but because he
loved to create things. He was quite different,
I think, in that way." - Chris Pudlat
"His departure from Dorset years
ago [0 take up residency in Baker Lake
was a loss to the stud ios but a gain
for the artS program at Baker," sa id
Ryan, now manager of Dorset Fine
Arts, the West Baffin co~op's art mar~
keting div ision in Toron to. "His loss
will be felt, not only among those
who knew h im as an artist of merit,
but [also those who knew him as]
a quiet and introspective man.
between the two communit ies. At
last count, his notebook contained
ove r 200 inukr itut words. W h ile the
local parlance of his two homes might
have varied, his impact on the places
he ca lled home-and on the Inuit
art world at large- will never be lost
in trans lation. A funera l service was
held in Baker Lake this past July. A
separate me morial serv ice was held
in Cape Dorset . .......
INUIT
ART
QUARTERLY
I
39
Where do you always find
beautiful Inuit art?
~
~
ohome
o<owoy
Arctic and Indian arts
for the 21 st century
www.homcandaway.bi z
26 Maine Street
Kennebunkport
Maine USA
at www.arcticartistry.com
207 967-2122
rortla~s a cntlca l transition POUlt lor the Inuit
the mtrodULllon of Chnstlamt \ to ,1 sh.lIlnnl<. culture
Ance .. tors
PROVIDIN<; HIf'(ORICAl to.
CONTEMPORARY
INVIT ART OF ARCTIC CANADA.
ALASKA. to.
<;REENLAND FOR OVER 20 YEARS
'-t~
~
Ii rs t pea p lesg a lle ry
:: collector quality Inuit art :'
Playing Kickball with Demons, Pitseolak , Cape Dorset, 1960,
Stonecut, 18/50 ,19x24
INUIT
IMAGES
SANDWICH, MA
P.O. Box 308, Sandwich , MA 02563
(508) 833-8250 www.inuitimages.cominuitimages@cs.com
online gallery: INWw.firstpeoplesgall ery.com
phone, 888.291.8217 /2 16.226.4863
fax, 216.226.4863
email: firstpeop les@sbcglobal.net
business office: 19885 Detro it Rd . #253
Rocky River. Oh io 44116
~Canadian
V
Guild of Crafts
1460 Sherbrooke West, Suite B
Montreal (Quebec) H3G 1K4
t 514.849.6091
www.canadiangui ldofcrafts.com
info@canadianguild.com
1906-2006
100 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE
Inuit art, ameridien art,
contemporary fine crafts
Upcoming Exhibition:
Tapestries from Baker Lake
and Pangnirtung
November 9-December 30, 2006
Look North buys and
sells quality In uit
sculptures and prints.
and also provides a
personalized search
service for our customers.
We will send photos of
art work on request
o r you can visit our
"by appointme nt only "
gallery in Guildhall,
Vermont, USA.
Lo 0 k Nor
'\ '\"<1"\,._
INUIT ART COLLECTI&'N
WWW.LOOKNORTHARCTICARTS.COM. )
PO Box 2
Guildholl, V"m onl, USA 05905
1,1802 · 676· 3967
ewcla rk@worldnet.att. net
---
Fehele~FineArts
14 Hazelton Avenue, Toronto, Canada M5R 2E2
416·323-1373 • ga lle ry@feheleyfinea rts.com
www.feheleyfinearts.com
LET
T
E
R
S
Don't Forget the Advertising
F
rom th is collector's perspecti ve,
Janet Catherine Berlo ("20 Years of
lAQ," Summer 2(06) misses a key
fu nction of periodicals like IAQ and
A IAM: the advertising. How bette r
to keep up with what the art ists arc
doing and how market values are
evolvi ng? Li ke any newspaper or magazi ne I read , some of the edi tor ia l
content fasci nates me and some bores
me silly. I am sure the same is tfue for
most readers and I am equa ll y sure
th at my cup of tea is someone elsc's
hemlock. But I'd bet it's the advertising that creates the community
of readers wh o subscribe to (and
therefore make possible) high quality
publicat ions in specialized ( Le.,
narrow) fi e lds. We actua ll y need
pu blicat ions that will promote and
advance the cause of native arts and ,
if th ey a re lavish , so much the bette r.
Dr. Berlo's kind words for Third Text
and Social Text are appropriate only
in the still narrower context of the
academy. Theoretical criticism is its
own excuse for bein g (perhaps its
o nl y such excuse). For a ll th e ir
postmodern ist correctn ess and
deconstruct ionist anaiytics, ne ither
journal has ever helped educate a
colleccor or an artist. Granted this is
an ancient debate. Still, Rainer Mar ia
Rilke had the best of it when he
wrote, "Works of art are of an infinite
loneliness and noth ing is as inad equate as criticism for reaching out to
t he m. On ly love can grasp and h old
and be just toward the m." Let us ce leb rate t he ed ito rs and publish ers who
meet t hi s test issue after issue and
th e advertisers who make it possib le.
Jerry Harkins
New York C ity
An Apology from
Janet Catherine Berlo
l
a m wr iting to apo logize pu blicly
to Ma ry Ha mil ton, publisher of
American Indian Art Magazine, for a
sloppily phrased remark in my feature
"20 Years of lAQ" (Sum mer 2006).
It wa s onl y ah er reading her response
to my essay that I realized with dismay
that one of my criticisms could easily
be in te rpreted in a way that was
truly offen sive; indeed, I fear that
Ms. Hamilton did take it th at way.
To paraphrase, I su rmi sed th at the
magaz ine's reluctance to publish th eo retically or politica ll y challenging
IMAGES
ART GALLERY
•
Recent Aquisitions
by
Joe Talirunili, Milti, Pangnark,
Kavik, Barnabus, Tiktak,
Luke Iksiktaaryak,
Tatterer & others
•
3345 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON M4N 2M6
(reI.) 416-481-9584
42
I
VOl . 21,
NO . 4
WIN T ER
2006
st udies "had its basis in the loyal bonds
be tween t he comme rc ial world.
and the pub li shers."
This was a poorl y phrased way of
saying the fo llowing: "since the magazine is not subs idi zed by grants or
institu tions, and its fundi ng comes
from ads and subscript ions, it is likely
that the editors will choose to publish
articl es that have a wide and popu lar
appea l to collectors and dea lers, rather
than seek to sat isfy the ha ndful of us
who would like more complex and
challenging articles of the sort found
in scholarly joum a ls." I most emphatica ll y d id not mea n to impl y any sort
of coll usion between the commerc ial
interests of dea lers and th e skew ing
of ed iror ial conten t toward th em.
As I said in my article, it would be
un t h inkable not to read A IAM. It is
a corne rstone of schol arship in the
field. Whil e I sta nd by the critica l
remarks I made, I most assuredl y did
not mea n to im pugn Ms. H amilton 's
ethi cs or t hose of American Indian
Art Magazine. For h av ing given that
impress ion , I am deep ly so rry.
Janet Ca therine Berlo
Universit), of Rochester
Rochester, NY
~a.. 'tl<lLb.C
Inuit
Art
o R
N A L
G
For dealers and artists
Inuit Art Brochure
Multi -purpose brochure provides
.. up -to-date information JbOll t Inuit Jrt and (ul ru n:
.. dctadublc panel o n which [Q reco rd work
.... validation hm tc)r dealer stamp or label
For orde ring inrormation please contact:
Inult Art Foundation by phone
(613 ) 224·8189 by fax (613) 224· 2907 by email
iaf'@inultart.org www.inuitart.org
technically gifted
demonstrates
~~~~=~~~stories
while
in;:
RITCHIES
A
U
Inuit Premiere 2007
Macch 1-31
CTIONEERS
Judas Ulluiaq, CarYing of a Man Hunting
Estimate $6,000 . 8,000
Now accepting consignments
for our spring auction of Canadian and Inuit Art
288 KING STREET EAST, TORONTO ONTARIO CANADA M5A 1K4
T 416 364 1864 OR 1 800 364 3210 E rmkeliy@rltchles com
www.ritchies.com
Grand Marais & Duluth, jv\innesota
Toll Free (888) 880-4369
www.sivertson.com
Come visit us ...
Virtually - on the Internet
Seated Woman and Child
Unidentified Artist
Sa lluit - 1960's
Houston North Gallery
•
110 Montague Street
Lunenburg,
Nova Scotia, Canada, BO) 2CO
Telephone: 902.634.8869
Facsimile: 902.634.8332
Toll - free: 866.634.8869
email: inuit@houston-north-gallery.ns.ca
l1;mlcr and w{'lrus, 1993, AXdngaY,lk Shaa
5225 Old Orchard Road, Sui te 45
Sko l~i c, Il1nois, 60077
Ga lJcry Showroom hy Ap1JOi nhncnt Only
(847) 858.4827
ADVERTISER INDEX
ABoriginArt Gallcries
Ga lerie d'a rt Vi ncenr
Vancouver, British Columbia
... 44
Inuit Images
Ottawa, Ontario; Toronto, Ontario;
Quebec City, Quebec ... .. O .B.C.
Albers Gallery
San Francisco , California ........... 44
Sandwich, Massachu.')cm ........... 40
Look No rth
World Wide Web ....
Galerie Elca London
.. ..... 38
Momreat, Quebec
Arctic Artistry
Chappaqua, New York .... .. ...... ... 40
Mario n Scott Gallery
Vancouver, British Columbia. .. 48
Harris Gallery,
.... 1.F.c., I
Toronto Ontario
A rct ic Inuit Art
I
Kingsburg, Nova Scoria ............. 17
Native An Traders
Skokie, Illinois .............. .. .. .. ........ 46
Home & Away
KennebunkJ)OTt , Maine ... .. ......... 40
Arts Induvik
lqaiuil, Nunavut;
MOnLreal, Quebec;
Vancouver, British Columbia ...... 17
Nunavut Gallery
WinniJJeg, Manitoba ................. 17
Houston North Gallery
Lunenberg, Nova Scotia . ........... 46
Ritchies Auctioneers
Toronw, Oncario ..... .................. 46
lAS Boutique
Ca nad ian Arcti c Producers
TorontO, Onwrio
..... I.B.C.
O ttawa , Omario
.. .............. 45
Sivertson Gallery
Grand Marais and
Dulwh, Minnesora. ................ 46
Images Art Gallery
Canadian Guild of Crafts
............ 42
Toronw , OnUlriO ..
Mon<real, Quebec . .................... 41
Waddington'!;
lAQ Boutiquc
Feheley Fine Arts
........... 44
Ottawa, Omario
.... 41
Toromo, Onwrio
Toronw, Ontario ............ ..... ..... 48
Inuit Art Foundation, Donor Ad
First Peoples G<lllery
Webste r Ga lleries
Ottawa, OnUirio ................... ...... 7
Hocky River, OhIO ..................... 40
........ 41
.......... 43
Calgm), Alberta
.....
• GRill AORD
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AJ(LAY~
•
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INUVlK
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(AI'(
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OOBSIT •
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• OiElTlR'IRO INlET
RANKIN IHEn •
• WHALE COYE
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SAllUl1 KANGlQSWUAQ
~
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A
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NAIN·· .,,;
HOI'£Oi~· • MAXKOYIK
POIMm • • BIGOEn
KUWJUAQ·
..
• UMIUJAQ
SAHIKllUAQ·
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•
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KUUlJUARAA~K
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HAm YAlllY~OOSf BAY' NORIH WIST BIVER
-..,.,.......
'
LABRADOR "
.,.r'" '"
...
.".
You may vie w these sculptur e s on our web site
www.inuitfinearts.com
--
BALZAC
GAI.ER (E D !\In
KULIK
FINE ARTS
VINCENT
ART INUIT
O,e Ro)"l York
"!'onl1lt(), C1Il3da
Cll'llcau Liu,ier
Olt"II", Canada
4 16.8150361
613.241. 1144
!J.: Cll;'l""u Fromenac
Quebec e1l\ .Canada
11 R.69-'.6 171
Top rig ht : Seal Hunte r
J ohnny Acu lia k, Inukj uak, 9.25" x 6.25" x 5"
Middle : Woma n Sitting
Thomas Sevoga , Baker La ke , 6.5" x 5" x 3.5"
Bottom rig ht: Faces a nd Birds
Taona Iq uliq, Baker Lake , 7" x 14" x 6"