Bone and stone
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I'm reading Celebrating Inuit Art right now. With a cover that features a shaman that looks like a prototype Sendak "Wild Thing," it showcases Inuit sculpture from the period when Canadian Inuit abandoned their nomadic lifestyle to settle in small villages across the Arctic.
The incredible photos of these carvings make this a " picture book" for grownups. Snippets of explanatory myth accompany some of the images while the Inuit artists' reflections on the carving process provide a window into the act of creation. The artists work with things that are hard, things that last, things that speak across eons: they work with bone and stone. Carved from 1948-1970, these pieces are timeless, they are like songs in stone. They are wild and beautiful.
Sample carvings from the book:
Johnny Inukpuk
Woman and Child
dark green stone, ivory
20.5 x 20 x 28 cm
signed with syllabics
This iconic mother and child piece looks like an ancient fertility goddess.
Levi Echalook
Mother with Child Kneeling by the Kudlik
dark gray stone, ivory
21.8 x 15.8 x 20.6 cm
The woman's angry face is dramatized by the inlaid eyes and two rows of teeth that contrast with the dull gray stone. Frightening.
Unidentified artist
Mother and Child
granite, ivory, black ink
10.5 x 5.8x3.4 cm
The inlaid faces in this composition remind me of No Face from Spirited Away.
Pauta Saila
Walrus
dark gray stone, ivory
14.5 x 12.19 cm
Adorable!
Osuitok Ipeelee
Kneeling Caribou
stone, antler
36.5 x 41.23 cm
Elegant.
Davidialuk Alasua Amittu
Woman with Katutayuq
grey stone
26 x 20 x 8.8 cm
From the book:
A frequent motif in Davidialuk Amittuu's work is the snake-like spiral that is supposed to represent the northern lights. Amittuu has described Katutayuq as follows: It was a human head, tattooed and with breasts for cheeks. Its chin was a vulva, and since it had nobody, its legs jutted out from the neck. It had no arms...and it had only three toes on each foot.
Legends Project: Listen to stories, broadcast in English and in their native languages, that honor the oral history of Canada's aboriginal communities.
Inuit Mythology: Read traditional stories and download resources.
The walrus one is adorable! That two-face one reminded me so much of No Face from Spirited Away, like you said, and I would have nightmares if that was in my room. I don't like No Face!
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