Informative Articles

Article 1: Distinct Regional Carving Styles of the Canadian Inuit
Article 2: Art of Astonishing Power and Simplicity from the Land of Nunavut
Article 3: The Distinguished Corporate Gift of Inuit Art Carvings

The Distinguished Corporate Gift of Inuit Art Carvings

Some business relationships are so exemplary that they must be recognized or rewarded with a gift. But not just any gift.

A gift of appreciation that leaves a lasting impression requires consideration and individuality – and that rules out those chocolates and desk clocks. Instead, to reward valued employees and clients, consider the timeless, evocative art of Inuit carvings from the Canadian North.

Canadian Inuit Carving Is Unique

By its nature, Inuit art carvings are one-of-a-kind. When you purchase a certified Inuit carving, you can be confident that nothing else like it exists in the world. Inuit artists create carvings from rare materials indigenous to the Canadian North, such as caribou antler, whalebone, soapstone, and serpentine stone. No two carvings share the same color or texture.

And if you think Inuit art is limited to polar bears and walruses – think again. Inuit artists provide a timeless snapshot of their ancient culture, and their subject matter runs the gamut from hunting scenes to family to wildlife. In addition, because artistic styles vary from highly-stylistic to natural, you can find Inuit art carvings that suit feminine or masculine tastes and are appropriate for home or office.

Inuit Carvings Increase in Value

Another clear benefit of Inuit carving as a gift is the fact that like other artwork, it tends to increase in value over time. In the particular case of Inuit art, the number of certified artists is decreasing, yet demand is increasing. Over time, the recipient of this high-quality gift will enjoy the aesthetic, heirloom, and market value of their carving.

Inuit Carvings Are Admired and Collected World-Wide

Former French President, Jacques Chirac, is an avid collector of Inuit art, as is Jean Chrétien, former Canadian Prime Minister. Perhaps one of the reasons that the world admires and sustains Inuit art is because it represents an ancient culture that survived and thrived in one of the world’s harshest environments. The Inuit provide a window into their culture through their art, which lends poignancy to each piece.

Set Your Company Apart with Inuit Art

Giving Inuit art distinguishes you from others who reward with trendy gadgets mass-produced in Korea. Your recipient will treasure an imaginative, unique piece of art for a lifetime.

Whether your gift is one of client appreciation, an employee performance reward, retirement recognition, or holiday joy – be selective. Make sure you purchase only signed Inuit art with an authenticity tag.

If you curiosity has been piqued, you can view some fine examples of Inuit art sculpture at the InuitArtPod gallery and learn more about the history of Inuit art in Canada.

About the Author:
Simon Létourneau is co-owner of www.InuitArtPod.com, whose corporate client list includes The Halifax Port Authority and Yves Rocher Beauty Care Intl. He is eager to educate those curious about Inuit art and to serve seasoned collectors. Inuit Art Pod provides a gallery of Inuit Art and services - including worldwide shipping and prices in multiple currencies - that make it easy for anyone in the world to become acquainted with Inuit art. 

Art of Astonishing Power and Simplicity from the Land of Nunavut

If you think Inuit art is just polar bears and walruses - think again. InuitArtPod.com offers an arresting array of sculptures and prints from the Canadian North. Learn how this dynamic, moving art form came into being.

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada July 21st, 2006 - At InuitArtPod.com, new and seasoned Inuit art collectors have an online resource to view, research, and purchase evocative sculptures and prints from the Canadian North.

The owners of InuitArtPod.com, Philippe Bourdeau and Simon Létourneau, showcase a diverse range of art sculptures and prints crafted by Canadian Inuit. While some may think of Inuit art as only kitschy carvings sold by the dozens in Canadian airport gift shops, Philippe and Simon know better.

From the frigid, snow-swept land of Artic Canada (part of which became the Inuit nation of Nunavut in 1999) comes art that interprets and records the close relation the Inuit have always had with wildlife and family.

Inuit sculptures and prints demand attention not just because of their energy and intensity, but also because of the unusual story of how Inuit art came into being.

Up until World War II, the Inuit of Artic Canada survived as their ancestors did - by hunting and living close to the land. The few modern conveniences introduced by outsiders changed their world very little. But economic hardships forced the Canadian government to intervene, and by the 1970s the Canadian Inuit were living in settlements - a foreign way of life to them.

Forced to change their traditional lifestyle, the Inuit found solace and income in producing art the world has never seen before - compelling images of the land, family, and mythology. The artists create their sculptures only from stone mined in the Canadian North. The range of stone types and colors is as varied as the artists' styles, which runs the gamut from highly stylized to naturalistic.

Interest in Inuit art is growing thanks to international demand - especially from France, with its history of colonizing Canada and interest in art from other cultures. A 2005 Inuit art exhibit in Paris, "Inuit: When Words Take Shape” was a smashing success. Even French president Jacques Chirac, an Inuit art owner, attended.

But even as interest in Inuit art is on the rise, the number of Inuit artists is decreasing. Many Inuit youth no longer maintain ties with the land or the art that has sustained their people. Instead, they seek out larger cities or government jobs from the new government of Nunavut. If demand for Inuit art continues to grow while the number of artists dwindles, the value of these fine examples of Inuit craftsmanship and imagery will only increase.

Philippe Bourdeau and Simon Létourneau, both businessmen with a love of Inuit art, stress that art lovers should only invest in signed Inuit art with an authenticity tag. In fact, all of the art sold by InuitArtPod is one-of-a-kind - no duplicates exist anywhere else in the world. To ensure that artists receive a fair price for their work, they buy directly from the artists or artist cooperatives.

About the Author: Simon Létourneau is the co-owner of Inuit Art Pod. He is eager to educate those curious about Inuit Art and to serve seasoned collectors. InuitArtPod.com provides a gallery of Inuit Art and services - including FREE North American shipping and prices in multiple currencies - that make it easy for anyone become acquainted with Inuit art. Further details on their premier gift, shipping, and tracking services, as well as articles on Inuit art history and Inuit art styles, are available at Inuit Art Pod.

Contact:
Simon Létourneau
InuitArtPod.com
1-613-686-5619

Distinct Regional Carving Styles of the Canadian Inuit

The Canadian Artic area covers 777,000 square miles and includes hundreds of artists whose styles vary as much as the names of their Inuit communities. However, artists rarely work in isolation. Living in small settlements, common styles and themes have emerged. This article provides an overview of what makes each region's sculpture style special.

Sanikiluaq * Kuujjuaraapik * Inukjuak * Puvirnituq * Akulivik

Sanikiluaq sculptures are popular with art collectors and tourists who favor wildlife sculptures. Birds and marine animals are customary subjects, as well as domestic and camp scenes. In keeping with the wildlife theme, the style is naturalistic, though some artists favor a stylized, angular look.

An unusual argillite stone, which ranges from light green to almost black, is another reason that Sanikiluaq sculptures are so popular.

The Kuujjuaraapik style is similar to Sanikiluaq, but includes more domestic and camp scenes. Artists sometimes employ fantasy imagery. Kuujjuaraapik artists use the argillite stone from Sanikiluaq (when available) or grey Artic Québec stone.

The sculptures of Inukjuak are more realistic, featuring domestic and hunting scenes. Mythological imagery is rare. The sculptures have a static, calm feel - wide and curvy. In the past, Inukjuak artists used inlays like ivory in their sculptures, but this is no longer done. However, they still use a rich green mottled stone quarried from the local area. When an artist uses grey stone, they often darken it.

The Puvirnituq and Akulivik artists have moved between the two settlements, so these two areas have a similar style. The subject matter - hunting scenes and animals - is considered more masculine. The sculpting style is realistic with an emphasis on naturalistic detail.

Salluit * Ivujivik * Kangirsuk

Like Inukjuak, Salluit and Ivujivik artists favor domestic and hunting scenes. The style is also more similar to Inukjuak, but this wasn't always the case. At the start of the Inuit art movement in the 1950s, artists here developed a Romanesque-like style that had a monumental, static feel - think large folds of drapery over equally large, bulky bodies. However, this style has died out.

The folk art quality of Kangirsuk sculptures comes from subject matter that's rustic and a bit off-the-wall. The artists sometimes blacken the grey stone, which gives the pieces a quaint effect.

Cape Dorset * Kimmirut

Cape Dorset has a large pool of talented artists with varied styles. However, two common themes are:

* Love of naturalism
* Wildlife and the spirit world

Perhaps because of Cape Dorset's long history in the Inuit art world, the style is more showy and dramatic than other settlements. Artists like to work the stone - which ranges from green shades to white dolomite - until it's highly finished. They also take pride in creating pieces that are impossibly thin or delicately balanced.

Like Cape Dorset, Kimmirut artists use a variety of stone. Art collectors particularly prize the apple-green or cream-colored shades. While the animal subjects are depicted with a naturalistic style, the smooth, flowing lines and highly polished stone create an elegant effect.

Iqaluit * Pangnirtung * Qikiqtarjuaq

What's different about the sculptures from the Iqaluit settlement is that animal subjects - bear, caribou, and musk-oxen - are often in unusual or action poses. And these pieces are even more eye-catching because of their exaggerated proportions. However, Iqaluit does share Cape Dorset's love of elegant lines and dramatic presentation.

Because this area was the administrative center of the former Northwest Territories and because it attracts Inuit from all over the Baffin region, the style is more varied than other settlements. The Pangnirtung artists also favor a dramatic style, though this usually emerges in the larger sizes of the pieces and the subject matter of mythological or shamanic images. Whalebone is a popular medium.

Pangnirtung artists have moved to Qikiqtarjuaq and vice versa, so these two communities share a similar style. Qikiqtarjuaq artists also use whalebone, as well as a stone that ranges from light green to dark green or black.

Clyde River * Igloolik * Hall Beach

The Clyde River area is famous as the center of whalebone carving in the Artic - and also for the touch of humor and whimsy artists employ in their sculptures.

Subject matter can range from dancing walruses to simple domestic and hunting scenes.

The Igloolik style is more similar to Pangnirtung than Clyde River. Artists here use a larger scale in sizes and emotional intensity. However, the stone - which is dynamically carved - isn't highly polished, so the end result is more realistic and natural. Occasionally, artists use a light green stone from northern Baffin.

Hall Beach also produces powerful, moving works similar to Igloolik, though some artists are known for a softer-edged style that's similar to Clyde River.

Taloyoak * Gjoa Haven * Kugaaruk * Repulse Bay

Taloyoak is another community that uses the whalebone medium - with large, spectacular results. For a long time, work from this area was dominated and influenced by the artist Karoo Ashevak. His work has a dreamlike quality that's also quirky - haunting, but amusing. But as artists began using an assortment of stone and concentrated on developing their own particular styles, a wider variety of styles have emerged.

Gjoa Haven has also been influenced by the Taloyoak style in the human and spirit expressions and distortion of faces and bodies. However, artists are eager to experiment with different media like whalebone, ivory, and musk-ox horn, and they have emerged as dominant in their own right.

The artists still use stone, of course. In the past, they imported a pale green stone, but they now use a local hard stone that ranges from dark green to black.

Kugaaruk and Repulse Bay are renowned for small, delicate works in stone, ivory, or antler. The tradition of creating miniatures goes back hundreds of years, when talented Inuit created them as gifts for missionaries and whalers.

Baker Lake * Arviat * Rankin Inlet

Baker Lake has two distinguishing characteristics:

* It's the only inland community in the Canadian Artic.
* It's famous for large, dynamic sculptures of hunters and animals carved from hard Keewatin stone.

Though the hunter and animal subjects are realistic, the artists portray them abstractly. You'll also see animal-human transformations depicted more often. On the other hand, female artists from this area favor a more delicate style, with domestic scenes like mothers and children.

Working with a hard, local steatite, Arviat artists employ little detail and economy of line with their sculptures. It's different from the elegant, flowing style of other communities, yet just as emotionally powerful.

In the Arviat area, family and maternal scenes are the most popular. However, artists here have experimented with antler carvings and produced a variety of whimsical birds and animals, as well as games and hunting scenes. The antler carvings have a folk art quality.

Rankin Inlet is like Iqaluit - a regional center with a wider variety of styles. The artists here work with the dark Keewatin stone, a harder grey stone, or ivory.

Kugluktuk * Holman

The Kugluktuk artists have created a realistic style that often depicts traditional camp life, but they incorporate wood, copper, whalebone, or antler material into their sculptures. Some sculptures are of igloos - with detachable tops. These more practical pieces have a descriptive and static feel, as opposed to pieces that feature action scenes. However, the Kugluktuk community also produces sculptures of animals, birds, and humans.

Like Clyde River, the carvings from Holman are done in whalebone and feature animal and hunting scenes. This area has also recently experimented with carvings in musk-ox horn that transform beautifully into graceful, long-necked geese.

Summary:

Now that you're familiar with the variety of styles in Inuit sculptures, we invite you to visit or return to the Inuit Art Pod home page, where you can browse our online gallery or read more articles. If you have a question about Inuit sculptures, you can email us at info@inuitartpod.com or call us at 613-686-5619.

About the Author: Simon Létourneau is the co-owner of Inuit Art Pod. He is eager to educate those curious about Inuit Art and to serve seasoned collectors. InuitArtPod.com provides a gallery of Inuit Art and services - including FREE North American shipping and prices in multiple currencies - that make it easy for anyone become acquainted with Inuit art.

Contact:
Simon Létourneau
InuitArtPod.com
1-613-686-5619