The Different Styles of Inuit Sculptures

At first, all Inuit soapstone sculptures from the Arctic may look alike. However, there are variances in artistic styles among the different Inuit art producing communities. Although all communities produce Inuit sculptures featuring both animal and human subjects, some seem to do more animals while others do more people figures. Some communities make their subjects appear quite realistic with lots of high detail while in others, a more crude and primitive look is preferred. There are Inuit sculptures that have a highly polished finishes and some that are the complete opposite where they are left dull and unpolished.

Some areas specialize in producing small scale miniatures much like the artwork by their ancestors who first came into contact with white men. Inuit sculpture can range from quite conservative to bold or even wildly outrageous. Scenes can be playful like a piece depicting two Inuit children playing or with a sense of humor like a walrus waving. On the other end, transformation and shamanic pieces can look disturbing or even frightening to some. Hunting scenes can portray the gory realities of life and death in nature.

One thing that all Inuit sculptures have in common is that they show the fact that Inuit people have deep connections with their family life, their natural surroundings and spiritual beliefs. It is interesting to observe that even if some Inuit artists have converted to Christianity as their religion, they may still include Inuit spirituality and legends as a big part of their lives. This is portrayed in some of their Inuit sculpture and other artwork.

The differences in artistic style are partly due to the different types of stone and other materials available in each community as well as regional preferences. Of course there can be outside influences when Inuit artists travel from community to community. This is particularly the case with larger growing communities like Iqaluit which has seen an influx of Inuit from other parts of Nunavut ever since becoming its capital. One can find a variety and blending of Inuit art styles here. A longer version of this article which describes the different styles of Inuit sculptures from different Canadian Arctic regions can be found at the Free Spirit Gallery website.

Clint Leung is owner of Free Spirit Gallery http://www.FreeSpiritGallery.ca, an online gallery specializing in Inuit Eskimo and Northwest Native American art including carvings, sculpture and prints. Free Spirit Gallery has numerous information resource articles with photos of authentic Inuit and Native Indian art as well as free eCards.

North Texas e-News
McKinney High School Humanities students cross the pond
North Texas e-News, TX - 3 hours ago
By Lynne Weinberger Several of Kacie Krug's Humanities students took the plunge and began their long-awaited adventure across the pond. ...

Grant money available for arts and humanities
South Coast Today, MA - 7 hours ago
According to Nita Howland, Marion's Cultural Council is a community-based project that promotes the arts, humanities, and sciences. ...

In tactical battle, flag goes to the sciences
Daily Trojan Online, CA - 9 hours ago
They had no formal strategy, but the Sciences team, which defeated a team of Humanities students, won by deciding to use tactics that capitalized on the ...

How Adjunct-ing Helps--and Harms--the Humanities Profs
Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription) - Sep 6, 2008
Maybe it’s naive to talk, as I did in the previous post, about a concerted effort by humanities faculty to reverse the trend toward adjuncting. ...

Humanities, Language Arts and Social Sciences department at Laney ...
Laney Tower, CA - Sep 5, 2008
Research in the Laney College catalog tells us that of the 33 teachers in the Humanities Division, about half of them got their advanced degrees from either ...

The Classics Two Ways
New York Times, United States - 7 hours ago
The Aquila Theater Company has announced that it has been awarded $292585 from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The money will support Aquila’s ...

Humanities 'key to innovation': minister
ABC Science Online, Australia - Sep 2, 2008
The humanities must be put on an equal footing with the physical and life sciences if Australia is to boost its ability to innovate, says the federal ...

Saginaw Valley State University Humanities Series launches 28th ...
The Saginaw News - MLive.com, MI - Sep 5, 2008
by Sue White | The Saginaw News Already the longest running program of its kind in the country, the Saginaw Valley State University Humanities Series ...

Carnegie Mellon Stiffs the Humanities
Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription) - Sep 5, 2008
Evidently the “quality” wizards at CMU are happy to throw cash at administrators, facilities and gimmicks like the Data Truck, but the humanities? ...

BSC hosts arts and humanities summit
Reiten Television KXMB Bismarck, ND - Sep 5, 2008
BISMARCK, ND - Bismarck State College fills with events Oct. 9-10 for the biennial North Dakota Arts and Humanities Summit, a creative showcase of work ...

Wind Chimes and more...

Windchimes for great gifts!

Christopher Columbus