Eskimo Art On Show At McDougall Gallery

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30636, 30 December 1964, Page 8

Eskimo Art On Show At McDougall Gallery

The expert and the uninitiated alike will be fascinated by the exhibition of Eskimo art now in the McDougall Art Gallery. It consists of stone carvings, some with details in ivory, executed between 1954 and 1960, and sealskin and stonecut prints, which come from Cape Dorset, a village on Baffin Island where there is a craft centre provided by the Canadian Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources.

While the carvings are remarkable for their naturalism, revealing great accuracy of observation, forms in the prints are mainly stylised, with an emphasis on pattern and design. Together they provide a vivid visual impression of life in a fonnid able environment—as experienced and represented by those who are at one with it. The seal, walrus, fox, bear, fish and bird are among the creatures depicted in carvings, which vary considerably in size. They are anything but static: each animal’s attitude suggests its nature, habits, and activity when observed. Thus, a seal disappears into a hole in the ice, the fish seem to be-swimming and an owl—there are many of these, in both mediums—swoops on outstretched wings, or, perching, peers inquisitively to one side. Perhaps the most arresting aspect of the wildlife carvings is the attitude of the artist which they reveal. They indicate a oneness with the creatures represented, an involvement, which reminds one of the Eskimos’ belief, in earlier times at least, that animals thought and acted like people, possessed souls, and that people could change into them.

Man is seen at different tasks and in different moods.

The hunter, harpoon in hand, crawls with menacing stealth towards his quarry; gazes intently over a seal hole, with rope ready; or, in a splendid study of concentration, cuts open the seal he has caught The women always have children with them, usually carried on their backs, and in one group in green serpentine, a woman and two children, the mother is shown particularly memorably, protecting her children from danger. “Man Snowblind” is one of the most thought-provoking and disturbing carvings, and contrasts sharply with the delightful prints, “Man Carrying Reluctant Wife” and “Eskimo Family Playing Ball.”

Weird and bizarre spirits ;of the sky, earth and sea cavort in some of the prints, and there are interesting imaginative works such as “Bird In My Mind” and “Birds Of My Dream.” Western influences on the Eskimos have brought sophisticated techniques and approaches: whereas the aboriginal carvings were handled and worn rather than shown, and often had a religious function, these/are made to stand, and have an ideal aspect. Linear perspective and threedimensional realism were also unknown, as were the notions of “art” and “artist” in the Western sense. In the whole exhibition, the “primitive” and the “advanced” intermingle. The New Zealand tour of the exhibition was arranged by the office of the High Commissioner for Canada in New Zealand, at Wellington.

Mr J. D. Edgar, senior lecturer and head of the art department of the Auckland Teachers’ College, has been appointed director of the Dunedin Art Gallery.-—(P.A.)