Osuitok Ipeelee
![Osuitok Ipeelee, Kakagun, the Great Hunter, c. 1970
16 x 10 x 6 in.
A massive, enigmatic portrait by Osuitok Ipeelee, one of the premier first-generation Inuit artists. The sensitive face sports snow goggles, and a puzzling pair of horns extends over the figure's forehead. The rest of the sculpture is largely without details.
Osuitok Ipeelee was one of the most talented, versatile, and prolific Inuit sculptors. His subjects ranged from people to animals to transformations. His style varied from hyper-realistic to geometric to abstract. With the exception of a series of strikingly beautiful caribou, he almost never repeated himself.
Most of Osuitok's works are in serpentine, which is softer and takes details more easily than the white Andrew Gordon Bay marble. Even so, the horns have a delicate spiral texture, and the man's moustache is clearly textured. Cape Dorset artists generally preferred serpentine to marble. In "Northern Rock," Osuitok is quoted as saying, "I wasn't the only one working with the white stone from Andrew Gordon Bay back then [in the early 1970s]. Pauta Saila did too. We used that marble in the winter because those stones were the only ones available in the hamlet."
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Osuitok Ipeelee, Kakagun, the Great Hunter, c. 1970
16 x 10 x 6 in.
A massive, enigmatic portrait by Osuitok Ipeelee, one of the premier first-generation Inuit artists. The sensitive face sports snow goggles, and a puzzling pair of horns extends over the figure's forehead. The rest of the sculpture is largely without details. Osuitok Ipeelee was one of the most talented, versatile, and prolific Inuit sculptors. His subjects ranged from people to animals to transformations. His style varied from hyper-realistic to geometric to abstract. With the exception of a series of strikingly beautiful caribou, he almost never repeated himself. Most of Osuitok's works are in serpentine, which is softer and takes details more easily than the white Andrew Gordon Bay marble. Even so, the horns have a delicate spiral texture, and the man's moustache is clearly textured. Cape Dorset artists generally preferred serpentine to marble. In "Northern Rock," Osuitok is quoted as saying, "I wasn't the only one working with the white stone from Andrew Gordon Bay back then [in the early 1970s]. Pauta Saila did too. We used that marble in the winter because those stones were the only ones available in the hamlet."
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