GEORGE ARLUK   (AIYARANI; ARLOO; ARLOOK; ARLU; ARLOOQ)
     Born:  May 5, 1949       Male       E3-1049
     Place of Birth:  Winnipeg, Manitoba
     Resides:  Arviat; also lived in Baker Lake, Rankin Inlet
     Sculpture

 

The sculpture of George Arlook appears non-traditional in many ways. As one of the foremost Inuit artists in the Keewatin Region, Northwest Territories, Arlook works in a highly formalized abstract expression, a departure from the more realistic depiction of Inuit life and art common to other artists. This form of expression is characteristic of the great master sculptors John Tiktak, John Pangnark, and John Kavik, all of whom exercised considerable influence over the young Arlook, as he served his "apprenticeship" as a carver under their tutelage in Rankin Inlet. Arlook's current work is a tribute to his teachers and an extension of the form through his highly personalized rendering of various themes.

George Arlook was born on May 5, 1949, at the King George Hospital in Winnipeg, Manitoba (hence the choice of his Christian name). He is the fourth child from a family of seven, and is the only one who carves. He spent his early childhood in Eskimo Point (now called Arivat), and has always considered it to be his home. His father, Sevuoi Aiyarani, was also a carver. Charlie Panigoniak, his brother, is a well known singer and song-writer in the north. George traveled extensively, and has lived and worked in Rankin Inlet, Baker Lake, Chesterfield Inlet, Winnipeg, and Churchil1, Manitoba.

Arlook lived in Rankin Inlet from 1956 to 1975. He began to teach himself how to carve at the age of nine, and sold his first piece for 75 cents in 1960. By 1968, George was becoming known as a very talented and original artist, He studied the works of Tiktak, Kavik, and Pierre Karlik, and spent many hours in conversation with these artists. As he gained confidence in his ability to work with the hard stone of the Keewatin region, he was encouraged by the older carvers to test his own expression.

While working with a variety of different stone types and experimenting with other media, Arlook has stretched his artistic vision in a contemporary style, all the while paying homage to the cultural and artistic traditions of the Keewatin master sculptors to which he is the heir. By the mid- 70s he had developed a highly unique style of semi-abstraction and became famous for it.

Arlook likes to depict single figures such as drum dancers, hunters, or mothers with babies in their hoods, as well as his favourite animal, the musk-ox. Sometimes he groups figures together to form abstracted compositions of gently curving forms that undulate rhythmically. Arlook's sculptures often have antler parts that protrude in complex patterns from the stone.

 

       ..."Arluk began to teach himself how to carve soapstone at age 9.  In the     
       1960s he was influenced by sculptors Tiktak and Kavik and John Pangnark. By   
       the mid-1970s he had developed a unique style of semi-abstraction.  He        
       depicts single figures such as hunters and mothers with babies in their       
       hoods.  Most often he groups figures together to form abstracted compositions 
       of gently curving forms that undulate rythmically.  His sculptures often have 
       antler parts added that protrude in complex patterns from the stone."         
                                                                                     
                                                 D. Wight                            
                                                 Canadian Encyclopedia 1985.         
                                                                                     
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

      Following is an extract from an interview conducted by Joe Camp, a staff writer for
      the St. Paul Pioneer Press Dispatch, with George Arlook from Arviat.

     Camp states that Arlook uses soapstone (also called steatite), and when Arlook visited
     friends in Minnesota, he used pipestone (also called catlinite). Camp states that "some of
     the work has been done with a hacksaw, some with a hammer, and some with a hatchet, but
     most of it was done with wood rasps, freeing the whale from captivity inside the stone".

     Camp also states that the raw soapstone looks gray like driveway gravel; but when the
     carving is finished, they take on hues of shiny green, gray, and black. We listen to the story
     Arlook tells through observing the carved figure, and we participate in his story through
     touching the stone that then connects us to the earth from where the stone was obtained.

     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~                                                       
       EXHIBITIONS:
       January - March 1972       Eskimo Fantastic Art
                                                   Gallery 111, School of Art,                       
                                                   University of Manitoba                            
                                                   Winnipeg, Manitoba
                                                   (tour)
                                                   (illustrated catalogue)
       1974                                   Inuit Sculpture 1974/Sculpture Inuit 1974
                                                   Lippel Gallery                                    
                                                   Montreal, Quebec
                                                   (illustrated catalogue)
       March - July 1976              The Mulders' Collection of Eskimo Sculpture
                                                   Winnipeg Art Gallery                              
                                                   Winnipeg, Manitoba
                                                   (illustrated catalogue)
       August - Sep 1977            Two Artists - Sculpture/Arlook,
                                                   Drawings/Qarlisaq                                 
                                                   Image of the Inuit                                
                                                   Contempo Westwood Centre                          
                                                   Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

       March - June 1978            The Coming and Going of the Shaman:
                                                   Eskimo Shamanism and Art                          
                                                   Winnipeg Art Gallery                              
                                                   Winnipeg, Manitoba
                                                   (illustrated catalogue)
       August - Nov 1978            The Zazelenchuk Collection of Eskimo Art
                                                   Winnipeg Art Gallery                              
                                                   Winnipeg, Manitoba
                                                   (illustrated catalogue)
       October - Nov 1978          Eskimo Art
                                                   Embankment Gallery                                
                                                   London, England
                                                   (illustrated catalogue)
       March - April 1979            Sculpture of the Inuit: Lorne Balshine
                                                   Collection/Lou Osipov Collection/                 
                                                   Dr. Harry Winrob Collection                       
                                                   Surrey Art Gallery                                
                                                   Surrey, British Columbia
                                                   (illustrated catalogue)
       July 1979 - May 1980        Inuit Art in the 1970s
                                                   Department of Indian Affairs                      
                                                   and Northern Development, and the                 
                                                   Agnes Etherington Art Centre                      
                                                   Kingston, Ontario
                                                   (tour)
                                                   (illustrated catalogue)
       Nov - Dec 1979                 In Celebration
                                                   Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec                   
                                                   Montreal, Quebec
       Jan - Feb 1980                 Inuit Master Artists of the 1970s
                                                   Inuit Gallery of Vancouver                        
                                                   Vancouver, British Columbia

       February - April 1981       Rankin Inlet/Kangirlliniq
                                                   Winnipeg Art Gallery                              
                                                   Winnipeg, Manitoba
                                                   (illustrated catalogue)
       Sep - Oct 1981                 The Jacqui and Morris Shumiatcher
                                                   Collection of Inuit Art                           
                                                   Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery,                     
                                                   University of Regina                              
                                                   Regina, Saskatchewan
                                                   (illustrated catalogue)
       April 1982                          Sculpture Inuit: Stone/Bone
                                                   circa 1960-1979                                   
                                                   Canadiana Galleries                               
                                                   Edmonton, Alberta
       Oct - Dec 1982                 Collector's Choice: 1965-1980
                                                   Inuit Gallery of Vancouver                        
                                                   Vancouver, British Columbia
                                                   (illustrated catalogue)
       April - May 1986               Sixty Diminutive Eskimo Carvings
                                                   Images of the North                               
                                                   San Francisco, California
       May - June 1986               The Spirit of the Land
                                                   The Koffler Gallery                               
                                                   Toronto, Ontario
                                                   (illustrated brochure)
       May - June 1987               [Inuit Art Exhibition]
                                                   Whitby Arts Incorporated,                         
                                                   The Station Gallery                               
                                                   Whitby, Ontario
       July - November 1987      Useful Bits of Bone
                                                   Winnipeg Art Gallery                              
                                                   Winnipeg, Manitoba

       September 1987              The Williamson Collection of
                                                   Inuit Sculpture                                   
                                                   Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery,                     
                                                   University of Regina                              
                                                   Regina, Saskatchewan
                                                   (tour)
                                                   (illustrated catalogue)
       Sep - Nov 1987                 The Swinton Collection of Inuit Art
                                                   Winnipeg Art Gallery                              
                                                   Winnipeg, Manitoba
                                                   (illustrated catalogue)
       October 1987                    [L'art inuit]
                                                   Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai          
                                                   at Chambre de Commerce de Chateauroux             
                                                   France
       Nov - Dec 1987                 Art Inuit
                                                   Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec                   
                                                   Montreal, Quebec
       Dec 1987 - Feb 1988       Inuk, Inuit: Art et tradition chez les
                                                   esquimaux d'hier et d'aujourd'hui                 
                                                   presented by L'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai,         
                                                   at Musee des Beaux-arts d'Arras                   
                                                   Arras, France
                                                   (illustrated catalogue)
       April 1988                          [L'art inuit]
                                                   Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai          
                                                   at Palais de L'Europe, Le Touquet                 
                                                   France
       July 1988                            [L'art inuit]
                                                   Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai          
                                                   at Chapelle de la Visitation, Thonon              
                                                   France
       November 1988                [L'art inuit]
                                                   Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai          
                                                   at Les Martres-de-Veyre                           
                                                   France
       November 1988                 Primitive Art from the Arctic
                                                   Arctic Artistry                                   
                                                   Hartsdale, New York, U.S.A.
       December 1988                [L'art inuit]
                                                   Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai          
                                                   at Galerie des Tanneurs, Mulhouse                 
                                                   France
       February - March 1989     [L'art inuit]
                                                   Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai          
                                                   at St. Marcellin                                  
                                                   France
       March - April 1989            [L'art inuit]
                                                   Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai          
                                                   at Galerie Autre Regard, Paris                    
                                                   France
       April 1989                          Legacy in Stone: Carvings from
                                                   the Canadian Arctic                               
                                                   Four Winds Gallery                                
                                                   Sydney, Australia
                                                   (illustrated brochure)
       June - July 1989                Art Inuit
                                                   Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai          
                                                   at Galerie Sanguine, La Rochelle                  
                                                   France
       July - September 1989      Mother and Child: Selections from the
                                                    Inuit Collection of the Art Gallery               
                                                    of Ontario                                        
                                                   Art Gallery of Ontario                            
                                                   Toronto, Ontario
       August 1989                      Arviat: Eskimo Point
                                                   Marion Scott Gallery                              
                                                   Vancouver, British Columbia
                                                   (illustrated catalogue)
       October 1989                    Art Inuit, Sculpture des Esquimaux
                                                   du Canada                                         
                                                   Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai          
                                                   at Galerie La Poutre, Marseille                   
                                                   France
       December 1989                Art Inuit, la Sculpture des Esquimaux du Canada
                                                   Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai          
                                                   at Les Chiroux, Centre Culturel de la Wallonie,   
                                                   Liege                                             
                                                   Belgium
       January - Sep 1990          Arctic Mirror
                                                   Canadian Museum of Civilization                   
                                                   Hull, Quebec
       February - March 1990     Beeldhouwkunst van de Inuit (Canada)
                                                   by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai, France            
                                                   at Amphora Finippon pvba, Sint Andries,           
                                                   Brugge, Belgium                                   
       June - July 1990                Small Sculptures from across the
                                                   Canadian Arctic                                   
                                                   Feheley Fine Arts                                 
                                                   Toronto, Ontario
       August 1990                      Traditions and Innovations in Inuit Art
                                                   Sculpture in Stone                                
                                                   Images of the North                               
                                                   San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
                                                   (illustrated brochure)
       Nov - Dec 1990                 Art Inuit:  Autour de la Collection de Cape
                                                   Dorset 1990                                       
                                                   Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai          
                                                   at Centre Culturel Canadien                       
                                                   Paris, France

       Nov 1990 - Feb 1991       Espaces Inuit
                                                   Maison Hamel-Bruneau                              
                                                   Ste-Foy, Quebec
                                                   (illustrated catalogue)
       January 1991                     Bears of the North
                                                   Snow Goose Associates                             
                                                   Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.
       April - June 1991              Art Inuit
                                                   Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai          
                                                   at Galerie La Tour des Cardinaux                  
                                                   L'Isle sur la Sorgue, France
       June - July 1991                Art Inuit
                                                   Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai          
                                                   at Galerie Ombre et Lumiere                       
                                                   Ensisheim, France
       Aug - Sep 1991                Art Inuit
                                                   Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai          
                                                   at Galerie Akenaton                               
                                                   Troyes, France
       Oct - Dec 1991                 Art Inuit
                                                   Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai          
                                                   at Galerie Maite Aubert                           
                                                   Le Havre, France
       Oct 1992 - Jan 1993         Drawings and Sculpture from Baker Lake
                                                   Winnipeg Art Gallery                              
                                                   Winnipeg, Manitoba
                                                   (illustrated brochure)
       April - July 1993                Multiple Realities: Inuit Images of
                                                   Shamanic Transformation                           
                                                   Winnipeg Art Gallery                              
                                                   Winnipeg, Manitoba
                                                   (illustrated brochure)

       Sep - Nov 1993                The Bear: Sculpture
                                                   Albers Gallery                                    
                                                   San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
       Nov 1993 - Mar 1994       The Inuit Imagination
                                                   Winnipeg Art Gallery                              
                                                   Winnipeg, Manitoba
       1994                                   Kanuitpit? Kunst und Kulturen der Eskimo:
                                                   Eine Auswahl aus den Museumssammlungen            
                                                   Staatliches Museum fur Volkerkunde                
                                                   Munchen                                           
                                                   Munich, Germany
                                                   (illustrated catalogue)
       July 1994                            Arctic Spirit
                                                   35 Years of Canadian Inuit Art                    
                                                   Frye Art Museum                                   
                                                   Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.
       Sep - Oct 1994                  Kunst van de Inuit Eskimo's
                                                   Gemeentelijk Kunstcentrum                         
                                                   Huis Hellemans                                    
                                                   Edegem, Belgium
                                                   (illustrated brochure)
       May - July 1995                  Tundra & Ice: Exceptional Sculpture from Canada
                                                   Orca Aart Gallery                                 
                                                   Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
       July - Sep 1995                 The Inuit: Managers of the Land
                                                   Chrysalis Gallery                                 
                                                   Southampton, New York, U.S.A.
       January - Feb 1996          Not Just a Dancing Step...
                                                   Galerie D'Art Vincent                             
                                                   Ottawa, Ontario
                                                   (illustrated catalogue)
       March - April 1996            Major/Minor
                                                   Marion Scott Gallery                              
                                                   Vancouver, British Columbia
       SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
       1968                                   Sculpture by George Arlook
                                                   Winnipeg Art Gallery                              
                                                   Winnipeg, Manitoba
       1969                                   George Arlook Sculpture
                                                   University of Alberta                             
                                                   Edmonton, Alberta
       December 1972                Sculpture by Arlook of Rankin Inlet
                                                   The Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art                  
                                                   Toronto, Ontario
       July - August 1979            George Arlook - The Song in the Stone
                                                   Images of the North                               
                                                   San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
                                                   (illustrated catalogue)
       July - August 1980            George Arluk - Sculpture
                                                   Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec                   
                                                   Montreal, Quebec
                                                   (illustrated catalogue)
       January 1982                    George Arluk
                                                   Inuit Galerie                                     
                                                   Mannheim, Germany
                                                   (illustrated catalogue)
       December 1988               Abstract in Stone
                                                   Northern Reflections Eskimo Art Gallery           
                                                   La Jolla, California, U.S.A.
       December 1992               George Arluk
                                                   Inuit Galerie                                     
                                                   Mannheim, Germany
       Dec1993 - Jan 1994        The Sculpture of George Arlook
                                                   Richard Rapfogel Fine Arts                        
                                                   Saint Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.
       COLLECTIONS:
       Amway Environmental Foundation Collection, Ada, Michigan, U.S.A. 
       Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario                                                                                 
       Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec, Montreal, Quebec                                                               
       Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Quebec                                                                      
       Eskimo Museum, Churchill, Manitoba                                                                                     
       Inuit Cultural Institute, Rankin Inlet, Northwest Territories                                                     
       Klamer Family Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario                                        
       Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan                                                                        
       Musee des beaux-arts de Montreal, Montreal, Quebec                                                             
       Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia        
       Natonal Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario                                                                           
       Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum, Brunswick, Maine, U.S.A.                                                  
       Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories                       
       Red Deer and District Museum and Archives, Red Deer, Alberta                                             
       Sarick Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario                                                     
       University of Lethbridge Art Gallery, Lethbridge, Alberta                                                        
       Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia                                                              
       Williamson Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario                                             
       Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba                                                                              
                          

       HONOURS, ACHIEVEMENTS and EVENTS:
       1972 Received a Canada Council travel grant to attend the opening of his
                 solo exhibition at the Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art in Toronto.
       1987 Commissioned to create a sculpture to be auctioned with all proceeds going
                 to the Keith Rawlings Memorial Scholarship Fund; the monies raised to be
                 used to assist northern native students to careers in business.
       1988  Attended the opening of his solo exhibition 'Abstract in Stone' in La Jolla,
                  California.
       1991  George presented a carving demonstration at the Winnipeg Folk Festival in
                  July.
       1993  The Inuit Galerie of Mannheim, Germany, features reproductions of Arluk's
                  sculpture in their 1993 calender.
       1993  Attended Greater Columbus Arts Festival in Ohio (June 2-6, 1993) to give a
                 carving demonstration.
       SELECTED REFERENCES:
       Blodgett, Jean                                    
           THE COMING AND GOING OF THE SHAMAN:  Eskimo Shamanism and Art.
           Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1979.
       Brandson, Lorraine E.                             
           CARVED FROM THE LAND:  The Eskimo Museum Collection.  Churchill,
           Man.: Diocese of Churchill Hudson Bay, 1994.
       Canada.  Indian and Northern Affairs              
           CANADIAN INUIT SCULPTURE.  Ottawa:  Inuit Art Section, 1992.
       Canadian Arctic Producers                         
           GEORGE ARLUK:  Sculpture.  Ottawa: Canadian Arctic Producers
           Cooperative Limited, 1980.
       Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec                   
           CANADIAN GUILD OF CRAFTS QUEBEC. = GUILDE CANADIENNE DES
METIERS
           D'ART QUEBEC:  The Permanent Collection: Inuit Arts and Crafts,
           c. 1900-1980.  Montreal:  Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec, 1980.
       Embankment Gallery                                
           ESKIMO ART AT THE EMBANKMENT GALLERY.  London: Embankment
           Gallery, 1978.
       Galerie d'art Vincent                             
           NOT JUST A DANCING STEP = PLUS QU'UN PAS DE DANSE:  An Inuit Art
           Exhibition organized by Galerie d'art Vincent, Chateau Laurier,
           Ottawa, Canada = Une exposition d'art Inuit...  Ottawa:  Galerie
           d'art Vincent [1996].
       Images of the North                               
           GEORGE ARLUK:  The Song in Stone.  San Francisco: Images of the
           North, 1979.
       Inuit Galerie                                     
           GEORGE ARLUK.  Mannheim, F.D.R.: Inuit Galerie, 1987.
       Inuit Galerie                                     
           GEORGE ARLUK.  Mannheim, Federal Republic of Germany : Inuit
           Galerie, 1981.
       Inuit Gallery of Vancouver                        
           COLLECTOR'S CHOICE: 1965 - 1980.  Vancouver: Inuit Gallery, l982.
       Lippel Gallery Inc.                               
           INUIT SCULPTURE 1974/SCULPTURE INUIT 1974.  Montreal: Lippel
           Gallery Inc, 1974.
       Marion Scott Gallery                              
           ARVIAT:  Eskimo Point.  Vancouver: Marion Scott Ltd, 1989.
       Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery                      
           THE JACQUI AND MORRIS SHUMIATCHER COLLECTION OF INUIT ART.
           Regina: The Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery, 1981.
       Northern Reflections                              
           ABSTRACT IN STONE:  George Arlook [sic].  La Jolla, California:
           Northern Reflections Eskimo Art Gallery, 1988.
       Restivo, Gino                                     
           GEORGE ARLOOK - CARVER.  The Inuit Art Enthusiasts Newsletter
           41: 10, 1989.

       Routledge, Marie                                  
           INUIT ART IN THE 1970s/L'ART INUIT ACTUEL: 1970-79.  Kingston,
           Ont. : The Agnes Etherington Art Centre, 1979.
       Seidelman, Harold and James Turner                
           THE INUIT IMAGINATION:  Arctic Myth and Sculpture.
           Vancouver/Toronto: Douglas & McIntyre, 1993.
       Surrey Art Gallery                                
           SCULPTURE OF THE INUIT:  Lorne Balshine Collection/Lou Osipov
           Collection/Dr. Harry Winrob Collection.  Surrey: The Surrey Art
           Gallery, 1978.
       Swinton, George                                   
           ESKIMO SCULPTURE. = SCULPTURE ESQUIMAUDE.  Toronto:  McClelland
           and Stewart, 1965.
       Swinton, George                                   
           SCULPTURE OF THE ESKIMO.  Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1972.
       Wight, D.                                         
           GEORGE ARLUK:  IN The Canadian Encyclopedia, James H. Marsh,
           editor-in-chief.  Edmonton:  Hurtig Publishers, 1:90, 1985.
       Winnipeg Art Gallery                              
           DRAWINGS AND SCULPTURE FROM BAKER LAKE.  Winnipeg, Man.:
           Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1992.
       Winnipeg Art Gallery                              
           RANKIN INLET/KANGIRLLINIQ.  Winnipeg: The Winnipeg Art Gallery,
           1981.
       Winnipeg Art Gallery                              
           SWINTON COLLECTION OF INUIT ART.  Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1987.
       Winnipeg Art Gallery                              
           THE MULDERS' COLLECTION OF ESKIMO SCULPTURE.  Winnipeg: The
           Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1976.

       Winnipeg Art Gallery                              
           THE ZAZELENCHUK COLLECTION OF ESKIMO ART.  Winnipeg: The
           Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1978.