AGO - Inuit Modern and David Blackwood Newfoundland Paintings

We saw several new exhibits at the Art Gallery of Ontario.  The first was called Inuit Modern and featured the impressive personal collection of Samuel and Esther Sarick, consisting of over 175 works which they've now donated to the AGO.  Amongst these were two iconic prints from the 1950s to 60s Cape Dorset era - The Enchanted Owl by Kengiuak Ashevok and Man Hunting at a Seal Hole by Niviaksiak, each print copy worth tens of thousands at Waddington auctions.  Rich and I lusted over Niviaksiak's seal skin stencil, admiring the rich vibrant aquamarine colour and pictured the perfect place for it in our home.... if only ...

The collection included many more prints, sketchings and drawings as well as a wide collection of stone and whale bone carvings.   Two unique carvings of note stood out for me and gave credence to the title of the exhibit - Inuit "Modern".  The first was called Shaman's Crash and melded a Shaman's head into the front of a crashed airplane split in two.  The second depicted the typical image of Sedna the sea goddess but shockingly nailed to a Christian cross.  Both these sculptures show how modern times and Western culture have influenced Inuit art. This impact was also prevalent in the current drawings depicting items like skidoos, kitchen appliances and cornflakes.

While the carvings were beautiful, most of them depicted typical themes of dancing bears, shamans, women carrying babies, etc.  There was one "sculpture" that consisted of what looked like a smooth grey rock in the form of a half trapozoid ... the sculpture version of minimalism contemporary art?  Didn't work for me!

In comparison we found the private Inuit art collection of Christopher Bredt and Jamie Cameron that was exhibited in 2010 at the Art Gallery of Hamilton to be much more interesting because of the uniqueness of their pieces, especially the sculptures.  That collection included wimsical renderings of an owl, in insect, what looked to me like Dracula or the character from Edvard Munch's The Scream, and face carving that seemed more European in style than Inuit.

The next exhibit was called "Black Ice" by Newfoundland artist David Blackwood.  It consisted of a haunting series of  prints depicting themes of isolation, dangers and hardships of the life in little fishing villages like Wesleyville where he was born and Bragg's Island where his grandparents lived.  Recurring images in his art include whales, icebergs, ships and shipwrecks, fires, fishing, seal hunting, village life and customs such as mummering (the tradition of visiting friends and family while dressed up in disguise during the Christmas season).  Based on the titles of his prints, the subjects seem almost autobiographical, depicting scenes and people inspired from his childhood. Prints with names such as Glam Glover's Dream, Uncle Sam Kelloway's Place, Uncle Eli Glover Moving, Edgar Glover's Cod Splitting Table, Captain Abram Kean Awaiting the Return of the Lost Party, make you wonder about the fascinating stories behind them.

An entire room is devoted to showing the step by step process behind one of his best known works - Fire Down on the Labrador.  Starting with a quick rough pencil sketch, the work is expanded upon with each additional print progressively showing more detail and colour until the final version is reached.  In the centre of the room, the copper etching that is used to produce the print is displayed and the etching process is explained.   This print encapsulates all the primary dangers of a seaman's existence - fire on the ship, the looming icebergs, the dark of night and the menacing sea creatures below.

Finally we viewed a room devoted to Aesop's Fables with a brief history of the possible origins of Aesop.  Old books of fables were accompanied by black and white as well as coloured drawings.  Fables are short stories involving talking animals or mythical creatures interacting with each other and ended with a morale, such as the Tortoise and the Hare - slow and steady wins the Race.  It seemed to me though that some of the tales and morales were a bit dark and mean-spirited in their teachings.  One story told of a fox who had a stork over for dinner and played a trick on him so that the stork could not easily eat the meal.  So the stork returned the favour, teaching you that "One good spite deserves another"?  Or maybe "Tit for tat"? "An eye for an eye"?  What happened to "Turn the other cheek"?