Inuit Art

How to find Authentic Inuit Art and Artifacts.

Canadian Inuit people are a native people residing in the countrys northernmost parts. They have been making Inuit art for over 4,000 years. Archaeological breakthroughs show that they were remarkably skillful in the construction and decorating of daily equipment use and clothing.

In recent years, this custom of Inuit art making has changed into an outstanding and unique art forms encircling a variety of media, appearance and originality. Inuit art is renowned and exhibited all over the world.

Stone carving is the most admired and lasting of Inuit art forms; however, other media have been discovered and developed over the years as well such as interest in the graphic arts which started in the mid-1950s. The very first print of collected works was pulled in Cape Dorset in 1959. Additional works of art in other media soon followed.

In general, Inuit artists make use of home-grown materials in creating their artwork, developing imagery from their homeland surroundings. The Serpentine because of its softness and its remarkably diverse colors is the most popular material used by Inuit people for carving their Inuit art. Technological developments, however, have made it possible for artists to experiment with tougher and more rigid materials such as granite and marble. Some other carving materials used by the Inuit people for carving include the caribous antler, a walrus tusk ivory and the brittle, porous whale bone which is found scattered on the northern coast.

Grass for baskets is collected in the vicinity of Labrador and alongside the shores of Hudson Bay. Duffle sewing thread and bronzed caribou hides have been used to make Inuit clothes for many years and are also used to create vibrant colored wall hangings. Inuit artists are frequently motivated to create their Inuit art by the arctic landscape and the Inuit way of life. For numerous Inuit artists, it is a way of conserving these sites of Inuit culture for generations to come.

Although in times past, Inuit artists have been somewhat isolated from the people who display, discuss and collect their Inuit art work due to the distances between them; Inuit artists, however, are now reaching out to nationwide and intercontinental art communities. They have begun to participate in symposia, teaching workshops, and attending exhibition openings the world over. This Inuit art form is dynamic and ever-changing.