George Arlook, Arviat, Nunavut

George Arlook was born on May 5, 1949, at the King George Hospital in Winnipeg, Manitoba (hence the choice of his Christian name).  He spent his early childhood in Eskimo Point (now called Arviat) and has always considered it to be his home.  His father, Sevuoi Aiyarani, was also a carver.  He has traveled extensively and has lived and worked in Rankin Inlet, Baker Lake, Chesterfield Inlet, Winnipeg and Churchill, 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, he 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.

The sculpture of George Arlook appears non-traditional in many ways.  As one of the foremost Inuit artists in Nunavut, 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.

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 rhthmically.

(Excerpts from an article by D. Wight, Canadian Encyclopedia 1985)

For further information on a particular artist, please refer to the following websites.

Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association - Visit the Artists

Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada - Artists Directory

Links provided with the kind permission of:

• Nunavut Arts & Crafts Association
• Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada

Arviat, Nunavut

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