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RACAR : Revue d'art canadienne Canadian Art Review

Inuit Art in Canadian and Indigenous Art: From Time Immemorial to 1967, National Gallery of Canada, Permanent exhibition, Ottawa Christina Williamson

Continuities Between Eras: Indigenous Art Histories Continuité entre les époques : histoires des arts autochtones Volume 42, Number 2, 2017

URI: https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/1042954ar DOI: https://doi.org/10.7202/1042954ar

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Publisher(s) UAAC-AAUC (University Art Association of Canada | Association d'art des universités du Canada)

ISSN 0315-9906 (print) 1918-4778 (digital)

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Cite this review Williamson, C. (2017). Review of [Inuit Art in Canadian and Indigenous Art: From Time Immemorial to 1967, National Gallery of Canada, Permanent exhibition, Ottawa]. RACAR : Revue d'art canadienne / Canadian Art Review, 42(2), 126–128. https://doi.org/10.7202/1042954ar

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This article is disseminated and preserved by Érudit. Érudit is a non-profit inter-university consortium of the Université de Montréal, Université Laval, and the Université du Québec à Montréal. Its mission is to promote and disseminate research. https://www.erudit.org/en/ ⇢ The Fifh World Mendel Art Gallery/Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery of living, and that non-Indigenous Gallery of Canada (ngc) has rehung the Confederacy and the right to bear peoples need to reconsider their rela- the Canadian Galleries, now known arms underscore American nation- tionship with the earth. Recalling as the Canadian and Indigenous Gal- alism’s roots in the oppression of the Hopi prophecy of “an impend- leries, as part of a show of support for others through setler property rights ing choice between destruction and the reconciliation movement sparked and the displacement and atempted conflict”⁹— or, ostensibly, between by the Truth and Reconciliation Com- genocide of Indigenous peoples, as life and death —The Fifh World shows mission (trc). ngc touts the new well as entrenched systems of white us that Indigenous peoples made a permanent exhibitions — Canadian and power and militarism. Galanin’s art- choice long ago to respect the earth Indigenous Art : From Time Immemorial to work also calls to mind historical col- and we should follow them. ¶ 1967, which encompasses art made in onial massacres, such as Wounded Canada from 5,000 years ago to today, Knee, as well as the ongoing, geno- Ellyn Walker is a PhD Candidate in Cultural and Canadian and Indigenous Art : 1968 to Studies at Queen’s University cidal violence carried out by police, — [email protected] Present — as a significant shif for the military, and white supremacists (aka institution. “white nationalists”) against Indigen- 1. Jarret Martineau and Eric Ritskes, “Fugi- First Nations and Metis art were tive Indigeneity : Reclaiming the Terrain of ous and other marginalized peoples. Decolonial Struggle Through Indigenous Art,” introduced into the Canadian Galler- By emphasizing what is a stake in the Decolonization : Indigeneity, Education & Society 16, 3 ies in 2003 as part of the permanent “American dream”— symbolized by the (2014) : 1-12. exhibition Art of this Land, but Inuit 2. Laura Shackelford, “Counter-Networks nation’s flag — Galanin’s artwork asks in a Network Society : Leslie Marmon Silko’s Al- works remained in ngc’s basement viewers to reconsider the complex- manac of the Dead,” Postmodern Culture Journal in the Prints and Drawings Gallery, ities of nation-building in light of 16, 3 (May 2006) htp ://pmc.iath.virginia.edu/ where the curator of Inuit art was also past and present atrocities, but also issue.506/16.3shackelford.html. assigned. Historically, ngc resisted 3. Wanda Nanibush, curatorial statement, to contemplate how our understand- The Fifth World (Kitchener-Waterloo, on : Kitchen- collecting Indigenous art, because it ings of history can help us to imagine er-Waterloo Art Gallery, 2016). considered it craf and therefore the more just ways of living together on 4. Wanda Nanibush, “20 Years of Tribe : Mile- purview of the National Museum of stones and Future Horizons,” interview by Bryne contested territories. McLaughlin, Canadian Art, May 28, 2015, htps :// Man (now the Canadian Museum of Other Indigenous artists featured canadianart.ca/features/20-years-of-tribe-mile- History). In the 1980s, however, ngc in the exhibition include Sonny Assu stones-and-future-horizons. began to systematically collect Inuit 5. Meryl McMaster, artist statement, Murmur, (Ligwilda’xw territory), Laakkuluk 2014, htp ://merylmcmaster.com. works of art, thanks to the active lob- Williamson Bathory (Iqaluit), Scot 6. Ellyn Walker, “Representing the Self bying of the Canadian Eskimo Art Benesiinaabandan (Montreal), Jordan through Ancestry : Meryl McMaster’s Ancestral Council (ceac).¹ Portraits,” Reconstruction : Studies in Contemporary Cul- Bennet (Stephenville Crossing), ture 15, 1 (2015) : 2. For Canadians and visitors alike, Sonya Kelliher-Combs (Anchorage), 7. McMaster, artist statement. ngc plays a role in defining the offi- Skeena Reece (Vancouver Island) and 8. The Kino-nda-niimi Collective, ed., The cially embraced national story of Winter We Danced : Voices from the Past, the Future, and Travis Shilling (Rama First Nation). the Idle No More Movement (Winnipeg : Arp Books, Canada. Bringing Inuit art out of Together their work reflects the ways 2014), 21. the basement thus represents a step in which “Indigenous peoples have 9. Nanibush, curatorial statement. towards challenging setler notions been protecting homelands ; main- taining and revitalizing languages, traditions, and cultures ; and atempt- Inuit Art in Canadian and Indigenous ing to engage Canadians in a fair and Art : From Time Immemorial to 1967 just manner for hundreds of years.”⁸ National Gallery of Canada Despite these efforts, our current Permanent exhibition, Otawa situation reflects an urgent need to rethink our relationship with the land,

its gifs, and each other. We are at an important crossroads akin to the Fifh World, where the very life sources in which we all share — Indigenous and Christina Williamson non-Indigenous alike — continue to Installation shot, Canadian and Indigenous Art : be degraded, exploited, contaminat- As part of the Canada 150 celebra- From Time Immemorial to 1967, 2017, National Gallery of Canada. Photo : Christina Williamson. ed, and capitalized upon. The works in tions taking place across the country, The Fifh World remind us that Indigen- several national museums in Otawa ous peoples have always demonstrat- have overhauled their permanent of what constitutes art within this ed thoughtful and sustainable ways exhibitions. For its part, the National narrative. Yet, as Steven Lof notes,

126 Reviews | Recensions “Although there is a growing recogni- large formline panel that is painted arranged in threes echo the aesthet- tion of Indigenous artistic practices over or exposed to varying degrees, ic of the modernist paintings, par- within Canadian museums […] this thus bringing the colonial history of ticularly those of Claude Tousignant. inclusion continues to be contingent Canada into sharp relief. Together, This section was especially intrigu- upon a relationship with the ultim- the works speak to each other across ing, because it relates to a time-per- ately unshaken art-historical hegem- time and national difference, and the iod — the 1960s — when Inuit and non- ony.”² Nearly thirty years earlier, Lee- room offers a clear message about Inuit modernists were frequently dis- Ann Martin similarly described this what Indigenous art in Canada was, is, played and collected together.⁹ Nods process as “sof-inclusion,” whereby and can be. to some unsuccessful federal art pro- setler museums and galleries merely The presence of Inuit art is exten- grammes are included, such as Seated incorporate Indigenous artworks into sive in the second half of the exhib- Man and Woman (1960s), a Rankin Inlet mainstream exhibitions.³ The result ition, although there are some nota- ceramic by Eli Tikeayak, and a stone of sof-inclusion is a “setler move ble gaps. For example, the works totem pole from Inukjuak.¹⁰ to innocence” in which setlers feel of marginalized Inuit artists from The Inuit prints in a nearby side gratified by the work they have done Nunatsiavut are not as well repre- gallery provide a brief overview of while failing to dismantle or critically sented as those from Nunavut, Nuna- Inuit print and drawing history, and consider the colonial structures that vik, and Inuvialuit ; this is largely include the monumental works of perpetuate and maintain the oppres- due to the historic neglect of Nuna- Parr, the bold colour-work of Jessie sion of Indigenous peoples.⁴ To get tisavummiut artists by both ceac Oonark, and the historically precise beyond this, ngc must not mere- and ngc.⁶ Traditional Indigenous work of Helen Kalvak, among others. ly absorb Inuit art into the existing women’s work, such as beading, sew- Moreover, the work of Peter Pitseolak national story, but create a dialogue ing, and quillwork, is represented, represents the beginnings of the Inuit between Inuit and non-Inuit works. although ngc’s spoty collecting photography tradition, one that con- In this regard, From Time Immemorial to history means that much of this is tinues today. Though issues around 1967 is, at times, a success, as it occa- necessarily on loan from other col- conservation may explain why these sionally creates a vibrant dialogue lections. The mounting of the one two-dimensional works were separ- between Inuit and other works. At Inuit atigi (parka) — a replica of shaman ated from those in the main gallery, it other times, it isolates Inuit art, even Qingailisaq’s atigi — fails to acknow- nonetheless means that they say litle when it is displayed in the middle of ledge the historical and cultural sig- in relation to other artistic traditions. the room — an irony, indeed. nificance of this particular piece. This This, together with the other sections, The most successful aspect of the is a good example of how the exhib- frames Inuit art as an aside to Can- exhibition is the stunning opening ition isolates some Inuit works : the ada’s story, rather than an equal part room. Here, Inuit art is placed in con- parka provides an opportunity to dis- or challenger of it. versation with ancient, pre-contact, cuss Inuit relationships with the land ngc’s decision to include labels and contemporary artworks from dif- and animals, or Inuit conceptualiza- in each artist’s Inuktut dialect is a ferent Indigenous nations. The works tions of gender identity (the parka’s sign of an institution willing to make are curated in a way that declares the design is remarkable for blending changes. In the final analysis, how- unequivocal reality of both persis- male and female aspects together), ever, the exhibition merely under- tence and change in Indigenous art but this has been entirely missed.⁷ scores that the gallery still has work practices across Canada.⁵ For example, Instead, the parka has been placed in to do in addressing what Dale Turner Dorset and Thule carvings are juxta- a corner as a prelude to a discussion of and Audra Simpson call the “inter- posed with Tim Pitsiulak’s drawing Euro-Canadian depictions of winter. pretive gap” between Indigenous and Armoured Whale (2014), while ancient In stark contrast to the isolation of setler understandings of their dis- ivory hair combs are mounted beside Qingailisaq’s parka, the section devot- tinct histories and responsibilities Germaine Arnaktauyok’s large-scale ed to Inuit sculpture and abstract to this land.¹¹ While ngc has taken textile work Combs of our Ancestors painting creates a memorable dia- its first steps towards curating Inuit (2009). The Inuit works border the logue between Indigenous and art in a way that acknowledges the opening room, which is organized non-Indigenous art. This is an innov- agency, skill, and artistry of the artists around an Anishinaabe drum (1950) ative choice for ngc, as the section on display, greater atempts must be by Daniel Smith of Kitigan Zibii, shows that Inuit sculptors were mod- made in the future to generate new whose work serves to remind — or ernist artists like their nouveau-plasti- methods of consultation and curator- inform — visitors that ngc occupies cien and automatiste contemporaries. ial collaboration — methods that are unceded Algonquin territory. Behind They are celebrated in this section as decolonizing, respectful, and open- the drum sits Luke Parnell’s A Brief His- modern artists with a distinctly Inuk hearted — so that the work of Inuit as tory of Northwest Coast Design (2007), a worldview.⁸ The nine Inuit sculptures well as Indigenous and Metis artists

racar 42 (2017) 2 : 121–137 127 ⇢ Inuit Art in Canadian and Indigenous Art National Gallery of Canada, Otawa

can engage with the national narra- Érika Wicky tive on its own terms. ¶ Les Paradoxes du détail : Voir, savoir, représenter à l’ère de la photographie Christina Williamson is a PhD Candidate in Rennes : Presses Universitaires de Cultural Mediations at Carleton University Rennes, 2015 — [email protected] 246 pp. 41 b/w illus. € 17 paper isbn 978-2-7535-4022-4 1. Richard C. Crandall, Inuit Art : A History (Jef- ferson : McFarland, 2005), 301 ; Marie Routledge, “The Development of an Inuit Art Collection at the National Gallery of Canada,” American Review of Canadian Studies 17, 1 (March 1987) : 73–78. Shana Cooperstein 2. Steven Lof, “Who Me ? Decolonization as Control in ‘Decolonize Me,’” in Decolonize Me/De- colonizer-Moi, ed. Heather Igloliorte, exh. cat., Ot- Les Paradoxes du détail argues pro- the invention and popularization of tawa Art Gallery (Otawa : oag, 2012), 77. 3. Lee-Ann Martin, “The Politics of Inclusion vocatively for the importance of the daguerreotype. “La photographie,” and Exclusion : Contemporary Native Art and Pub- “detail” in a variety of mid- to late Wicky claims, “a stimulé l’affirmation du lic Art Museums in Canada” (report prepared for nineteenth-century French discours- détail comme outil théorique pour l’appré- the Canada Council for the Arts, Otawa, 1991). es that depend/rely upon the com- hension des images” (12). Although, as 4. Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang, “Decoloniz- ation is Not a Metaphor,” Decolonization : Indigeneity, prehension of visual representations, the text argues, this era increasing- Education & Society 1, 1 (2012) : 1–40 ; Ossie Michelin, including those related to aesthet- ly relied upon details as a source of “The Hard Truth about Reconciliation,” Canadian ics, history, sociology, and science. knowledge, too much detail flew in Art (Summer 2017), 70–75 ; Paulete Regan, Unset- tling the Settler within : Indian Residential Schools, Truth This intriguing book contends that the face of time-honoured aesthetic Telling, and Reconciliation in Canada (Vancouver : ubc the use of detail became a key rhet- standards based on idealism. Indeed, Press, 2010). orical device upon which various Wicky notes that while the focus on 5. A quote on one wall of this room by David Ruben Piqtoukun eloquently centres the theme : representational, and, as a conse- detail ostensibly conveyed more infor- “We have to grasp the wisdom of the old and quence, cultural, and epistemological, mation about the object perceived, it introduce it to our present way of seeing.” debates hinged. Although photog- also distracted the viewer from recog- 6. Heather Igloliorte, SakKijâJuk : Art and Craft from Nunatsiavut (Fredericton & St. John’s : Goose raphy destabilized the connection nizing the ensemble, a concept valor- Lane Editions, 2017). of vision to knowledge by rendering ized in the history of aesthetics that 7. Bernard Saladin d’Anglure, “Troisième detail with indifference to human refers to seeing the whole or totality sexe social, atome familial et médiations cha- maniques : pour une anthropologie holiste : perception, Wicky shows how detail of an image. entretien avec Bernard Saladin d’Anglure,” became crucial to maintaining a con- Of course, the advent of photog- Anthro pologie et Sociétés 31, 3 (2007) : 165 ; Berna- nection between “seeing” and “know- raphy transformed the history of image dete Driscoll-Engelstad, “Pretending to Be ing” : the presence of detail also came making. Art historians are well aware Caribou : The Inuit Parka as an Artistic Tradition,” in The Spirit Sings : Artistic Traditions of Canada’s First to function as a criterion for “truth,” of how this led critics like Charles Peoples, exh. cat., Glenbow Museum (Toronto : navigating the complex relationship Baudelaire to conceive of photography McClelland & Stewart, 1987). between “real” and “representation,” as a mindless collection of individual 8. Joe Baker and Gerald McMaster, eds., Remix : New Modernities in a Post-Indian World, exh. and thus as a site upon which truth details, lacking the focus and selectiv- cat., National Museum of the American Indian claims could be made and defended. ity of paintings. Wicky notes how the (Washington, dc : nmai Editions and Heard Mu- This is not the first time schol- problems with detail exceeded the seum, 2007). 9. Katherine Stauble, “Ten Things to Know ars have recognized the historical discussions of photographic media, About the New Canadian and Indigenous Galler- significance of detail. Wicky cites citing Baudelaire’s warning against ies,” National Gallery of Canada, June 14, 2017, several book-length studies that the “émeute de détails” that threatened www.gallery.ca/magazine/exhibitions/ngc/ten- things-to-know-about-the-new-canadian-and- have set a precedent for exploring a painting’s compositional harmony. indigenous-galleries. visual and textual detail, such as From connoisseur Giovanni Morelli’s 10. For the most in-depth look at these hist- those by Jean-Pierre Mourey, Daniel perspective, however, the impressive ories, see Heather Igloliorte, “Influence and In- struction : James Houston, Sunnuyuksuk : Eskimo Arasse, and more recently, Anthony range and abundance of visual detail Handicrafs, and the Formatives Years of Contem- Wall and Marie-Dominique Pope- offered by photography warranted fur- porary Inuit Art,” ma thesis, Carleton University, lard, as well as an anthology by ther scientific study. 2006 ; Stacey Neale, “The Rankin Inlet Ceramics Maud Hagelstein and Livio Belloï Given the evocative ways photo- Project : A Study in Development and Influence,” ma thesis, Concordia University, 1997. (to which Wicky contributed). Her graphic detail shaped both aesthet- 11. Dale Turner and Audra Simpson, “In- research adds to these discussions ic debates and viewers’ interactions digenous Leadership in a Flat World” (research by examining how multidisciplinary with visual culture, it may come as a paper for the National Centre for First Nations Governance, May 2008), 5, htp ://fngovernance. engagements with detail — above all, surprise that Wicky’s book is one of the org/ncfng_research/turner_and_simpson.pdf. its reception — altered shortly afer first to deal exclusively with the impact

128 Reviews | Recensions