The Hood Museum has just opened the doors to the first exhibition of contemporary art from Canada's remote and newest territory, Nunavut. "Our Land: Contemporary Art from the Arctic" is a collection of works in various media, representing a broad range of Inuit art.
Following exhibitions from diverse ethnic groups and regions of the world -- abstract Aboriginal art from Australia, an installation artist from Nigeria -- the Hood museum continues to expand Hanover's small boundaries by bringing yet another exhibition from a far flung region of the world -- this time, the Arctic.
"Our Land: Contemporary Art from the Arctic" employs the double-edged sword of the word "contemporary" less deftly than its predecessors, however. True, this art has all been created in the last 50 years, but this exhibition seems more artifact than art.
"Our Land" is presented in conjunction with "Thin Ice: Inuit Traditions Within A Changing Environment." "Thin Ice" was curated by an anthropologist and features Dartmouth's collection of Inuit artifacts. "Our Land" is intended as the contemporary counterpart -- but most of the art in "Our Land" is indistinguishable from the anthropological "Thin Ice." The most modern thing about "Our Land" is the lime green color of the walls it's mounted on.
This isn't to say that the show isn't beautiful, fascinating or worth seeing; I am interested in asking more of the exhibition however. Much of the show left me wondering: So what exactly has changed about Inuit art during the past 50 years? Perhaps I am epitomizing the lethargic American viewer, but I couldn't relate very well to the carvings, necklaces or ceremonial costumes on display.
Printmaking, however, is a fairly recent development for the Inuit. The practice was pioneered in the small community of Cape Dorset in the 1960s. Many of the best works in the show are in this medium.
Several artists make fresh use of the mythology and imagery of their culture. Kenojuak Ashevak's works on paper such as "Ravens Gather" and "Audacious Owl" are full of rich contrast and balance, often creating an effect akin to the style of M.C. Escher.
Two pieces by Sheojuk Etidlooie are the best in the show. "Mitiq (Eider Duck)" transcends its traditional imagery with a sublime spectrum of color. "Whale's Fate" is the most haunting image in the show. The etching depicts the death of a whale as both luminous and painful.
I'm not advocating the commercialization of Inuit art solely for the appreciation of the American public, but since the Hood touts "Our Land" as the first major exhibition of contemporary Inuit art, I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest for the exhibit to have put more emphasis on the recent developments in Inuit art, such as the introduction of photography, digital prints and video.
There are just two photographs in the entire exhibit, both by Billy Akavak. His pictures depict a colorful Arctic not often imagined by the general public.
"[Outsiders] see it as a frozen, barren land, which is not true. I want to share these images of our beautiful land," Akavak explains in the exhibition.
The video installation "Nunavut (Our Land)" by director Zacharias Kunuk is a fictionalized portrayal of five Inuit families. Initially filmed as a television mini-series, it's soft spoken and not particularly artistically groundbreaking, but it provides the most effective insight into Inuit life.
A separate mini-exhibit, "Resource Wars in the American Arctic," bridges the gallery space between the other two Inuit themed shows. "Resource Wars" is made up of four large-scale photographs by Subhankar Banerjee. The pictures are impressive, but sheer scale or political import seems to supplant the actual composition of the images -- "Bear Den II," for example, looks like a really nice print out of a tourist's snapshot. The sepia-toned "Untitled" is much more successful, depicting a herd of caribou dotting an undulating and rhythmically contrasted wetland.
Putting it bluntly, it seems a real stretch to fill three galleries in the museum with three separate exhibits on such similar topics. "Thin Ice" features several prints from the 1980s and 1990s, just as "Our Land" does. And "Our Land" is full of decorated artifacts like tobacco pipes and necklaces. The line between contemporary art and the educational exhibit feels overly blurred. It seems like the Hood itself is on thin ice trying to skate by with these shows.
The Inuit exhibition will not be confined to the museum's walls, however. In the days leading up to April 11, Peter Irniq, an artist and a former commissioner of the territory of Nunavut, will be constructing an "Inuksuk" in front of McNutt Hall. An "Inuksuk" translates to "likeness of a person." The sculpture will be made of stone. Traditionally, these totemic structures symbolize strength, leadership and motivation.
The Hood chose such a prominent location in order to bring this message to both the campus and the droves of eager high school seniors who visit campus in the spring, "as they contemplate finding their own way," proclaims the Hood.
